How to Look After Your Table Tennis Bat

Table tennis equipment is not always cheap. Especially blades and rubbers! Therefore, it is important you know how to look after your bat, especially your rubbers, so that you are not constantly having to buy new ones. Yes, you do have to replace your rubbers over time. However, in this article we will look at some strategies to reduce the amount you have to buy. Having clean rubbers will also allow you to perform better as there will be more grip available.

Cleaning Your Bat While Playing

When playing your bat will inevitably pick up some dust/dirt from the ball. This will soon lead to you losing grip from your bat. When playing in a match or tournament, this could make a big difference to your game. So, how do you fix this while you are playing? What most players will do is ‘breathe’ on their bat. This is done by simply exhaling onto your rubbers. As you do this moisture will spread on your rubbers. Simply wipe this away with either your hand or clothing and you should be able to see a clear difference from before and after. This is a quick but effective fix for while you are playing.

Cleaning Spray & Rubber

Using the method above will help to get some of the dirt off while you are playing, but not everything. Therefore, you should also use bat cleaner to help keep your rubbers free from dirt. This is usually a biological spray. I would recommend cleaning your bat with a biological spray at least once a week. Simply apply cleaner onto the rubbers, I would do one or two sprays, then either using your hand or a sponge, wipe the solution so it covers all of the rubber. Allow rubbers to air dry, this can be sped up by shaking your bat.

Some players don’t like using the bat cleaners after every time they play as they don’t want the chemicals to make the rubber deteriorate faster. This comes down to personal preference. I have gone seasons where I clean it after every use and seasons where I clean it once a week. I did not notice when cleaning every time that my rubbers deteriorated any quicker.

A bottle of bat cleaner does not cost much at all (£10-£15), they will also last you a fairly long time. I have had my current spray for about 3 years and it is still not close to running out.

Here are some options for you to buy:

Tibhar table tennis cleaner

Impact table tennis cleaner

Bat Case

I’m sure most players will already have a bat case, but if you don’t, make sure you buy one. The purpose of a bat case is to protect your bat while you’re not playing and to keep your rubbers free from dust. Table tennis rubbers can be very easy to damage, so it is vital to keep it protected whenever you can. There is nothing worse than putting a new sheet of rubber on your blade and scratching it on your first time using it. Unfortunately, I am talking from experience here.

It doesn’t really matter what bat case you use, as long as it is protected. Some prefer to have an aluminum case for extra protection. Personally, I have a fabric one. This is all down to personal preference. Here are some options for you to choose from:

Tibhar table tennis bat case

Tibhar double table tennis bat case

Joola aluminium table tennis bat case

Rubber Protectors

Another layer of protection you could use is rubber protectors. These are thin, transparent films which can be placed over your rubbers to stop dust from getting to the surface. These are not as important if you use a bat case however, I still use them as an extra precaution. Sometimes some rubbers will come supplied with these. If not you can buy them from here:

Rubber protectors

Bundles:

Tibhar bat cleaner, sponge & rubber protectors

Joola bat cleaning set (bat cleaner, sponge,  rubber portectors & bat case)

Conclusion

Table tennis rubbers will inevitably deteriorate over time, and will need replacing. However, using the strategies mentioned above, you can make your rubbers last longer. When I first started out playing, I never cleaned my bat. I would just continue to play (badly) with what would have been very dirty rubbers. I also had not changed my rubbers for 2-3 years. At one point one of my coaches picked up my bat and told me off for the state of my rubbers. They cleaned them for me and instantly I was able to produce more spin on my shots. Since then I have learnt my mistake and made sure to look after them. It does not take much effort and does not cost much. So there should be no excuse not to look after your bat!