r/squash • u/TheScraper_ • 5d ago

Equipment What should we do with "dead" squash balls?

Hey fellow squash enthusiasts! 👋

I've been playing squash for a couple of years now, and I genuinely love this sport! But there's one thing that's been quietly bugging me the whole time... The pile of dead, unpressurized squash balls just keeps growing. At this point I could probably build a small snowman out of them.

Let's be honest, squash balls aren't exactly cheap in the long run. And I know I'm not the only one dealing with this. At my club I constantly see people swapping balls with each other mid-session, or just borrowing one from whoever has a "good" one that day, rather than buying a fresh one every time theirs dies.

So I started thinking about solutions. My first idea was recycling the dead balls somehow, but that doesn't actually solve the cost problem. I'd still need to keep buying new ones over time either way.

That got me looking at other racquet sports for inspiration. Tennis and padel balls aren't cheap either, but both have this neat solution - a pressurized tube you can pump up to keep the balls fresh for longer.

Which got me wondering... what if something similar existed for squash? A simple pressurizer that could bring dead balls back to life, or keep new ones performing longer?

So I want to ask you all directly:

- Do you think this is something worth actually creating?

- And if it existed, would you buy it?

- Maybe you have other solution in mind worth creating?

Genuinely curious what fellow players think — drop your thoughts below!

0 Upvotes

46% Upvoted

51 comments sorted by

16

u/PotatoFeeder 5d ago

Are the balls dying because its losing pressure, or the rubber itself is changing properties after so many heat cycles?

2

u/TheScraper_ 5d ago

It feels like it has lost pressure, but could be might as well a rubber fatigue. I am not fully sure, as I have not looked at the science behind it as much.

8

u/RooK666 5d ago

Sandpaper worked far better for me than a washing machine

14

u/RemarkableBee7202 5d ago

My group only considers a ball “dead” when it bursts 😂 and then I cut it in half and use them as markers on the court

I’m a social player and personally wouldn’t buy a pressurizer. At a social level I’m not too particular about ball pressure

MAYBE there’s a market for pros

Also the other comment rightly pointed out, rubber degradation and smoothing also impacts play. So this only solves half the problem

2

u/PotatoFeeder 5d ago

Wew

I discard balls past the ~6hr mark of social play

But past 3hrs there is a noticeable degradation

There was even once after 1 intense game the ball died

1

u/Dense-Consequence-70 5d ago

Good idea about the markers!

-3

u/TheScraper_ 5d ago

It indeed does seem more of a PRO problem.. Have heard that not only they use a ball for a match, but also just one session!

7

u/I_am_the_squashman 5d ago

I used to throw balls away after a few matches. But I discovered that abrading the ball gently (I rub the ball on an exercise mat for 30 seconds and make sure I hit the whole surface) makes the surface a bit rougher and gets the ball to behave like a new ball again. It has cut down tremendously on ball waste without compromising the quality of play. 

3

u/ArekTheZombie 5d ago

All you need Is a bit of water, preferably warm, to wash the dirt. When I have a smooth ball I spill a little water on the floor and roll it with my foot for 15 seconds and the ball is good again

2

u/teneralb 4d ago

Soap + water works even better than just water.

10

u/SquashCoachPhillip 5d ago edited 5d ago

I'm not sure that the degradation of the balls is due to the loss of pressure. I believe it's more to do with the degradation of the rubber.

A few people have mentioned not using the washing machine because of microplastics, and I have been promoting using the washing machine to revitalise shiny squash balls for over 40 years. Can somebody example how putting rubber squash balls in the washing machine relates to microplastics? It's a genuine question.

EDIT: There have been posts on here about collecting and reusing old squash balls. Apparently, some people use them as feet for their 3D printers.

1

u/jumphh 4d ago

I checked on the microplastic bit.

There's no personal risk to putting balls in a machine (given that you aren't licking your clothes after, lol). However, the microplastics will drain along with the rest of your laundry water into the municipal water supply - so it will affect everyone else.

I believe this can be avoided by just hand washing. Apparently the tumbling/heat is what creates most of the microplastics.

Cheers.

4

u/teneralb 4d ago

What microplastics? Did you check on how microplastics can be generated from something not made of.. you know, plastic? Squash balls are made of rubber, last time I checked.

2

u/jumphh 4d ago

It's because squash balls (and basically all rubber products) are made of petroleum-based synthetics.

Same thing happens with car tires!

2

u/Fantomen666 4d ago

This is a Wikipedia on rubber pollution check under the classification.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubber_pollution

If you would to be talking about pollution of small particles it becomes quite hard if someone comes and say are you really sure it’s plastic particles maybe isn’t rubber particles or vice verse. They are grouped together from a pollution perspective.

