About three years age, months after learning to play this glorious game I arrived home to find my gym bag sitting outside the kitchen door on the porch.

"Geez," I thought, "I know this game has become the second love of my life but this reaction is a bit severe."

'There had been mumblings in the past about handball widowhood. Mild complaints about there not being enough ice left for cold drinks but plenty for sore muscles. But I never expected such a harsh reaction to my new found joy. I'd been real good. Really! I'd called when late, washed my own gym clothes, hell, I'd even lost a few pounds. I ventured inside, bag in hand.

'You and the bag are welcome." my wife said. "Whatever it is that has turned rancid in there must leave. Immediately!"

The culprit was easy to find. The expulsion swift. I removed my three-month old, unwashed gloves, banished them from my home and saved my marriage.

Other problems surfaced. Keeping old gloves in my car was not the answer. People began avoiding me. "No, no thanks, it's only a couple of miles, I'd rather walk." And it just takes too long for gloves frozen with sweat to thaw during New England winters. Things began to get pretty strange around the house. My grandfather kept checking for mushrooms. Kids made vague requests about science projects and, I swear, I noticed the EPA staking out my house. There was an obvious solution. Just keep buying them. But that was really cutting to the chase.

Handball is a simple game. You don't need pads, weapons or special tools to play. And, although most players are generous individuals, they are tight as screws when it comes to spending money on a can of balls, a pair of shoes or new gloves. Going to the sporting goods store can be a near-death experience for a handball player. It's hard enough explaining the obvious difference between playing court sports with your hands as opposed to a racquet. You have to actually reach into your pocket and pay with real money!

Sure, I'd read the literature on the glove box about washing gloves, but there weren't any step-by-step instructions. And asking the retailer how to make a disposable product last longer seemed like asking a razor-blade company how to grow a beard. They didn't know anyway.

The case for washing gloves is simple. The more you sweat, the more salt is absorbed by the leather. As water evaporates, it leaves the salt, reducing the capacity of the glove to absorb moisture. Older, unwashed gloves become saturated faster and the leather gets stiffer when it dries. Perfectly sensible, but the message I was getting was that "real handball players don't wash their gloves. Ever."

Although the facts and physics were overwhelming. I wasn't going to pave the way into uncharted territory on this. I'd wait it out until I saw it happen with someone else's gloves. Until then, I'd do What everyone else did. Wear them until they are too cracked and torn, or until they decided to just get up and walk away by themselves.

Then, at a tournament a year or so ago, I spied a pair of soaking wet gloves sitting on a soap dispenser in the shower room. Revelation!

I found out a good soaking, followed by a good squeezing, not wringing, kept gloves in better, but not the best, shape.

"You've got to start washing them from the get go, and every time you play," the owner said. "it washes out the salt before it gets a chance to settle in." There was just too much sense in all this for even the widest-eyed sceptic. It also worked pretty well.

No one listened when I tried to spread the word. Wandering into a shower with a pair of gloves apparently is behaviour that causes concern about mental health among handball players.

The recommendation of Chris Hughes, President of Champion Gloves in Des Moines, Iowa, requires a little work but produces excellent results. He says if you repeat this procedure once or twice a week, depending on how much sweat is absorbed by the gloves, it should double the life of your deerskin gloves.

Fill a wash basin about half-full with lukewarm water and one long squirt of any non-detergent cleanser. Woolite is the most familiar brand. Regular laundry or dish detergents will tear, shrink and ruin your gloves. Swish the gloves around in the water until they are saturated and let them soak. Woolite directions say three minutes. Then, gently wash, squeezing lightly for about a minute. You'll be amazed at what comes out of those gloves! Drain the water and rinse with lukewarm water, squeezing out the suds and as much water as possible. Then air dry.

"The gloves should return to 80 per cent of their softness after being washed properly," Hughes said. Using this method won't revitalise old crusty gloves, but a good cleaning will give you a few more games with them.

Cowhide gloves are more durable and less flexible. Since cowhide is not as washable, Samp recommends using any kind of leather cleaner, like saddle soap, and following the directions prescribed. Rinsing with water alone or using Woolite works also.

Stretchers work well and they're worth it, but not necessary.

There are three definite NEVERS when caring for your gloves:
-NEVER machine wash.
-NEVER machine dry.
-NEVER use detergents.

The results are of the ugliest nature and usually render the gloves useless.

So, the quest is over. A continued happy marriage, the ability to bring my gym bag anywhere, keep new friends and influence people, soft gloves, and I have a few extra bucks for the purchase of beverages after the match. Is this a great life, or what?

Glove Care for Prolonged Life by Al Canali (Handball April 1992)
Created 3rd June 2003
efa@etonfives.co.uk

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