How dirty are pool tables
- Thread starter PoolBoy1
- Start date
They probably are. I wear contacts for pool and when I get home and take them out I scrub my hands vigorously first even though I always wash my hands before I leave the poolroom. My poolroom keeps their tables pretty clean but it doesn't take them long to get dirty after a cleaning.
Dirty enough for people to wear gloves. You didn't think people wore those silly things to help them shoot better, did you?
Don't become a paranoic germaphobe.....
....handling money has the same problems.
If you get too protective, you weaken your immune system.
'course, I lLIKE playin' dirty pool....:grin:
I am with you PT we are a little too sterile as a society. Remember the old saw " A little bit of dirt is good for you" but I wouldn't lick my fingers after a session at the table.
I know they're dirty but I don't want to find out what kind of dirt is on them. The game is mental enough without that knowledge floating around your subconscious.
When I recently had my cloth replaced, I swept up the chalk under the old cloth and I figured that I had about one cube's worth of chalk under there....and I vacuum quite often, about once a week or so.
Note: I also chalk OVER the table bed to protect the carpet in my poolroom.
I know you seem to be asking about germs, but thought I'd throw this one in for some cheap thrills.
Jeff Livingston
Note: I also chalk OVER the table bed to protect the carpet in my poolroom.
I know you seem to be asking about germs, but thought I'd throw this one in for some cheap thrills.
Jeff Livingston
well ya could do money laundering or use plastic.
lol...I figure cloth is cheaper and replaced more often than carpet anyway.
At league, I try to remember to chalk-up over a side pocket so it falls inside the table to be cleaned up when the cloth is replaced...or not..
Jeff Livingston
Absolutely.......the ccloth....the rails....the pool balls......the rack........anyone with a contagious illness......cold, flu, or .....worse......those germs are all oover the pool table........how many oafs do you see cough or sneeze,,,,,,sometimes they cover their mouths & nose,,,,,with their hands, their arm or shirt sleeve.......how many times does one touch their nose or face during a match.......the things a ill person touches is a depositroy for the germs they have.........Anyone doubt the reality and truth expressed in the movie "Contagion"........check with any reputable physician or even the Work Health Organization.......pool rooms are an ideal location for the spreading of any contagious illnesses or germs.
Matt B.
Matt B.
Lol. You'll find any bacteria and virus commonly spread in the pool hall and on the tables. Like you will in a movie theater, subway, bus or anywhere where people congregate and touch things. If you are worried about these things, you should seal yourself in your house and only eat canned food, whose cans have been dunked in boiling water and then opened with a sterilized can opener. Or, you can be a sane human being and realize that the risks of catching a disease is ever present and that you cannot fully protect yourself and lead a full life at the same time.
I've only really been in one bar where I flat out refused to play because of the soiled table surface and rails. Some guy had puked on the table a couple of days before and the rails had blood stains. I figured it was a double health risk playing in that place, so I didn't.
Anyway I wash my hands every couple of hours or so while playing pool. Not because of germs, but because I don't want chalk all over my cue's shaft and the balls.
I've only really been in one bar where I flat out refused to play because of the soiled table surface and rails. Some guy had puked on the table a couple of days before and the rails had blood stains. I figured it was a double health risk playing in that place, so I didn't.
Anyway I wash my hands every couple of hours or so while playing pool. Not because of germs, but because I don't want chalk all over my cue's shaft and the balls.
I didn't build my collection of cues just to sit at home........and I accept the risks associated with playing pool in public places but common sense should tell one that there is health risk exposure. Look at the cast of characters in your local pool hall, the cleanliness of the facility, especially the men's head, the floors, etc. and of course, the actual tables and counter tops.......how often do you smell Lysol or Clorox in the bathrooms.......it should be every day.......and employees behind the counter serving beverages & food.....how often you see them wash their hands or wear disposable gloves when they handle food.....and change the gloves for every customer.......maybe in your world that happens but not in the pool rooms I've frequented and play in.
I am not afraid of germs and I suppose I should be at my age but reality is ......uh,......."Real" and if you think that ebola or some other contagious disease is an exaggeration, you live in a bubble. If you think flu season worry is an overstatement and is nothing to be concerned about, you are ill informed. Everyone makes a decision on how to live and what to do based upon their health and when one is simply unconcerned about it, then whatever befals that person is entirely their own fault. If you have a weak immune system, things are different........if you have susceptibility to respiratory problems, such as Asthma sufferers, things are different........if you have a coronary condition and circulatory isses, things are different......etc.