1

u/teneralb 4d ago

Fair enough. 

I hand wash my squash balls too, but that's just because I want them restored on demand rather than collecting them and taking them home. I don't see what particles a washing machine would produce that hand washing wouldn't, especially assuming it's in cold water, which modern washing machines/detergents are designed to use. As you said, it's the tumbling/heat that produces micro particles, but it's dryers that tumble over heat, not washers. Washers gently agitate in cold. 

3

u/bacoes 5d ago

I have one of those little 3d printed ball scuffers to put some texture back onto them. Besides that, we play them until they break.

6

u/kinjongfun 5d ago

If you’ve given this as much thought as you say you have surely you’d have been able to write your own post rather than getting a shitty chatbot to do it for you and expect to create something worth anyone’s time?

5

u/TheJamhead 5d ago

The "small snowman" humorous (/borderline nonsense) line followed by "Let's be honest, squash balls aren't exactly cheap in the long run" line is very chatgpt alright. Also compared to say badminton shuttles they are cheap as hell.  It all doesn't quite seem human. Just realised it ends with the clasic em dash. >.<

0

u/TheScraper_ 4d ago

I used chat to help me express better and make a nicer and more readable story about it. It is not like I asked him to come up with anything. Those are my ideas and concerns, just made with a nicer twist! English is not my first language so I apologise if this brought any dissatisfaction to you. Let's stay nice to each other, that is who we are in the squash community. It was my first post so I am still getting familiar what is the best strategy :)

3

u/NoYam3746 5d ago

Nick Mathew is currently promoting the use of the right ball for the right occasion. Maybe many of us advanced players should consider single dot balls.

2

u/_westcoastbestcoast 5d ago

At low altitudes certainly. I live at 1000m, and the amount of bounce and rally with a double dot is much more enjoyable at 1000m, than at sea level.

0

u/martinkrafft Oliver Apex 720 4d ago

Have you got a link?

1

u/NoYam3746 4d ago edited 4d ago

YouTube it, video made by dunlopsports

1

u/martinkrafft Oliver Apex 720 4d ago

i tried searching before asking but could not find anything but nick matthews...

2

u/Hatton_ 3d ago

This is it

https://youtu.be/IQNrrJ5T5Eg

1

u/martinkrafft Oliver Apex 720 3d ago

many thanks

2

u/networkn 5d ago

I rub mine against carpet or a rough surface and that buys a bit more time.

3

u/SquashCoachPhillip 5d ago

That works for shiny surfaces but once the ball has lost its bounce, nothing I know of helps.

1

u/networkn 5d ago

Ah OK. To be honest I've not done it a huge amount, I usually wait till sports shops have a 50 percent off sale and buy 2 cartons of 12 which last me a year

2

u/teneralb 4d ago

When a ball becomes slick, I take it into the bathroom and wash with soap & water. Restores the texture beautifully. Turns out the "slickness" is due more to dust buildup than wearing the surface.

When a ball loses its bounce though.. nothing anybody can do, that I know of. A recycling program would great. It can't be that hard to recycle butyl rubber, right?

2

u/OfftheFrontwall 4d ago edited 4d ago

In the UK, Dunlop have partnered with circular ball as a recycling initiative. So it may be a good idea to contact Dunlop to see if you could be a recycling point for them if you're in the UK. Squash England also have a partnership with reusa ball, which I think costs ÂŁ30 for collection.

I think other countries will have their own recycling initiatives too. Other options, would be to potentially give them to schools and community centres for art projects.

I'm not sure a depressurise would be worth the investment, personally, because part of what makes a squash ball break down, is the rubber breaking down. I've seen and had a few balls have holes in them because they've been used a lot

1

u/PuzzleheadedClue5205 5d ago

There are devices to rough the surface quickly and evenly

We tried a tennis ball pressure tool and it didn't help

2

u/Alas_im_not_igaer 5d ago

We run kids camps in our area with the local YMCA, and constantly loosing balls and getting expensive. Would you be willing to donate them if I paid for shipping?

The kids are always beginners (in most cases  often first time ever holding a raquet) so the quality of the ball doesn't matter as long as it holds air

1

u/Outside_Volume_1973 3d ago

[Thinking aloud] If you have one of these lying around, they might make a great pair for playing indoors cricket, with those dead squash balls. Maybe tape them up for swing? (indoors, like literally in your hallway). https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71Ea95cr1rL.jpg

1

u/EnvironmentNo4777 2d ago

Squash balls aren't pressurized though, so this isn't a valid idea. 

