Keeping your chalk moist

W

WillyCornbread

Break and One
Silver Member
Anyone have any clever methods to store and keep chalk moist? I play mostly on my home table in my basement and I have a de-humidifier running to keep the room dry.

I've noticed that after about 3 days any chalk I have down there basically turns into dust. For awhile I tried every chalk on the market (except Kamui) thinking it was that. I've tried keeping the chalk in a ziploc bag and in my case when not using it and it doesn't seem to work. The humidity is around 45%.

I was wondering about a little piece of sponge in there, or something like that. The oddest idea I have come up with is to put a small piece of a carrot in my chalk ziploc. I know this sounds insane, but I've used carrots before to keep some herb from drying out.

Yes - this is a lot of words about chalk, but man it's driving me nuts to have a pile of dust on my shaft...

Thanks,

b
 
RickLafayette

RickLafayette

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
Silver Member
In the old days, before humidifiers, to keep the glue on expensive guitars from drying out, they would cut a potato in half and keep half in the guitar case. That's why a lot of old vintage guitar cases have that funky smell in them.
 
K

KissedOut

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
WillyCornbread said:
Anyone have any clever methods to store and keep chalk moist? I play mostly on my home table in my basement and I have a de-humidifier running to keep the room dry.

I've noticed that after about 3 days any chalk I have down there basically turns into dust. For awhile I tried every chalk on the market (except Kamui) thinking it was that. I've tried keeping the chalk in a ziploc bag and in my case when not using it and it doesn't seem to work. The humidity is around 45%.

I was wondering about a little piece of sponge in there, or something like that. The oddest idea I have come up with is to put a small piece of a carrot in my chalk ziploc. I know this sounds insane, but I've used carrots before to keep some herb from drying out.

Yes - this is a lot of words about chalk, but man it's driving me nuts to have a pile of dust on my shaft...

Thanks,

b
Click to expand...

In other situations folks use a piece of orange peel as a 'keep moist' toss in. Maybe that will work for chalk?
 
G

garczar

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
WillyCornbread said:
Anyone have any clever methods to store and keep chalk moist? I play mostly on my home table in my basement and I have a de-humidifier running to keep the room dry.

I've noticed that after about 3 days any chalk I have down there basically turns into dust. For awhile I tried every chalk on the market (except Kamui) thinking it was that. I've tried keeping the chalk in a ziploc bag and in my case when not using it and it doesn't seem to work. The humidity is around 45%.

I was wondering about a little piece of sponge in there, or something like that. The oddest idea I have come up with is to put a small piece of a carrot in my chalk ziploc. I know this sounds insane, but I've used carrots before to keep some herb from drying out.

Yes - this is a lot of words about chalk, but man it's driving me nuts to have a pile of dust on my shaft...

Thanks,

b
Click to expand...
I've often helped-out an opponent in this fix by spitting in his chalk. For some reason i've never gotten the response i was going for. ;)
 
C

ChrisinNC

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
WillyCornbread said:
Anyone have any clever methods to store and keep chalk moist? I play mostly on my home table in my basement and I have a de-humidifier running to keep the room dry.

I've noticed that after about 3 days any chalk I have down there basically turns into dust. For awhile I tried every chalk on the market (except Kamui) thinking it was that. I've tried keeping the chalk in a ziploc bag and in my case when not using it and it doesn't seem to work. The humidity is around 45%.

I was wondering about a little piece of sponge in there, or something like that. The oddest idea I have come up with is to put a small piece of a carrot in my chalk ziploc. I know this sounds insane, but I've used carrots before to keep some herb from drying out.

Yes - this is a lot of words about chalk, but man it's driving me nuts to have a pile of dust on my shaft...

Thanks,

b
Click to expand...
I'm a little confused. If it's such a problem, seems like the simple solution is to keep your chalk upstairs, only take a piece or two you'll be using downstairs when you play, then always bring it back upstairs when you finish playing.
 
W

WillyCornbread

Break and One
Silver Member
ChrisinNC said:
I'm a little confused. If it's such a problem, seems like the simple solution is to keep your chalk upstairs, only take a piece or two you'll be using downstairs when you play, then always bring it back upstairs when you finish playing.
Click to expand...