Live your life as you will but diminishing the overall risks for others or trivializing it, seems misguided, and IMO, a little inappropriate.......I have to dash now....gotta head over to the pool hall for a 10 Ball match at 12:30pm local time.......and I don't wear gloves either.
Matt B.
I am not afraid of germs and I suppose I should be at my age but reality is ......uh,......."Real" and if you think that ebola or some other contagious disease is an exaggeration, you live in a bubble. If you think flu season worry is an overstatement and is nothing to be concerned about, you are ill informed. Everyone makes a decision on how to live and what to do based upon their health and when one is simply unconcerned about it, then whatever befals that person is entirely their own fault. If you have a weak immune system, things are different........if you have susceptibility to respiratory problems, such as Asthma sufferers, things are different........if you have a coronary condition and circulatory isses, things are different......etc.
Live your life as you will but diminishing the overall risks for others or trivializing it, seems misguided, and IMO, a little inappropriate.......I have to dash now....gotta head over to the pool hall for a 10 Ball match at 12:30pm local time.......and I don't wear gloves either.
Matt B.
Dirt
I remember right before keystone cue and cushion shut down in Reno.
Your hands would turn jet black and shiny in 30 minutes of play.
I couldn't handle it, I started playing over at diamond billiards
Jim Gieger did a good job managing the place.
There are several things I didn't care about keystone cue and cushion but they are closed down so its kind of like kicking a dead horse.
Bottom line if the table turns my hands that black that fast then I am not playing there.
Nor drinking or eating there.............................................
Now there is only one pool room in Reno and last time I was there the cloth was so loose it had ripple in it.
I wish keystone cue and cushion was still in business but with the place clean.
But they torn down the building a few years ago.
God how I miss a good pool room that keeps the place clean.
I remember right before keystone cue and cushion shut down in Reno.
Your hands would turn jet black and shiny in 30 minutes of play.
I couldn't handle it, I started playing over at diamond billiards
Jim Gieger did a good job managing the place.
There are several things I didn't care about keystone cue and cushion but they are closed down so its kind of like kicking a dead horse.
Bottom line if the table turns my hands that black that fast then I am not playing there.
Nor drinking or eating there.............................................
Now there is only one pool room in Reno and last time I was there the cloth was so loose it had ripple in it.
I wish keystone cue and cushion was still in business but with the place clean.
But they torn down the building a few years ago.
God how I miss a good pool room that keeps the place clean.
Jillian's, Boston
Not quite at the level of vomit and blood, but Jillian's clearly couldn't care less about their equipment. Dead rails, loose pockets, thread bare cloth.... neither tables nor balls have been cleaned in years... yea, wash your hands regularly!
The chalk basket at the counter has only chalk that's worn to exhaustion. Begging is required for new chalk.
This week I watched a dedicated player attempt to brush his table clean. A cloud of dirt flew off the table with each sweep.
OK, just to keep this rant slightly on point: germs?>>> absolutely.
You might consider a glove while playing here... make that a pair... of surgical gloves!
Not quite at the level of vomit and blood, but Jillian's clearly couldn't care less about their equipment. Dead rails, loose pockets, thread bare cloth.... neither tables nor balls have been cleaned in years... yea, wash your hands regularly!
The chalk basket at the counter has only chalk that's worn to exhaustion. Begging is required for new chalk.
This week I watched a dedicated player attempt to brush his table clean. A cloud of dirt flew off the table with each sweep.
OK, just to keep this rant slightly on point: germs?>>> absolutely.
You might consider a glove while playing here... make that a pair... of surgical gloves!
Paranoia?
They say it's not "paranoia" if the threats are real.
In today's world of countless infectious agents, caution is not a fault, it's just a logical concern for one's health.
I fully understand what you say about the immune system. Does that mean we should never wash? Would you advocate re-using hypodermic needles in hospitals?
Or surgeons not scrubbing before picking up a scalpel?
I wash my hands every time after playing pool...and I do the same every time I handle money. Paper money comes in contact with all manner of people with contagious illnesses.
They say it's not "paranoia" if the threats are real.
In today's world of countless infectious agents, caution is not a fault, it's just a logical concern for one's health.
I fully understand what you say about the immune system. Does that mean we should never wash? Would you advocate re-using hypodermic needles in hospitals?
Or surgeons not scrubbing before picking up a scalpel?
I wash my hands every time after playing pool...and I do the same every time I handle money. Paper money comes in contact with all manner of people with contagious illnesses.