If you are a foosball fanatic and you have invested your hard earned money into a foosball game table, maintenance and caring for your table should be a priority to protect it. Maintenance and care for your foosball table just like any other thing requires to be done regularly. Fortunately, the care needed for the game table is not necessarily time demanding or tedious, and it worth it in the end.
One of the benefits of taking care of the game table is that you are guaranteed plenty of years of gameplay if foosball happens to be your favorite. It is recommended that one should clean their game table once per week if the table is used heavily. For seasonal players, it is recommendable to clean and maintain the table at least twice per month.
For tips on maintenance and caring of the foosball game table, we have compiled the below recommendations that will help keep your game table at a top-notch quality level.
How often do I clean my Foosball Table?
How regularly or often you clean the game table depends on various factors. According to foosball game table experts, if the table is not being used quite commonly, then it should be cleaned twice per month. This ensures that the debris and dust that the table has accumulated has been eliminated to avoid clogging of parts.
On the other hand, if you are a regular fooser or the game table is in your club or restaurant you should consider cleaning and performing maintenance schedules once per week. Game tables tend to accumulate dirt, depending on how frequently they are used. Also, others accumulate dirt according to where they are placed, such as outdoor game tables. To prevent the quick accumulation of dirt and debris in an outdoor game table, one should cover it using a table cover when no one is playing. Game tables should be cleaned depending on how regular the table is being used to play.
Materials Required for Foosball Table Cleaning
- Rubbing alcohol
- Silicone oil
- Cotton rag or clean cloth
- Compressed Air (optional)
Game Table Surface Cleaning Tips
The first thing one should do when cleaning the foosball table is to clean its surface to eliminate dust and debris. To clean the surface, one needs first to use a can of compressed air to blow the dust in hard to reach places. When the compressed air reaches into the crannies and nooks, the overall smoothness of your gameplay will be top notch.
The other problem that arises with game table surface is that food and drinks can spill onto the surface and get stuck in tiny places that a cleaning cloth can’t reach. The can with compressed air can help blow small debris in such areas to avoid clogging, which might cause weird jumps and curves when playing.
The next step involves taking a piece of soft cleaning cloth and wipe down the surface of the game table. One should never use water to clean the surface of the foosball table as the surface might wrap from getting wet. Rubbing alcohol should be used when using a cloth or cotton rug to clean the table surface because it dries up fast without damaging the surface. This should be done precisely to remove any form of dirt and stains on the surface of the table until it is clean.
Cleaning Foosball Rods
For an operational foosball table, cleaning the rods is a pretty easy task. It involves using rubbing alcohol and a piece of clean cotton or cloth rug. After dipping the clean cloth into the rubbing alcohol, one should wipe down the surface of the rods gently until they are clean. For the players and the handles, one can also use the rubbing alcohol on a piece of cloth to gently scrub and wipe and dirt of stains.
The next step should be using silicone to clean and lubricate the table’s rods. The foosball table’s rods need to move and turn smoothly when one is playing. This means that the rods need to be well lubricated to improve performance and speed when playing. The only way to ensure that the rods are clean and lubricated is by using silicone on the rods and bearings.My personal preference is to use Liquid silicone over the spray silicone. Liquid silicone is easy to put into the rod’s bearings, unlike spray silicone which limits one from which direction to spray and gets everywhere where you don’t want it to go.
The benefit you get from cleaning the rods is worth the effort. First one notices that the squeaky sounds disappear after cleaning and lubricating the rods. If left unattended or not taken care of, the rods can get rusty; this leads to performance drawbacks. Regular cleaning and maintenance of a game table ensure that parts do not get rusty.
How to Clean Foosball Balls
If play like me and your balls are flying all over the place then your balls will definitely need a cleaning. When they roll on the floor and into the deep corners of your house. The balls will run through dirt, food crumbs, dead bugs and cobwebs and who knows what! If your foosball balls look ragged it’s time to clean them. The balls should be cleaned using a piece of dry cotton cloth, or if they have sticky debris, one should dip the cloth into rubbing alcohol. The wet cloth should be used to gently clean the foosball table balls until they are clean from dirt and sticky stuff.
The benefit you gain by cleaning the foosball table balls is that it improves performance and the functionality of the game table. No one likes sticky balls! The game becomes more enjoyable because the balls move around quickly as the player intends them to. When left with dirt for a long time, the balls can develop complications when being used, such as being slow and moving in odd directions not as intended.
Pro Tip: Throw your standard foosball balls into the dishwasher with 1/2 the detergent, for a deep clean.
Tips to Help Keep it Clean.
- To keep the foosball table clean requires proactive measures that help reduce dirt and debris accumulation on the game table. The first tip is not to allow people to take food or any sort of drink near the game table. This rule will ensure you reduce the likelihood of spillages on the game table and also reduce the work needed when cleaning.
- If you don’t follow no food/drink rule, When you are bringing over your favorite beer to play with your friends just keep in mind that accidents will happen. So plan ahead and have some cleaning supplies near by to clean up any spills.
- Another tip for maintaining high standards of cleanliness includes having regular checkups on the game table. It could be that you have hosted a series of parties lately and the table has been used more often than ever. Considering how many times the table has been used can help you in planning for cleaning and maintenance schedules.
Preventative Maintenance
Other than cleaning the game table, it is also essential to maintain the table to its operating condition. These tips apply for both outdoor and indoor tables, but special consideration will be given to the foosball outdoor table at each section.
Keep in a Cool Dry Area
A foosball game table should not be placed in places with high moisture as this can cause warping of the table surface. Also avoid putting the table at direct sunlight exposure as this can also cause fading of the paint on the cabinet, table surface, among other damages. If the foosball table is for outdoor use, ensure you cover it with when not using it with a water resistant cover. If left uncovered the outdoor table would most likely accumulate moisture, which might cause rusting. As well as dirt from leaves and other debris, no one wants to play on a gross table. You may laugh but clean bird poop as soon as possible as it contains acid which eats right through paint.
Always put the cover back on after every use.
Moving The Foosball Table
When moving a game table, one should avoid dragging the table on the floor and should instead seek help lifting and moving the table. Dragging the table can cause some parts to loosen up and bent out of place. This may cause the table legs to permanently warp causing a sloped table, which nobody wants! To prevent the foosball table from moving during gameplay, it is vital to have anti-slip pads placed on the legs of the table.
Aligning the Players on the Rods
When you and your friends have been going hard on the foosball table, the players are most likely going to need to be realigned. It is not something people think about, but the truth is that the rod players should be checked, after every table cleaning. When aligning the players, remember that the players face the opponent’s goal. Regular adjustments help to prevent the men from breaking or splintering and also improve the quality of each game play.
Coupon Code
Here are foosball coupon for some cleaning supplies (no longer available)
I will update when I find any other fire sale, or reviews samples.
Conclusion
To sum up, a foosball table is easy to maintain and take care of when one has the proper information on the importance of these maintenance tips. It is noted that water should be avoided when cleaning a game table as it will most likely cause warping of the table’s surface. In other instances, using water can cause fading of the cabinet. Rubbing alcohol is the most recommendable when it comes to cleaning the game table as it dries fast and is useful in cleaning.
Finally, lubricating the rods contributes to quality gameplay sessions and should also be done regularly. Liquid silicone should be used over spray silicone to clean and lubricate the game table’s rods. If these tips are followed, they will help in maintaining your foosball table for a long time at its top notch condition.
Comment Updated Sept 10, 2020
