Cleaning on a budhet

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Hi All,
In these difficult economic times, the official cleaning products can be an expensive accessory. With that in mind, I'd be interested in what "home brew" methods / cleaning chemicals you use to clean your rubbers - especially for those tacky rubbers ?

For me, with tacky rubbers, I user water and use nappy bags to then seal over the rubber and this seems to "lock in" the tackiness life a little bit more............
 
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It took me a while to figure out what a "budhet" was but I realize it is a typo and that the title of this thread should read "Cleaning on a Budget". :)

I have this nice sponge that I just keep damp and I carry it in a travel soap dish. It works fine. I got the idea from Greg Letts @ about.com. Here is the article:

http://tabletennis.about.com/od/equipment/a/paddle_care.htm

It is called Racket Cleaning in Table Tennis. In it he says that water works as well as anything else and that a lot of the products from the TT companies actually cause the rubber to break down faster.

But it sounds to me like what you are doing is good. I like having something covering my topsheets when I am not playing as well. I have plastic sheets that I got from report covers that I cut to the shape of my blade. I have compared how they work to the ones by the TT companies, and the sheets that I get are just as good and they are free. They would be thrown away if I did not take them.
 
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It took me a while to figure out what a "budhet" was but I realize it is a typo and that the title of this thread should read "Cleaning on a Budget".

Hahahaha me too! I was searching on the net the meaning "budhet". At first I thought it was "butthead" but it doesn't make sense when Beavis is not in the picture..hahaha

Yup, I just use clean water and wipe it off lovingly....
 
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Most rubber cleaners by brand names use a small percentage of glass cleaner. I recommend using distilled water and maybe 5-10 percent generic windex or window cleaner in a spray bottle. Mists tend to mix the liquids better than a small stream of liquid. You could even just grab a used windex or generic ( i prefer generic as it has less chemical and more water in it) window cleaner that is almost used up maybe just half an inch or so let in the bottom and then pour some distilled water into it then leave it out at the club for players to use. It's cheap and effective.

Personally because I deal rubber I don't really worry about cleaning it too much other than before a match and after a match. I have those cheap donic cover sheets, but it's a hassle cleaning the dust off the one side and then letting them air dry every so often. I just can't seem to find a good location that doesn't produce dust when I let them air dry.

Sometimes I recommend that if you have paper sheets with a glossy side (i.e. the rubber packaging) and if it's flat you can cut out the shape of the rubber and just put it down that way. Often the glossy side really does wonders for tacky rubber.

You can also try wax papers, plastic wrap, and grocery bags. I've pretty much seen it all and to be honest anything that protects your rubber from air and dust will do wonders for the longevity of the rubber.

Hope this helps guys.
 
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