Good ball maintenance not only does increase your chances to strike, but it also prolongs your bowling ball's life span. You don't want to throw away the precious bowling ball that cost you a fortune just because you didn't maintain it well, do you?
Cleaning bowling balls regularly with a proper product is the number-one ball maintenance routine for every bowler.
Bowling balls accumulate dirt and oil from the lane itself and its machines, which reduces the ball's overall performance. That is why cleaning your bowling ball with a cleaner before and after the game is essential to keep your performance and scores in tip-top shape.
We have scoured the market, tried them by ourselves, and picked the top 5 bowling ball cleaners you can get to keep your bowling balls at their best performance every time. All the bowling ball cleaners we reviewed in this article are USBC approved, giving you enough confidence in these products.
#1 Monster Tac Bowling Ball Cleaner
'Pyramid' is long known as a company that cares about their customer. 'Monster Tac' bowling ball cleaner proves just that. It is a perfect product to keep your equipment clean and ready for the lanes without costing you a king's ransom. It is tough on oil and debris, leaving that lovely tacky feel on the ball. Our team liked the fact that this product goes deep into the bowling ball's surface and still wipes out easily with a microfiber cloth. 'Monster Tac' comes in different bottle sizes giving you the freedom of choice (we went straight to the 32oz (1005 ml) bottle - the price is quite unbeatable).
#2 Storm Reacta Shine Bowling Ball Cleaner
A tacky feel means increased hook potential. When your bowling ball has less hooking maneuvers than it had before, 'Storm' 'Reacta Shine' bowling ball cleaner is an excellent choice. Although it comes in a funny little pin-shaped bottle, this product is a real deal. The applied spray went away at ease with just a swipe with a towel and the surface didn't become greasy or slick as it sometimes happens with other products. The only problem with this cleaner is its small 4 oz (118 ml) bottle, meaning you'll have to buy them quite often.
#3 KR Strikeforce Clean&Hook Bowling Ball Cleaner
'KR Strikeforce' is a company made up of bowlers who are passionate about helping others enjoy the sport of bowling. We've decided to try out a 'Clean&Hook' bowling ball cleaner as it was not a sprayed cleaner like others on the list. 'Clean&Hook' cleaner is a slower-drying gel for deep cleaning. This cleaner worked best for our test team on balls with more surface as it absorbs a good amount of oil from deeper layers of the bowling ball surface. It was a little harder to aim for the right amount of cleaner compared to sprayed ones, but when you get more experienced this gel cleaner does the work perfectly.
#4 Storm Reacta Foam Bowling Ball Cleaner
Another great and innovative product from 'Storm'. This cleaner comes in a foamy substance, meaning you will get the best cleaning experience without spraying it all out in a week or two. It brings back the tacky feeling of a ball with a fine gloss on its surface. The product is fantastic, just make sure the lid on a bottle is on tight - it leaked out in one of our tester's bowling bags.
#5 Genesis Evolution Maxx Orange Bowling Ball Cleaner
A simple, yet, effective bowling gall cleaner by 'Genesis'. It removes oil and belt marks from a bowling ball, but it was a little harder to wipe out the leftovers of the cleaner with a microfiber towel off the ball compared to its competitors. Overall, it is still a decent product to try.
Don't forget - no matter how good your bowling ball cleaner is, your bowling ball must have a deep clean once in a while. We've prepared an instructional article about bowling ball maintenance at home. Check it out!