Best Way to Clean Used Golf Balls
Warm water, a squirt of washing-up liquid and ten patient minutes will clean almost any used golf ball you find, buy or dig out of a practice net, and none of the methods worth trying risk the cover. Everything else is detail: which brush you use, how you dry them, and what you do when the dirt turns out to be a cut. This guide covers the method that comes out best when you compare the published approaches, the mid-round kit that keeps mud off the ball, and the honest limits of what a wash can fix. If you buy second-hand balls by the sack, the last two sections are worth your time.
- A ten to fifteen minute soak in warm water with a squirt of washing-up liquid loosens almost every bit of dirt a used ball picks up.
- Work over the dimples with a soft toothbrush or a microfibre cloth, then rinse under a cold tap and air dry properly.
- Boiling water, dishwasher cycles and abrasive powders do more harm than good, so keep them out of the routine.
- Mid-round, a clip-on washer such as the Happy Golfer ball washer saves you playing a mud-covered ball off the tee.
Why bother cleaning used balls
Dirt doesn't make a ball unplayable, but grit sitting in the dimples is doing nothing helpful for the cover you paid for, and a filthy ball hides the flaws you would otherwise spot. Second-hand balls arrive with a worse reputation than they deserve: most lake and recycled balls are simply stained, and stain is a cleaning problem rather than a performance one. A quick scrub under the tap doubles as an inspection, because hairline cuts and shaved covers show up the moment the mud goes. Anything with real damage goes in the practice bag, and the rest go back in play without a second thought.
The method that works every time
Fill a bowl with water you would happily wash your hands in: warm, never hot, because heat is the one ingredient every cleaning guide in our comparison flags as the risk. Add a generous squirt of ordinary washing-up liquid and drop the balls in to soak for ten or fifteen minutes, which lifts the grass, tank film and dried mud before anyone picks up a brush.
After the soak, work over each ball with a soft toothbrush or a fingertip cloth, paying attention to the dimple rings where grit settles. A thick Minky microfibre cloth does this without asking anything of the cover, while a bulk pack like the Amazon Basics cloths means you can bin one when it gets grubby rather than nursing it along. Rinse under a cold tap, give each ball a shake, and stand them on a dry tea towel somewhere warm and airy.
Two small habits finish the job properly. Pen marks on recycled balls lift with a cotton bud and a careful dab of nail polish remover, though it's worth trying one ball first to see how the cover reacts. Yellowed balls, common in bulk second-hand lots, respond to a longer soak rather than anything harsher, and some guides suggest a diluted hydrogen peroxide bath as the second line of attack. Start gentle, because everything aggressive can wait until gentle has failed.
Keeping them clean mid-round
The kitchen-sink routine is for the batch at home; on the course the job is simpler. Most tee grounds have a ball washer, and the ones that don't are where a clip-on washer earns its space: fill it at the tap, dunk the ball, twist, and the worst of the mud is gone before you address the shot. The Happy Golfer ball washer sits in the low twenties, and the Clean Flight washer comes as a two-pack so one can live in the trolley cup holder and one in the bag.
Between washes, a damp microfibre cloth in a zip bag handles a ball that has picked up nothing worse than dust. Wipe it, pocket it, and save the proper soaking for when you are home.
Methods we would avoid
Dishwashers come up in every thread on this subject, and the cautious answer is the right one: heat, harsh detergent and balls knocking together can scuff a cover, and nobody needs twenty minutes that badly. The same logic rules out boiling water, which the cleaning guides we compared warn can blister or crack a cover, and any oven or radiator short-cut.
Abrasive powders and wire wool are the other trap. They will shift a stain, and they will take the sheen off a urethane cover while they are at it, which is a poor trade on a ball you plan to keep playing. Bleach also gets recommended online for yellowed balls, and it isn't worth the risk to your hands or the cover when a long soak handles the same staining. When a method needs protective gloves, it has stopped being a ball-cleaning method.
Drying and storage
A wet ball put away in a sealed bag is how you earn the faint mustiness every second-hand lot is famous for, so dry them properly before they retire to the pocket. Stand the batch on a tea towel in a warm room or spread them along a windowsill, and give them an hour rather than five minutes. British winters make this the step people skip, and it's the step that matters, because damp balls in a cold bag go musty and musty balls get dumped. Dry storage, away from the radiator and out of the shed, keeps a cleaned ball clean.
When cleaning won't save a ball
Scrubbing fixes dirt, and dirt was never the problem with a damaged ball. Cracked covers, deep cuts and the shaved patches that turn up on well-used lake balls don't wash out, and playing a cut ball accelerates the damage in short order. Collect the damaged ones into a practice bag and spend the good balls on the course, because cleaning stretches a sleeve rather than resurrecting a casualty. Yellowing on its own is cosmetic, so a stained but intact ball stays in play without apology.
Products mentioned
- Happy Golfer Golf Ball Cleaner and Washer - clip-on washer for bag or trolley, about £21, rated 4.6 out of 5 from 52 Amazon ratings.
- Clean Flight Premium Golf Ball Washer - two-pack so the trolley and the bag each get one.
- Minky Microfibre Multi-Pack - thick lint-free cloths for the dimple scrub and the final buff.
- Amazon Basics Microfibre Cloth, Pack of 24 - cheap bulk cloths for the sink, with no guilt about binning one.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best way to clean used golf balls?
Warm water, a squirt of washing-up liquid and a ten to fifteen minute soak, followed by a soft brush over the dimples, a cold rinse and a proper air dry. That routine covers the grass, dried mud and tank stains that turn up on second-hand balls, and it's the approach the published cleaning guides agree on.
Can you put golf balls in the dishwasher?
You can, and you probably shouldn't. Cleaning guides flag heat, strong detergent and balls knocking together as a scuffing risk, and the twenty minutes saved aren't worth a cracked cover. A bowl of warm water does the same work with none of the jeopardy.
Does cleaning a golf ball improve how it plays?
Cleaning takes grass and grit off the cover and out of the dimples, which puts the ball back to the shape its maker built. What it can't do is fix a cut or a shave mark, so the honest reading is that cleaning restores a ball rather than upgrades one.
How do you remove old stains and pen marks?
Soak first, then lift pen marks with a cotton bud and a careful dab of nail polish remover, trying one ball before doing the whole lot. Yellowing responds to a longer soak, and published guides also suggest a diluted hydrogen peroxide bath when patience runs out.
Are second-hand golf balls worth buying?
Most lake and recycled balls are stained rather than damaged, and a wash costs almost nothing, so a sorted lot is good value for casual rounds and practice. Check each ball for cuts as you clean it, and keep anything damaged for the range only.
How often should you clean golf balls?
After any round in wet or muddy conditions, before a ball goes into long-term storage, and whenever one feels gritty in the hand. For dry summer rounds, a wipe mid-round usually carries things until the next proper soak at home.
Tom compares golf gear for WeekendGolfer - balls, clubs, bags and gadgets. He plays off 14 at a municipal course and says when the cheaper option does the same job.
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Last reviewed: September 24, 2026 · Evidence-based content · Contains affiliate links