Introduction
For those of you that enjoy the sport of basketball and play it in your spare time, you might know the struggles of keeping up with your own game ball. Owning a basketball can be expensive and tedious. Some professional balls are being sold for around $140 and could easily be broken or destroyed in just one simple action. Obviously, nobody wants to lose that much money on an issue that could be easily fixed. That’s where our main topic comes into play. The question is how you can fix a basketball valve that has fallen into the ball itself.
The answer to this is pretty simple, yet there is some variety to it. It’s been stated by a few sources online that using a flexible grabber that you can buy from an Autoparts store would be able to do the trick. These little grabbers need to be small enough in diameter in order to fit through the hole in the ball, then when it goes through the opening, they can extend the claw, grab the valve, and be pulled straight back out.
The basketball valve falling into the ball isn’t the only issue that pops up with basketballs though. Let’s go a little deeper into this topic.
The Valve Won’t Hold Any Air
The valve on your basketball could also not be holding onto any air. If you are getting suspicious that this might be the case, one simple trick that you can do is submerge it underwater. If there are any air bubbles that float up to the surface, then the valve is clearly having issues keeping air inside the ball. Not to worry though, you are able to fix this with a few different methods instead of buying a new ball. The first is to get yourself an inflating needle. The inflating needle helps keep the hole clean so that you can grab a toothpick and slide it smoothly into the valve hole before breaking off the other end of the toothpick. This closes up the valve and acts as a solid sealant.
This doesn’t work all the time though. There are cases where this can make matters worse, or not change anything at all. If that’s the case, then you will need to pick up a valve replacement kit and replace the entire valve by hand. This isn’t the hardest thing to do and is much better than replacing the ball entirely if you have a high-class one.
There’s A Hole In The Ball
The worst-case scenario for basketball owners is if there is a blatant hole in the basketball itself. Most times, you might be thinking that it’s just pointless even spending the extra effort to fix it. However, there are some possibilities of keeping it sealed. For smaller holes, you can actually melt around it to attempt to close it off. That is if you use a rubber ball rather than a leather one. It’s up to you on how you prefer to melt this surrounding area, but some people recommend using a hot knife to do so effectively and efficiently.
There is also something called the Unique Sports Ball Doctor. This is another type of repair kit that has you inserting the liquid into the basketball itself. Once you do that, you bounce the ball as hard as you can for a few minutes to let the liquid inside spread around the basketball. This helps seal any holes that you might be unable to see and does so very efficiently.
Remember To Clean The Ball
A lot of times people feel that their ball is just getting too old to continue using. That it is just becoming slippery and damaged. The problem with that is that a good chunk of people doesn’t clean their basketballs. This means that the ball might not actually be that damaged and could instead just be obscenely dirty.
When a basketball starts becoming incredibly slippery, it could be from sweat, dirt, or water. After all, you are bouncing the ball off the dirty floor for an extended period of time. The ball might not look all that dirty, but that doesn’t mean it’s not negatively impacting the way it feels and how you perform while using it. There are multiple conditioners that you can buy online for leather balls in particular, they are a good investment for those that use their basketballs quite a bit.
It Becomes Deformed
Weirdly enough, basketball can actually become deformed and bent out of shape, yet still operate. Over time, you’ll witness lumps pop up across the ball, which isn’t something that you want. These lumps can change the direction that the ball bounces when you shoot it, when you dribble it, and when you pass it through the air. Most people feel like lumps are a sign that you can’t repair it and need to purchase a new one.
There is a possibility of fixing it though. What you can do is take out all of the air in the basketball and pump it up again at a lower air pressure than what you had it at before. Running a rubber ball under warm water could also help fix some of the shape.
Replacing The Ball
Unfortunately, if you’ve gone through all of these options and the ball is still having issues, you will likely have to get yourself a new ball. While this could be a very disappointing time, it’s not the end of the world. Getting a new ball gives you another opportunity to prepare for the issues that came around while you had your current ball.
On top of that, you will have no problems for the foreseeable future with a brand-new one under your belt. It would be in peak condition straight away, and you might even notice a massive difference between what you were using before and what you are using after getting a new one.