Many people think that caring for their basketball is a ridiculous notion. After all, it’s just a basketball, so how important can proper care be? Well, given that a top quality basketball is made from full grain leather it becomes obvious that proper care is imperative to ensuring it can help you optimise your game!
There are many ways to ensure your basketball is at peak condition, including air control, cleaning, storage conditions and even playing the sport as it should be played.
With this in mind, let’s take a look at some of the proper care tips for your top quality, full grain leather basketball:
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Keep it at room temperature
Sure, the Aussie summer is the best time of year to get into the backyard, the driveway or head down to the local court for a hoop session. The crash bang of the ball hitting the backboard is almost as ubiquitous to the Aussie summer as the sound of cricket on the telly.
However, you don’t want to leave your basketball out in the blistering sun. This is because they are made from high-quality leather which is naturally porous and susceptible to cracking when left out in the sun. Therefore, you should store your basketball at room temperature – the garage is perfect.
What’s more, you can deflate your basketball if you’re not going to be playing much in the summer sun. Just be sure to reinflate it using a high quality ball inflation needle to ensure that you use the right amount of air!
Clean it after outdoor use
As aforementioned, we Aussies love getting out into the summer sun to play this legendary sport with friends and family. Naturally, playing in the backyard, driveway or local park will create a cleaning necessity for avid ballers. It is highly likely that your basketball will pick up dirt and other debris playing in these locations and so giving it the occasional wipe down is necessary to ensure that any dirt and debris doesn’t enter the basketball after use.
There’s nothing to it: simply wipe the basketball down with a damp cloth after playing and you will be keeping it in a clean, hygienic state. Every now and again, you can give it a thorough clean with warm, soapy water, avoiding soaking the basketball as this will damage the leather.
However, you shouldn’t preoccupy yourself with a proper clean too often – a simple wipe down here and there should be just fine!
Use the basketball for its intended purpose
We’re looking at you, basketball kickers. A basketball is not a footy, and it shouldn’t be treated as such, especially as this can leave what is infamously known as “eggs” in your basketball (a large lump that causes the ball to bounce incorrectly and thus ruin the playing experience).
As such, be sure to use your basketball as a basketball, and this includes playing on the right surfaces. This type of ball wasn’t made to be booted – bounce it, pass it and shoot it but be sure not to boot it.
These are three simple care tips for keeping your basketball in top condition. Sure, basketballs are sturdy and made from top quality leather, but this doesn’t mean they don’t need to be looked after to maintain peak condition.
So, keep it at room temp, keep the right air pressure, give it a wipe down here and there and use it for its intended purpose – it will hold up just right!