This makes entirely too much sense, carrying heavy chalk all around my house :rolleyes:

Seriously, good suggestion and would solve my problems ahahha. However, now I've got a carrot in a little chalk box and I can't turn back now...

b
 
M

maha

from way back when
Silver Member
i have 45 humidity and dont find any problems with my chalk ever. maybe you are chalking too hard. all chalk gets all over the tip and soon on the shaft. that is part of pool. it all comes off easily.
 
slide13

slide13

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Ineresting...I've never thought chalk was too dry, but I've played in humid places where the chalk just never seemed to go on right and I always attributed it to the moisture in the chalk.
 
Black-Balled

Black-Balled

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
WillyCornbread said:
This makes entirely too much sense, carrying heavy chalk all around my house :rolleyes:

Seriously, good suggestion and would solve my problems ahahha. However, now I've got a carrot in a little chalk box and I can't turn back now...

b
Click to expand...

Correct. No turning back now.

To too funny::withstupid:
 
KRJ

KRJ

Support UKRAINE
Silver Member
WillyCornbread said:
. I've tried keeping the chalk in a ziploc bag and in my case when not using it and it doesn't seem to work. The humidity is around 45%.

Thanks,

b
Click to expand...

You think 45% humidity is "dry" ? The basement is the dampest part of the house. I have 2 dehumidifiers running in the summer all day, and I get down to around 35 to 40.

That is not 'dry" but keeps it from getting to moist and causing smells, or having the wood get to wet, including the floors above it.

Heck, in the winter time, we put the humidifier on 30 or more percent so the air is not to dry.

My chalk is fine in the basement, and I'm not plugging my chalk, but all of the competitors chalk is stored in the basement as well, and they seem to be fine as well at that level of 35% to 40%. I wish I could say the competition turned to dust, but I can't. Never had an issue with any brand of chalk in my basement. And I'm always trying out other brands just to see what's out there.

Heck, I've still got Silver Cup that was my choice of chalk before I found Magic Chalk, stuff has been down there since I got my pool table 15 years ago, and is still fine as I use it to set on the rails and such when doing drills.
 
Johnny Rosato

Johnny Rosato

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
WillyCornbread said:
Anyone have any clever methods to store and keep chalk moist? I play mostly on my home table in my basement and I have a de-humidifier running to keep the room dry.

I've noticed that after about 3 days any chalk I have down there basically turns into dust. For awhile I tried every chalk on the market (except Kamui) thinking it was that. I've tried keeping the chalk in a ziploc bag and in my case when not using it and it doesn't seem to work. The humidity is around 45%.

I was wondering about a little piece of sponge in there, or something like that. The oddest idea I have come up with is to put a small piece of a carrot in my chalk ziploc. I know this sounds insane, but I've used carrots before to keep some herb from drying out.

Yes - this is a lot of words about chalk, but man it's driving me nuts to have a pile of dust on my shaft...

Thanks,

b
Click to expand...
Store it with your weed. If your weed is comfy, so is your chalk !!!
 
Floyd_M

Floyd_M

"Have Cue, Will Travel"
Silver Member
I live 1.25 miles from Lake Michigan. Play leagues 2 times a week.
I have cue chalk that I weekly use that's from 6 years ago... tho it's looking like a square "Life Saver", but it still performs like new.
I keep my cue case is in the house and sometimes overnight in the garage, it's also in my pant's "coin pocket" for a week upstairs.
MAYBE :rolleyes: you have a chalk eating bug in your basement?

What I know of cue chalk, moisture is not healthy for the chalks binder.
Chalk that went through the wash & dry turns to semi-MUSH and rubs off like a thick paste, of course it's no good and tossed.
 
W

WillyCornbread

Break and One
Silver Member
Okay, so I checked the humidity and it actually is closer to 35%, but what I'm hearing is that shouldn't be a problem either...

So the mystery remains, it's definitely drying out and dustier, when I play at the hall and in tournaments, sometimes I'll use the hall chalk because it's not a dusty mess and sticks better.

To be clear, I'm not blaming this on any particular chalk - I'm just finding it interesting, and now I'm even more intrigued about my dusty chalk issue....

Thanks for playing along :)

I'm making a note to update this critically important thread in a couple weeks with the results of my carrot experiment.

b
 
Floyd_M

Floyd_M

"Have Cue, Will Travel"
Silver Member
WillyCornbread said:
Okay, ... So the mystery remains, it's definitely drying out and dustier, when I play at the hall and in tournaments, sometimes I'll use the hall chalk because it's not a dusty mess and sticks better.
... a couple weeks with the results of my carrot experiment.
b
Click to expand...
Go out and scrounge up other well used pool halls chalks and put them in your basement. see what happens. :thumbup:
 
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