Before we speak about dartboard maintenance, it’s critical to note the history of darts is more than 700 years old!

The aim of the game is to achieve the highest level of accuracy in aiming. The game facilities and equipment include a well-lit room, a dartboard, and darts.

But a worn-out dartboard can make it hard to be accurate or enjoy the experience of playing darts.

Your Quick and Simple Solution to Dartboard Maintenane and Renovation

Take your time to read this article because you will learn how to clean a dartboard within 15 minutes using items you have at home already, which means you will do it at a low cost, saving you both time and money.

At a glance

Several factors will affect how long your dartboard lasts.

• Keep your dartboard clean as a way of maintaining it.
• Take care of the surface of the board. It would be obvious you need some service after receiving pricks. Treat your dartboard the same way.
• The position of your board should not only be ideal for the player, but also for its safety to help it last longer.
• Rotate your dartboard. Imagine receiving a series of needles at the same spot every time you visited your doctor, so could it with the board, avoid excessive use of one point.
• Use board-friendly darts. It is wise to ensure that your darts are sharp. Sharpen them after using them for some time.
• Avoid liquids coming into contact with your board. Water and other fluids that make it wet are a no-go zone.
• If the idea is to clean your dartboard, wipe the dirt off of it with a damp cloth.

Various ways of dartboard maintenance

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Mind the environment

It is a general rule of maintaining almost everything in the right condition that you mind about the environment under which you store it.

The most obvious condition is to store in a cool, dry place, away from direct sunlight.

Most people will prefer to keep the board near a window, especially for light reasons.

However, it is wise that you keep the dartboard away from the window to avoid the sun, water, and dust too.

As an alternative for this, have your room well-lit, especially where the dartboard is since it is of essence that you have enough light to play the game.

Rotate Your Dartboard

As earlier highlighted, rotating the board is important in that it ensures that wear and tear do not happen on one point of the dartboard.

Most people aim at the 20 and 19 areas, being the are earning the highest scores, and thus these areas are most affected

How to

To rotate the dartboard, one has to remove the number ring first.

Rotate right till the next black section appears at the top of the board. This means that the section that was initially on the 12^th will move to the initial 20^th.

This equivalence in wear and tear ensures that your board lasts longer.

How frequently do you rotate

This is dependent on the frequency of use.

If the dartboard is for home use, you can imagine you cannot rotate it as frequently as the dartboard

used at a pub.

It is advocated, however, that after a serious two-hour game you rotate it. This ensures consistency in the wear of the surface of your board, which in turn means durability owed to how you maintain it.

Take Care of Your Darts

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• Sharpen your darts–After repeated use, it is expected that the dart gets blunt. When this happens, the darts develop some bounce and end up falling off of the board instead of piercing it.

This means a loss of scores.

Sharpen the tip to ensure that each throw earns you a score.

• Replace parts of dart–The dart has four parts; the tip, barrel, shaft or stem, and flight. Each of these parts has a definite role.

In case one part has malfunctioned, then it is necessary that you replace it to ensure they are in good shape for use on your dartboard.

• Wash the darts–It is very essential to keep the darts

neat and clean.

In the course of use, especially where the play has several players, dirt and grime may stick to the dart. Dust may accumulate on some parts too.

Wash your dart by soaking it in water with some detergent and then scour it with a toothbrush to make it clean.

• Twist, don’t pull–The board is made of bristles. To remove the dart, twist it a little to avoid damaging the board as well as the tip.

This way you can be sure to use your darts for a long time while maintaining them in good shape.

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• Use a mat to avoid causing unnecessary damage to the dart–The rule is, darts on the ground earn no point.

However, once in a while your darts will fall off of the board, perhaps due to a poor throw or due to bounce.

To minimize the damage that might arise from these falls, have a mat under the board so that even if a dart lands on the tip, it will not get blunt.

Cleaning the Dartboard

In order to understand how to clean your dartboard, it is of essence that we briefly look into how it is made.

Most dartboards are made of sisal fibers.

The Sisal plants have to go through a combing process, which leads to the development of a thick roll that is cut and is called Biscuits.

These biscuits are then pressed into a round shape, and a wooden backboard is attached.

After this, the board goes through a sanding process through which any loose sisal fibers are removed.

The final steps include spraying the board with color, attaching a number ring, and adding wires.

Alternatively, we have an electronic dartboard. This is a plastic board the uses soft-tipped darts. This, however, will be discussed at length in a different article altogether.

