Cleaning Rjdev's toppers (3 Viewers)

[Andrew Marks]

I love the topper the Rjdev made for me, but it has picked up a few light grease stains from some of the more sloppy players in the game. I have tried to spot clean with a damp sponge and Dawn, but the results were less than perfect. What do you all do to clean these toppers? RJ told me that some folks clean them in a washing machine (I assume cold wash). Has anyone tried that and was it successful? Can they then go into the dryer or should they hang dry? Do they still have the same card slide after washing in a machine? Open to other ideas for cleaning if you have them.

 

[buzzmonkey]

I love the topper the Rjdev made for me, but it has picked up a few light grease stains from some of the more sloppy players in the game. I have tried to spot clean with a damp sponge and Dawn, but the results were less than perfect. What do you all do to clean these toppers? RJ told me that some folks clean them in a washing machine (I assume cold wash). Has anyone tried that and was it successful? Can they then go into the dryer or should they hang dry? Do they still have the same card slide after washing in a machine? Open to other ideas for cleaning if you have them.

I would imagine cold water in the washing machine with a light detergent and delicate cycle should be safe. I'd avoid a spin cycle so as not to test the stitching.

 

[Timmah]

So I got some mineral oil on mine. I keep a cover on mine. Turns out it was waterproof. (I now have a waterproof pool table cover on it) I didn’t realize it until weeks later until I pulled the cover off for a game. I was devastated. There was a large stain. I applied Shout to it and let it sit over night, and washed rinsed it off I the sink with cold water. I repeated that process 3 time before the entire stain came off. The stain is gone, and the cards slide like air hockey pucks.

 

[Andrew Marks]

OK just to complete this thread and as a guide to others, I successfully washed RJDev's topper. I threw it in a front-loader washing machine using the Delicate cycle (cold water; lowest spin speed) and a small amount of Tide. The topper was pretty wet when the cycle finished. I laid it out on some towels on the floor, put towels on top and gently blotted as much water as I could without applying too much pressure to the topper. I then let it dry on a clothes drying rack for 24 hours with the art facing up. At that point, the top surface seemed dry, but there were still some places where the rubber was still wet. Mostly those were the spots where the topper was in contact with the drying rack. I let it dry for another 24 hours and it "seemed" dry, but where the rubber contacted the drying rack, there were corresponding depressions (yes they were depressions not raised areas) on the art side and upon closer inspection it turned our the rubber was still damp underneath these spots. I then laid the topper on my table art side down so that the rubber side could completely dry, which it did after another 24 hours and, viola, the depressions on the art side disappeared. All of the stains and discolorations disappeared, but there were one or two spots where a tiny bit of caked on dirt remained (although honestly most folks wouldn't notice), so I would recommend pre-treating any stains or caked on food with Shout or another spray a few minutes before throwing in the washer. There seemed to be just the slightest amount of shrinkage in length (maybe 1/16 - 1/8 inch) but no shrinkage in width. This may simply be due to a contraction of the rubber after wetting and drying back to its original length. Those who have these toppers and tuck any part of it under the rail know that you can actually stretch the topper a bit as it is very pliable. Anyhow, no one is going to notice this almost impreceptable shrinkage (except for us OCDish types). Bottom line: Yes you can wash RJDev's toppers in the washing machine.

 

[Pinkdan]

OK just to complete this thread and as a guide to others, I successfully washed RJDev's topper. I threw it in a front-loader washing machine using the Delicate cycle (cold water; lowest spin speed) and a small amount of Tide. The topper was pretty wet when the cycle finished. I laid it out on some towels on the floor, put towels on top and gently blotted as much water as I could without applying too much pressure to the topper. I then let it dry on a clothes drying rack for 24 hours with the art facing up. At that point, the top surface seemed dry, but there were still some places where the rubber was still wet. Mostly those were the spots where the topper was in contact with the drying rack. I let it dry for another 24 hours and it "seemed" dry, but where the rubber contacted the drying rack, there were corresponding depressions (yes they were depressions not raised areas) on the art side and upon closer inspection it turned our the rubber was still damp underneath these spots. I then laid the topper on my table art side down so that the rubber side could completely dry, which it did after another 24 hours and, viola, the depressions on the art side disappeared. All of the stains and discolorations disappeared, but there were one or two spots where a tiny bit of caked on dirt remained (although honestly most folks wouldn't notice), so I would recommend pre-treating any stains or caked on food with Shout or another spray a few minutes before throwing in the washer. There seemed to be just the slightest amount of shrinkage in length (maybe 1/16 - 1/8 inch) but no shrinkage in width. This may simply be due to a contraction of the rubber after wetting and drying back to its original length. Those who have these toppers and tuck any part of it under the rail know that you can actually stretch the topper a bit as it is very pliable. Anyhow, no one is going to notice this almost impreceptable shrinkage (except for us OCDish types). Bottom line: Yes you can wash RJDev's toppers in the washing machine.

 

[ArielVer18]

OK just to complete this thread and as a guide to others, I successfully washed RJDev's topper. I threw it in a front-loader washing machine using the Delicate cycle (cold water; lowest spin speed) and a small amount of Tide. The topper was pretty wet when the cycle finished. I laid it out on some towels on the floor, put towels on top and gently blotted as much water as I could without applying too much pressure to the topper. I then let it dry on a clothes drying rack for 24 hours with the art facing up. At that point, the top surface seemed dry, but there were still some places where the rubber was still wet. Mostly those were the spots where the topper was in contact with the drying rack. I let it dry for another 24 hours and it "seemed" dry, but where the rubber contacted the drying rack, there were corresponding depressions (yes they were depressions not raised areas) on the art side and upon closer inspection it turned our the rubber was still damp underneath these spots. I then laid the topper on my table art side down so that the rubber side could completely dry, which it did after another 24 hours and, viola, the depressions on the art side disappeared. All of the stains and discolorations disappeared, but there were one or two spots where a tiny bit of caked on dirt remained (although honestly most folks wouldn't notice), so I would recommend pre-treating any stains or caked on food with Shout or another spray a few minutes before throwing in the washer. There seemed to be just the slightest amount of shrinkage in length (maybe 1/16 - 1/8 inch) but no shrinkage in width. This may simply be due to a contraction of the rubber after wetting and drying back to its original length. Those who have these toppers and tuck any part of it under the rail know that you can actually stretch the topper a bit as it is very pliable. Anyhow, no one is going to notice this almost impreceptable shrinkage (except for us OCDish types). Bottom line: Yes you can wash RJDev's toppers in the washing machine.

Thanks for the data point. Which topper do you have? How thick is it?

I have one of his earlier 5mm thick toppers. It was soaking in water for half a year because I didn't know it got wet and left a stain. I tried spraying all-purpose cleaner but it didn't help, so I wanna try your washing machine method.

 

[Andrew Marks]

I have his new ones which are 2mm thick. Mine is custom-made for my table and is a 34 x 85 oval. Picture below. I think it should work regardless of thickness although because the rubber underside does absorb some water, your thicker one might take longer to dry.