Pet Care 101

Used Tennis Balls – what are they good for?   by David Howson

The humble used tennis ball can have tons of possible uses, several clear, several less so. Read about some examples of the things that you could do with a load of used tennis balls:

Doggy Toys

Little evident, this one- but dogs simply like to chase and fetch tennis balls. If similar to our canine friend, your dog savors tennis balls to play with- chase, fetch and bring- but has a regrettable capacity to loose them when out on a walk around the block, you may have as well searched for an inexpensive substitute. Our four-legged friend is in love with his tennis balls and will always carry one to drop at your feet when it’s walk time. He loves to chase them when thrown for him, or better, when flung with a type of plastic ball flingers it is possible to buy. Unfortunately, he likes to carry them whenever he’s got them- and then loves to drop them when we aren’t watching, preferably in some impenetrable undergrowth! The net consequence is- we forever need more! We’ve tried low cost tennis balls from toys shops, but he is a huge dog and a few squeezes of his jaw tends to pop these apart at the seams, which renders them useless and I also fret they might prove dangerous to him if he went on to chew them. The solution I stumbled upon is to purchase second-hand tennis balls- I had no idea there was a market for such things! We usually keep a ample supply of used tennis balls available- our canine friend tends to lose them after some time and used is such a lot less expensive than new. You will find that used good quality brand tennis balls are better value than new inferior quality balls- the dog tends to destroy them rapidly. Make absolutely certain they do not sit down and chew them- they’re fun toys, not enjoyable dog chews!

As Practice Balls

Used tennis balls may have lost some of their rebound in comparison with new, but likely still have some life remaining in them for practice. Attempt a bounce test, in comparison to a new ball and utilise those that apparently have some life remaining in them. Naturally, used tennis balls are great for a ‘knock- around’ in the park.

Great for Children and Seaside Sports

The humble used tennis ball is also great for just basically playing with- games of catch, piggy in the middle, seaside cricket and rounders all spring to mind- and becasue they are so affordable it doesn’t actually matter if Pops hits it into the sea and manages to lose it. Again.

In The Tumble Dryer

Yes, really. Tennis balls added to the dryer with the clothing can help to soften the clothes. They are reportedly particularly good for downy items. I have also noticed it claimed that they even help capture animal hairs from the clothes in their fuzz. Perhaps they might even go in the wash to help agitate the clothes and trap hairs there?

Protecting Hard Flooring or Lowering Noise

If you have hard floors, especially wooden ones, you’ll know that some chairs moved carelessly could mark the flooring. Also, they could make a lot of noise- chairs pushed back on a tiled floor for instance. If this is an issue for you, take a suggestion from the school class room- and fit used tennis balls to the legs of your chairs. No more noise, no more damage. To achieve this, create a cross shaped cut in the top of a tennis ball just large enough to take the chair leg, and press the ball on to the leg. Do this for each and every leg and muffle the chair! Be careful, however, as tennis balls are tough and take a lot of cutting. I’d suggest drilling a hole in the top of the ball to start with(employing a hss drill bit) making it easier to get a knife in to cut the cross shape. Use a craft or utility knife with a sharp blade to make the cuts.

Caring for hard floors

You know the way in which some shoes and boots can leave black marks on a hard floor(I have seen this with both laminate wooden flooring and quality vinyl) that can be delicate to get rid of? Well, the ubiquitous tennis ball is handy here too- that fuzz makes a wonderful light scourer- rub gently and see the mark lift away. To make it even easier- create a cross shaped cut in your tennis ball(as described previously) and fit the ball over the top of a broom handle. So you can sweep up, then flip the broom over and make use of the tennis ball to rub at obstinate marks, all without bending down! Almost definitely there has to be numerous other things that you can do using a used tennis ball, but there’s a starter for ten.

Finally- how about using them to offer a home for a field mouse? The BBC reported this is what was happening to used tennis balls from the Wimbledon championships Maybe your pet mice or even your hamster would find something comparable fun?

About the Author

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