With this in mind, the points below will help you amp up your dartboard maintenance game.

Dartboard Maintenance 101: Steps to Cleaning a Dartboard

The following steps will help you clean your dartboard easily:

Step # 1:    

Remove the number ring

This ring is an attachment to the board and thus the first step will be to remove it from the dartboard.

More so, the dirt will have held on to it.

Wipe it separately removing the dust. In case it has rust on it you could thoroughly scrub it before using some polish to curb rusting.

Step # 2:

Wipe the board

Using a dry piece of cloth, get rid of the dirt that has held onto the surface of the board.

You could also use a brush to scour the dirt that has held onto the surface of the dartboard.

Step # 3:

Vacuum the board to remove dirt

As opposed to suggestions by some that you use water or some fluid chemicals, use a vacuum cleaner to remove any remaining dirt.

It is apparent that the sisal fibers are closely packed and thus the dirt will not have penetrated too far as to require soaking.

If the piece of cloth did not clean the dirt, then, be sure the vacuum will do.

Step # 4:

Wipe the board with a soft, mildly damp cloth

It is very necessary that the board does not get wet.

The essence of this damp cloth is to catch any pieces of dirt that are stuck, and that the vacuum and the dry cloth could not catch.

This also helps against cracking. If the board got extremely dry, there is a risk of cracking which would not be good too.

Step # 5:   

Wipe the board with a dry cloth once more

The aim is to remove any water and moisture that could have been left on the surface of the dartboard.

This is because dampness will cause the board to rise which eventually leads to damage.

The bristle board could have immediate ruin if exposed to water. Always keep it dry.

After this, get your number ring back and get ready for your throw.

One Alternate Solution To Cleaning a Dartboard

Talk of cleanliness and you touch every aspect of your life. This includes the room in which you play your darts game.

For instance, there is an inclination to have food and drinks around as the game progresses. This could mean having spills on both the darts and the dartboard, which we have seen is detrimental to its life span.

To ensure cleanliness and to avoid cleaning your board, it is advisable to keep a box of sanitizing wipes in your game room so that your friends and family taking part in the game can clean their hands off any dirt and grime that can cause damage to your gear.

If at any point the darts need it, you can clean them with a solution of clean water and mild dishwashing soap.

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Mistakes People Make While Cleaning a Dartboard

Soaking a dartboard to remove dirt. This has been severally addressed but I feel it still is important that I mention it one more time. The further your board gets from liquids, the longer it remains functional, and vice versa.

Related Resources

This video will help you learn how to rotate your dartboard in details

If you are unsure how to sharpen your darts, then this YouTube video could be of help to you. Though it doesn’t happen every other minute, it is a skill worth having, right?

Compare and contrast your sharpened and the unsharpened. Work with what is best according to you.

FAQs

When should I replace my dartboard?

Eventually, your dartboard will be overstretched. It cannot serve you in the right way anymore, then the next thing is to do away and get a new one.

The boards will also at some point incur breakages that cannot be undone. It necessitates for a new board of course.

Before you got this article, you could also have damaged your board beyond refurbish point. Try a new one and follow the guidelines as you have read them. I am sure this will help you get better ideas on dartboard maintenance.

Can you wash a dartboard?

As discussed, it is detrimental to the boards if they become wet. If anything, use a damp cloth to clean the dirt that cannot get cleaned by the alternative means we earlier mentioned.

How to clean mold off a dartboard

Molds are developed when boards come into contact with moisture. This means damage.

Before it gets here curb it. Clean your board regularly.

The storage is the key factor worth checking. Keep your dartboard in its packaging or store in a cool dry place if the board is not in play.

The aim is to avoid wear and tear of the sisal strands or the bristle.

If some sections of the board develop molds, all is not lost. Apply the same cleaning procedure earlier outlined. Scrub it using a wire brush and wipe it off.

If it has done harm that cannot be undone, it is time to go to the shops and be more careful with the dartboards this time round.

Conclusion

I am sure this enlightened you on dartboard maintenance. Remember, maintenance is always easier than refurbishing a dartboard.

Planning to Get a New Dartboard?

All said and done, at some point, your dartboard will have got to a point of no repair. When that time comes you might consider buying a new board. In such a case you may want to consider some of the below dartboards:

1. 7 Best Soft Tip Darts Brands
2. 5 Best Soft Tip Darts Brands That You Can’t Ignore

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