Can You Soak Bowling Ball in Hot Water? [Do and Don’ts]

The Short answer is no. It is not recommended to soak a bowling ball in hot water. The excess heat can damage your ball’s core and coverstock and affect its performance. You may soak your bowling ball in warm water for cleaning your bowling ball. But You can also soak it in hot water following manufacturers suggestion to some extent. I will also tell you a way how to soak bowling in hot water. But it is all your risk.

Why Hot water is not recommended for cleaning Bowling Ball

“Hot” and “Warm”— do you mean the same temperature by these two words? By ‘hot’, I mean a higher temperature, and by ‘warm’, I mean a slightly lower temperature than ‘hot’.

But should the water be boiling hot? Definitely not! In fact, many manufacturers suggest not submerging the bowling ball in either hot or warm water because that can damage the core and the coverstock to some extent. For example, Brunswick and DV8. They always recommend bowlers use dry heat to get the oil off the ball’s surface. However, soaking a Storm or Roto Grip bowling ball is completely fine.

Using the immersion method is one of the best ways to clean your bowling ball. For this particular method, you can use warm or very warm water.

So does that answer your question? You may or may not be able to soak your bowling ball in hot water. If you plan to de-oil your ball following the soaking method, I suggest contacting the ball manufacturers first. Listen to what they prohibit and what they advise. If you give you a green light, just make sure you know what you’re doing. Continue to read forward before you put your ball in warm or hot water to clean the oil off.

How do you soak a bowling ball?

Allow me to elaborate on the procedure of soaking your bowling ball.

Step 1

1. The higher finished a bowling ball is, the less it is likely to have open pores. So before you start the soaking procedure, bring the surface of the coverstock down to 360 or 500 grit. Doing so will help open up the pores of the bowling ball and it will make the oil escape easier from the coverstock in the warm, soapy water. Failing to surface down our ball before soaking is going to leave the pores clogged. As a result, the oil won’t be able to escape from the pores. So when you don’t follow this step, you defeat the purpose of soaking your ball in hot water in the first place.

step 2

2. After you think your ball is ready with some open pores, time to fill a bucket with hot water. But how hot that should be? Well, think of hot tap water. You can take the hottest temperature of water your tap will allow. While the bucket is being filled, add some dawn dish soap, or any other similar liquid soap. Make sure the water is foamy enough. The soap is gonna remove oil like it removes oil from dishes.

Now, I’d like to warn you about something before you put the ball in the hot water. If your ball has any tape placed on the inside of your finger and thumb holes, take it out! Tapes have glue and once it contacts with heat, the glue or its residue is gonna get transferred and it will be hell to remove. You can leave the finger inserts in the holes. I personally like to take it out before my ball’s thorough cleaning.

So do you think your bowling ball is now ready to get cleaned? Well, good. Just put the bowling ball carefully into the bucket of soapy, hot water. The water is going to submerge the ball completely and leave it in the hot, soapy water for a while.

step 3

3. After about 20 or 30 minutes, remove the soaked bowling ball from the water bucket and rinse it off. This will get all the soap residue off the ball’s surface and out of all the holes. For even deeper cleansing, you can scrub the surface using a wash rag before you discard the water in the bucket.

If it is a Storm or Roto Grip bowling ball you’re soaking, you won’t have any trouble if the water gets inside the holes as they won’t cause any damage. Just don’t leave your bowling ball in the water for too long or make sure the water isn’t too hot. The dirtier a bowling ball, the longer you should keep it in the hot water. I always keep mine for about 30 minutes if the ball wasn’t cleaned for a long time.

Step 4

4.  After you give the ball one final rinse, time to wipe the ball dry. Use a clean towel when you’re drying the ball. To dry the drilled holes, take a corner of the towel, roll or twist it up, and put it inside the holes to get moisture from the holes. One of my favorite methods is to use a hair dryer and bowling hot air into the holes and on the surface. Once the excess moisture is dried up, let the ball rest to air dry. Don’t give your ball this deep cleaning hours before your match. Make sure you have plenty of time. I personally love to do it days before my competition. So keep this in mind.

step 5

5.  If you had to surface down your ball, you have to resurface it and bring the previous one back up. Just put your bowling ball on a ball spinner to readjust the surface the way you want it or you can just go back to the surface it had before you started the immersion method.

That’s pretty much what you have to do to give your bowling ball a deep cleansing. It would be wise if you contact your ball’s manufacturer beforehand. They will warn or advise you about things I may have missed out on. So before you gain the courage to soak the ball in the hot soapy water, do your research.

How long should I soak my bowling ball in warm water?

Based on how hot the soapy water is, you should keep your bowling ball in the water. If you start with a bit hotter water, you might need to keep the ball submerged for 20 minutes. If you start with lukewarm water, you might need to keep your ball submerged for a little longer. This is because once the water reaches room temperature, it won’t do much to de-oil the ball. So to save some time, start with a bit warmer water and get the whole thing done within 20-35 minutes.

Conclusion

That’s all, folks! I hope that answers your question. In a nutshell, yes, you can soak your bowling ball in hot water. Just follow the steps I have mentioned to do it without making any mistakes. So if you’re planning to clean and soak your bowling ball, do it right for your ball’s longevity. If you have cleaning kits, feel free to do it yourself at home. But make sure it should not be plastic ball. You know the deal! If you have any further queries, feel free to reach out to me. I can share more tips and tricks to soak the ball properly. Good luck and keep on rolling!