How do pros clean their rubbers?

[Maxxx]

How do professional table tennis players clean their rubbers properly? I'm using the DHS H3 neo provincinal 40° blue sponge, and I've noticed that the tackiness wears off quite quickly. I've read a lot about boosting and different rubbers, but I haven't found a specific thread on how to clean the rubbers correctly. Can anyone provide detailed advice or share their cleaning routine to maintain the rubber's performance?

 

[thommy_f]

I don't think looking at how pros treat their equipment is helpful. They usually are sponsored and change their rubbers every few days anyway.

 

[Creek]

Breathing on it and wiping it off with hand is the way you see the most

 

[WingTT]

Breathing on it and wiping it off with hand is the way you see the most

That's during a match. I'm pretty sure they clean the rubber with cleaner/water and sponge off court.

 

[dingyibvs]

That's during a match. I'm pretty sure they clean the rubber with cleaner/water and sponge off court.

Not the Chinese pros, they advocate just breathe on it and wipe with hand. No cleaners, no rubber protector, just a case. They also don't keep their rubbers for long though.

 

[NetProphet]

I've never heard what the pros do but it's often been said that just plain water is best. If someone told me that residues affect the life of a tacky rubber I'd believe them so if you wanna gonna a step further use demineralised water?
Logic has told people that a restorer (like stp son of a gun) might be good but it leaves a coating on the rubber

 

[Wakkibatty]

The ITTF rules now specify you can only use water to clean your rubbers.

Myself I use a water spray bottle to wet the rubbers well, then I wipe them clean with a piece of chamois. I don't use those blue thick chamois sponges the majors sell, as some of them can be very abrasive to the rubber. A soft chamois cloth however does a great job -- just be sure to wash it out once a week otherwise it becomes very dirty and musty.

 

[cybershapedragon]

Not the Chinese pros, they advocate just breathe on it and wipe with hand. No cleaners, no rubber protector, just a case. They also don't keep their rubbers for long though.

Yes that's the case, especially for the pros. It's believed that breathe and sweat can give some small boost to the stickiness of rubber (Hurricane).

 

[JJ Ng]

I just use plain water with Nittaku cleaning sponge after every day that I play. Once in a long while, I would add a tiny bit of dishwater detergent if I feel that too much oil from my hand builds up on the topsheet. That's pretty much it.

I grew up playing Friendship 729, Friendship Tackspeed 2000, Globe 999 and Juic 999. Nowadays I use hurricane 3 and Sanwei Target National. My way of cleaning these topsheets has remained the same over the decades. To me, if it ain't broke, don't fix.

I don't use clear cover sheet to cover those Chinese rubbers for two reasons: 1) when H3 used to be very very tacky, you would actually intentionally break the rubber in over the course of two weeks to make sure the extreme tackiness wears off (so using a clear cover sheet to cover those Chinese topsheets "kind of" defeats the purpose of breaking the rubber in and let the extreme tackiness wears off, so it is a habit) and 2) I am too lazy. If the H3 or Sanwei Target National lose way too much tackiness, it is time to get rid of it anyway. Buy a new one and move on.

 

[Lazer]

I use a cleaning agent, just any type. Spray it once on each side and wipe it off with a soft sponge. Let it dry, takes an only one or two minutes put on your protective sheets and your done. Do this after every session. During session I use the breath and hand method.

A have alternated between a cleaning agent and plain water many many times and never noticed Dudley squat difference.

If you want to use plain water use a spray bottle, the reason being that it dries faster and doesn’t leave water spots…

Cheers
L-zr

 

[burakins]

The ITTF rules now specify you can only use water to clean your rubbers.

Myself I use a water spray bottle to wet the rubbers well, then I wipe them clean with a piece of chamois. I don't use those blue thick chamois sponges the majors sell, as some of them can be very abrasive to the rubber. A soft chamois cloth however does a great job -- just be sure to wash it out once a week otherwise it becomes very dirty and musty.

Hi I agree with you. Additionally I use boiled water to prevent calc problen on the rubbers.