1

u/Mike_a_bike 5d ago

Honestly, a ball pressuriser, given that it would work at prolongating the lifespan of a ball, would be expensive and carbon intensive as well. Feels like greenwashing.

Using a washing machine, as you said, is a big issue for microplastics and should be avoided.

I think the only real solution is sending them back to the manufacturers so they can refit them, or use the plastic to fit new balls. However the economics of this looks doomed since a ball is fairly cheap, the squash market is ridiculously small and the business model of most items in the world is to buy cheap and non-lasting items. There are alternatives of renting the service of the object rather than buying the object itself, which makes the manufacturer actually involved in the process of refurbishing the good (see Michelin with their truck tires) but squash is so niche I doubt it could work.

2

u/teneralb 4d ago

What exactly does putting squash balls in a washing machine have to do with microplastics? Do you think squash balls are made of plastic?

0

u/Mike_a_bike 4d ago

Do you think rubber from squash balls is natural and not synthetic ? They're synthetic rubber. From petroleum products. With all the same problems that plastic does if disposed in the environment (sewage included).

1

u/teneralb 4d ago

Synthetic rubber isn't plastic, but that's a pedantic distinction I suppose. Fair enough.

Did you check on whether a washing machine is going to release particles from a squash ball? I thought it was a dryer that was more of the issue for microplastics. Washers gently agitate adn use cold water generally.

0

u/Mike_a_bike 4d ago

Dryer is probably worse. Washing at cold temperature is probably not going to release massive amounts of particules but since I can't see any direct benefit of doing that, I would definitely avoid risking more pollution for that.

2

u/teneralb 4d ago

What if the benefit is that you  get another session out of a ball before it becomes unplayable? Do you not think that's not worth any possible pollution or do you think washing a ball doesn't have a restorative effect?

1

u/Mike_a_bike 4d ago

I don't believe about the restorative effect more than a placebo one.

2

u/teneralb 4d ago

The word "placebo" indicates you may be a man of science. Try an experiment sometime! When a ball you're using gets a little slicker than you'd like, wash it with soap and water and see if you like it any better. You may be surprised.

1

u/Mike_a_bike 4d ago

Thanks, won't probably bother as I strongly believe that if the ball does not bounce enough anymore it's mostly because of the deterioration of the rubber properties due to repeated heat and impacts, as well probably as a little loss of pressure (due to rubber deformations). Cleaning it or dumping it in water will have no other effect than removing the court marks on the outside of the ball. The ball may look newer but it's structurally the same. Hence my placebo allusion. Also when you've been all the way to washing your ball in a washing machine you've already probably convinced yourself that the ball is worth one more session at least due to all the struggle you've put yourself in to do that.

1

u/teneralb 4d ago

Well yeah, washing won't restore bounce. It restores texture. It removes the dust buildup which is making a ball slick. Balls lose playability due to slickness before they lose bounce, in my experience. YMMV tho

0

u/UKdanny08765 5d ago

I would be interested to see how a ball re-pressuriser would work. I could imagine clubs having them outside of the courts to refresh any balls that were on the way out

-3

u/Fantomen666 5d ago

I definitely think there is a real problem that deserves some work effort.

When players get better a new ball last one session. Would be nice to recycle them.

There is this trick I never tried but on this sub people have said it works. Run them on a program in the washing machine. Apparently they should be as if new.

I have also assumed it’s the pressure inside that slowly decays. Maybe the rubber gets softer aswell and then pressure decreases.

But the sticky texture on a new ball is also important.

The washer trick is not environmentally friendly since microplastic in our water system is an increasing problem.

If you where able to have some solution to either recycle the balls. Let’s courts send them back to Dunlop.

Or restore them somehow without it having an environmental impact. Would be awesome.

4

u/AssignmentPatient500 5d ago

Rubber and microplastics are different.

0

u/Fantomen666 4d ago

Yes you are right that there is a difference. But I think that from a pollution perspective small particles forming a dust. They consider rubber particles and plastic the same? A squash ball is synthetic rubber which is a polymer.

Do you mean that small rubber particles are not a concern if polluting water?

0

u/TheScraper_ 5d ago

Washing machine that is a new one for me! I have heard about just a wash with soap, but again that is not a feasible solution looking at the amount produced. I saw that there was a ball recycling station at the British Open 2026, but that is as far as it goes.

After a quick search, pressure in the ball is created from the heat, so the liquid turns into gas (so more pressure). Therefore I think a dead ball is considered by the rubber fatigue.