Do you brush your teeth everyday? Yes! Of course! Do you bathe everyday? I am presuming a yes for this as well. Why do you do so? To make your body and mouth feel fresh while you kick start the day and also if you do all these daily chores, your freshness helps you to do better at your workplace eventually. 


The laws of nature remain the same for every sport that you can think of with Table Tennis included in it. Let’s go back to the days when you were super excited to buy a new TT racket by putting some hard earned money of yours or your parents while making a purchase. 

We go to the sports shop -> You finally buy the racket -> Bingo! Now you are all set to play the sport! However, let me tell you that this is only 50% of the job done. The next 50% of the job is to maintain your equipment properly. 

WHY TO MAINTAIN YOUR TABLE TENNIS RACKET?

Do you like winning points while playing the game? Who doesn’t! Here comes the next question. Do you want to maximize the possibility of winning points while playing the game? Of course! If you are interested in maximizing your chances of winning points and games during important moments especially if you are playing competitively, then maintaining your table tennis racket will play a very crucial role. 


Let’s get to know a hypothetical story of two players Ram and Sham. (Note: Names are only taken as an example. Do not take it personally if you have this name)

  • Ram has a fantastic racket with great spin and speed which has cost him 10k for the entire combination. He has good action and footwork and is confident of playing well. However, he is too lazy to maintain his racket and never cleans his racket. He feels he doesn’t need a racket cover and tries to use some LOCAL JUGAAD to cover his racket. 
  • Sham, on the other hand buys a lesser expensive racket than that of Ram which is half its price. However, he buys the cover along with the racket and also cleans his racket without fail before and after playing the game. He too has a decent game but is way less competitive than Ram. 
Now, finally they have a match against each other in a tournament. Ram is a clear favorite because of his racket, action and footwork and is expected to win easily. The match finally starts. However, who wins this match? It was not Ram but Sham who won it. Let’s focus on why Ram lost?
  • Ram lost the match because of too many unforced errors. Why did these unforced errors happen? It was because Ram never considered cleaning his racket during practice and also during the match. As a result, the rubber became too dusty and that eventually resulted in making his rubber ineffective while playing the game which cost him the match….and also was a laughing stock in his peers.

Before I go deep into how to clean the Table Tennis racket, I strongly recommend investing in a good Table Tennis racket cover. Believe me, it’s cheaper than a movie ticket!


HOW TO CLEAN YOUR TABLE TENNIS RACKET?

  • So let’s improve the performance of your racket with better grip on the rubber by cleaning it regularly. Make it a muscle memory to clean it before and after your practice. Also, during a match, consider it cleaning after every game. So let’s deep dive into it. Here are a few inexpensive ways of cleaning your valuable table tennis racket.

# DAMP CLOTH

It is recommended to use a damp cloth to clean the rubber as the wet part will clear all the dust settled on the rubber. In my personal experience, dry cloth too does the job partially but sometimes, it doesn’t take off all the dust. Once you have cleaned it, let the rubber dry by itself for a minute. 


# SPONGE

This is a better option compared to the damp cloth as the sponge is much softer than the damp cloth which helps in a more gentle and smoother cleaning of the table tennis rubber. We would always recommend a wet sponge to clean the rubber.



# RUBBER CLEANERS

This is a very healthy investment if you have some additional bucks and would like some top class cleaning of your rubbers. Rubber cleaners are amazing because they consist of a sponge + foam which is rubber friendly. They are readily available on most e-commerce websites and sport shops too. 



# SOME TEMPORARY LOCAL JUGAADS

Don’t have any of them? No problem! For the time being, you can also consider making the rubber moist by releasing some air from your mouth and then cleaning the dusted rubber with your t-shirt. However, as I said this is just a small jugaad which can be used temporarily. It is always recommended to use the above methods to clean the rubber. 



WHAT NOT TO USE WHILE CLEANING THE TABLE TENNIS RACKET?

It’s super important to know what not to clean your rubber with or else you shall end up damaging the rubber. Here are the few things mentioned below based on the mistakes a few players have been making while cleaning the rubber. 


Silver sponge and vinegar are highly not recommended as they will instantly damage the rubber. A lot of people say that Alcohol can be used to clean the rubber! Well! it fights sticky residues on the rubber but if used regularly, it will greatly degrade the quality of your rubber. Hence, do not use them.



# LASTLY! INVEST IN A TABLE TENNIS RACKET COVER


A decent cover protects your racket against external dust while you are not playing. Believe me! A decent cover will cost you somewhere between INR 299 to INR 399 which is generally cheaper than a movie ticket or your favourite medium size pizza. Hence, I would suggest you to go for it!

I hope this article has given some insights to you on how to maintain your TT racket. 
Wish you great games for the future.

Cheers!


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