How to Clean a Pickleball Paddle? Cleaning Guide & Maintenance Tips
If you don’t clean your pickleball paddle regularly and take necessary care of it, it’ll wear out much quicker.
So it’s important to clean and maintain your paddle properly. But if you’re confused about how to clean a pickleball paddle, you are in the right place.
In this article, we will discuss how to clean a pickleball paddle and give some maintenance tips. Furthermore, we will also share a secret with you to increase your paddle’s lifespan. If that sounds interesting to you, read on.
Table of Contents
- Why Do You Need to Clean Your Pickleball Paddle?
- How To Clean Pickleball Paddle?
- What Causes a Paddle to Get Damaged?
- How to Take Care Of Your Pickleball Paddle?
- The Bottom Line
Why Do You Need to Clean Your Pickleball Paddle?
Grab your paddle and rub your index finger on the paddle surface. Notice the dirt and scratches on your paddle surface. This is why you should clean your pickleball paddle.
The textured surface on your paddle is constructed, so you can easily spin the ball. But during the play, when the ball continuously strikes the paddle, the surface gets dirty because the ball carries the dust from the court and that dust sticks on your paddle surface.
Besides making the paddle look dirty, it makes spinning the ball much more difficult because the dust covers the textured surface of the paddle.
By just removing the minor scratches and the dust, you will be able to improve your paddle’s performance. And to do so, you just need to follow the simple steps mentioned below.
How To Clean Pickleball Paddle?
Cleaning your pickleball paddle is quite simple and easy. Here are the three steps to clean your pickleball paddle.
1. Clean the Hitting Surface
To clean the dust that sits on your textured paddle surface, you need a microfiber cloth- the cloth used for cleaning eyeglasses and screens because it does not leave any scratches behind even if you rub hard.
Moisten the microfiber cloth by sparing glass cleaner. Gently wipe the dust away from the paddle. Then, leave it for some time to let it dry.
If you don’t have a glass cleaner, you can use water to moisten the microfiber cloth, but never use a household cleaning solution. This is because it becomes sticky and makes the paddle surface even more sticker, ultimately leading the surface to attract more dust.
2. Clean or Replace the Grip
The grip of the paddle comes in contact with your hands. As a result, it becomes dirty and sticky because it absorbs all the sweat and dirt. That’s why it is important to clean your grip, and you can do this with the same micro fabric cloth.
But it’s a better idea to replace your grip, as it becomes slippery and less comfortable with time. Pickleball paddle grips usually come at very cheap prices and are easily available in the market, so you can easily replace the grip with the new one.
3. Store the Paddle Properly
After cleaning your paddle, it’s really important to store it properly and safely. This way you can prevent it from getting dirty again.
Having a good storage bag for your paddle is very crucial because leaving your paddle on in the open air is the last thing you should do. This is because the temperature has a great impact on your paddle surface.
Cold weather shrinks the paddle and causes cracks. On the other hand, hot weather softens the paddle surface and causes delamination. That’s why it is important to store your paddle in a storage bag after cleaning it with a microfiber cloth.
What Causes a Paddle to Get Damaged?
It’s obvious that no pickleball paddle will last forever. It does not matter whether you take care of it or not. Still, there are a few ways that can increase the life span of your paddle.
But before going to the maintenance guide, it’s important to understand what causes the paddle to wear out.
Old Paddle grip
You might have noticed that after a few months of buying a paddle, its grip loses traction. This is because its grip gets old due to the absorption of dust and sweat.
When you notice that your grip loses the friction and traction, replace your grip as soon as possible. It will prevent your paddle from slipping from your hands and getting completely damaged.
This way, you can easily increase the lifespan of your paddle and improve your game.
Paddle Clinking
It is common for players these days to clink their paddles before and after the match. This tapping can leave minor scratches on your paddle. And if the ball hits that scratch, it can further damage the surface of your paddle. That’s why we suggest stopping clinking if you want to increase the lifespan of your paddle.
Not Using a Cover
After playing, most of the players put their paddle on their backseat and leave it over there until the next match, without cleaning it. This damages the surface of the paddle.
Experts and professionals recommend that every player should use a paddle cover to protect the surface of the paddle and prevent its surface from getting rough.
How to Take Care Of Your Pickleball Paddle?
Pickleball paddles do wear out. But taking care of your paddle increases its life and is quite simple. All you need to do is follow the steps mentioned below to take care of your pickleball paddles.
1. Wipe your paddle:
After each match, wipe your paddle with the towel or clean it with a microfiber cloth and a glass cleaner.
2. Store it Properly
Buy a new storage bag to store your paddle. This way, you can prevent your paddle surface from weather conditions.
3. Avoid Clinking
Avoid clicking your paddle to increase its life span, as clinking can break your paddle. Although you can fix a broken pickleball paddle, there would be a significant drop in its performance.
4. Use Paddles Only With Pickleball
As the name suggests, the pickleball paddles are made to play with the pickleball, not with other balls. So, avoid using your paddles to play with different balls, such as tennis balls.
The Bottom Line
Though pickleball paddles are not meant to last forever, it doesn’t mean you should stop cleaning them and let them wear out. Cleaning the paddle takes only a few minutes but adds several months to the life of your paddle. So it’s worth it.
With the above-mentioned guide, you should be able to clean your pickleball paddle and take proper care of it.
