Pool Table Maintenance Guide

Pool Table Maintenance Guide

Keep your table in a room temperature dry place – For best pool table maintenance it is recommended that you keep the pool table in a dry temperature controlled room. It is best that tables are not kept in extremely cold places. Tables will tend to last longer and play better when they are kept in an environment you would feel comfortable in.

Provide enough space around your table to play shots - The tighter the space around your table the more likely it is to get scratched or knocked by accident. It may also mean that a player has to lean heavily on the table when playing a shot. Also causing dangerously angled shots into the cloth because of obstacles. You should have as a minimum from the edge of the table enough space for the longest cue you use on the table.

You should brush and clean your cloth/baize after every week of use - You should use a good quality table brush to maintain a good-looking longer lasting cloth/baize.

A traditional wool cloth that is found on most UK pool tables should be brushed in one direction only. Always brush with the nap of the wool and never against it. The nap should always run from the end you break off from down the table.

A speed cloth can be brushed in any direction, as it does not have a woollen directional nap on it.

A racking cloth can be used every time you rack the balls in the triangle or diamond - Pool Table Maintenance is helped by using this is a piece of spare cloth used when racking up the balls for each game. It just prevents the abnormal wearing of the cloth in one area of the table; also on speed cloth it can prevent unnecessary bruising of the cloth.

Using a cover on the table will increase the life of the cloth and maintain the quality of the table – Dust covers are available for most table sizes and also come in a couple of different durability's. A standard cover is designed to keep dust and spills off the table.

Using the correct colour chalk for your cloth – Pool Table Maintenance is helped when using the same coloured chalk as your cloth colour is always recommended. This helps maintain the quality and aesthetics of the cloth. As every shot taken on a table leaves a certain amount of chalk in the cloth/baize of the table if you were using a red chalk on green cloth/baize then this would not help the look of the cloth overtime, making it look more worn and used than it actually was.

Having a cue rest for the table - It is sometimes a good idea to have a cue rest for the table. This is especially recommended for larger home tables or where smaller children often play. This stops players from needing to put large amounts of there body weight on the table to play long shots or stretching to play an awkward shot which may risk tearing the cloth.

Make sure the cushions are on tightly - It is good to go round the cushions on your slate bed table every few months & check that all the cushion fastenings are tight. If the cushion fastening starts to get loose then this will cause the cushions to loose their bounce making it look like the cushion rubbers have perished. It is a straightforward job to remove the top frame and tighten any loose cushion rails. Please feel free to give us a call if you would like any advice on how to do this.

You should re-mark and or re-spot your table periodically – Once a year it may be useful to re-mark your pool table markings on the cloth. This can be done using a D marking stick and marking pens or pencils along with table spots to maintain the aesthetic look on the playing surface.

All of the above tips are recommended for great Pool Table Maintenance