Cleaning the felt on your pool table can be daunting, but with these simple steps, you can do it in no time!
All you need is a few basic supplies and some time, and a bit of patience. Follow these steps for the best way to have your pool table looking and playing like new in no time!
If you are in a hurry, check this out:
To clean pool table felt, start by wringing a clean white cotton cloth after wetting it with warm water. Never use soap or detergent on felt, as these can leave residue or stains. Instead, apply pressure directly to the soiled area with a damp cloth. For about 10 minutes, leave the rag on the stain without rubbing it. It is ok to press directly down on the stain to blot it. Until the stain is gone, repeat this process without soaking the felt.
Get a Special Pool Table Brush
Pool table brushes are especially good for removing chalk dust or other types of dust and debris. But for best results, you want to ensure that you are using these specialized tools the correct way.
How to Use a Pool Table Brush Without Screwing up Your Felt
- Ensure you are using a brush designed for the felt of your pool table
- Do not use any old scrub brush that you grabbed from the garage as this will destroy the surface of the table
- Most new brushes come with nylon bristles
- Ensure that the brush has longer soft bristles on the outside and shorter in the middle. The longer bristles enable it to brush more easily along the rail.
- Make sure you are using the correct cleaning motion
- Start at on end of the table and move the brush in straight motions towards the other end.
- Stop and clean off the brush often, especially if it has been a long time since brushing the table or you are not using a pool table cover, as it might be more dusty than usual.
- Do not use a circular motion as this could damage the felt over time.
- Brush the debris to the center of the table
- Brush the ends to the center.
- It is a good idea to use a dust pan to collect all the dust and debris brushed to the center.
- Gently brush regularly to prevent a felt fuzz ball issue and to ensure a well-maintained pool table.
How to Handle Accidental Spills
The first thing you should do is to use a dry cloth to gently blot the spilled drink from the table surface. If you do not have a clean cloth handy, you can use paper towels but make certain they do not set in the liquid as they can degrade and possibly cause damage to your felt.
Once you have soaked up the spill you can use our stain cleaning method with warm or cold water or a pool table cloth felt cleaner specifically designed to clean and take good care of the pool cloth. This pool table cleaner works particularly well on beer stains.
How to Clean Set-in Stains
If you read the second paragraph up top, you have seen our advice for cleaning a stain on your felt and how we advise keeping your table in good condition, but in this section, we will break it down step-by-step for you to help you keep your pool playing surface in tip-top condition.
- If the spill is fresh, follow the tips above to remove all standing liquid from the felt.
- Wet a clean cotton cloth in warm water and wring out.
- Remember not to use detergent or soaps as they may leave a residue and cause permanent damage.
- Blot the stain to see if it will come out easily or take more time and patience.
- If the blotting did not produce the desired results place the cloth on the the stain and let rest for 10 minutes.
- This will help to loosen the stain an help to remove it more easily.
- Repeat the blotting step after you have waited ten minutes and see if this will remove the stain.
- If not repeat another time or two but ensuring you are not soaking the felt.
- Let the felt air dry and brush using our tips up above.
- Get back to playing a game of pool!
FAQ
Can I vacuum my pool table?
We do not recommend using a vacuum cleaner on your pool table. Using a hand vacuum on your billiard table cloth can cause damage to the felt. This happens due to the vacuum sucking the felt away from the table, causing it to stretch.
This will leave creases and folds in your felt, restricting the pool balls’ movement across the table. We do not even recommend using low suction.
Can I use a vacuum cleaner with an upholstery attachment?
No, See above.
How Do I remove pet hair from my felt?
If the hair is not successfully removed with the pool table brush, you can use a sticky lent roller but remember to do this sparingly and gently.
Can I clean a new pool tables felt?
Yes, you can just remember to follow our guidance and be careful of the new felt.
Final Thoughts on How to Clean Felt on Pool Table
You walk into your basement game room, grab your pool rack and get ready to play a game of nine ball, but you see a new stain on your pool table. You instantly get mad and freaked out simultaneously, but then you remember seeing a cool blog post the other day on how to clean felt on the pool table.
You quickly pull it up and realize that perhaps this is not as big a deal as I original thought and all I have to do is follow the steps laid out by Tim in his article.
Going through the steps patiently and with care you discover that you are able to get rid of this beer stain and you are certain you can tackle any more accidental spills that may occur to your beloved table.
