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Last updated on October 1, 2021
Cleaning up your dart board, along with learning how to clean darts, is an essential skill any beginning darts player needs to learn. In the same way keeping your dart barrels clean improves your gaming performance, so does keeping a clean board. A poorly maintained dart board will have some very telling issues like pops and blisters, which can ruin the game left unchecked. More than that, though, proper dart board maintenance shows respect for the game and respect for yourself as a committed player.
How to clean a dart board
Cleaning up a dart board is very simple. You only need two things: The dart board itself and a spray bottle full of plain water.
Lightly spray the dart board all over with water to moisten it. This prevents things like blistering which can occur over time if the board becomes too desiccated. Don’t overspray it, because you don’t want mildew to build up. The key is to lightly hydrate the board; you don’t want it wet or even damp, for that matter. If you have a specialized spray bottle for misting finicky house plants, this would be a good time to use it, because it will prevent the whole over spraying issue.
Notice the wire metal ring with numbers on it around the dart board? Many new players are surprised that it’s actually removeable, but this is essential to maintaining your dart board. The numbers will be held in place by tabs. Carefully pop the numbers out of each tab and completely remove them from the dart board.
If you’ve never cleaned your dart board before, it’s likely that the number 20 at the top will be directly above the dart board’s logo. Since the 20-point mark takes a lot of hits in most dart games, it will wear out the quickest, which brings us to our final part of how to clean a dart board.
Rotate your dart board itself so that the metal tab that was near the twenty is now no longer in that spot and that the next tab in sequence is now at the top. Sticking to clockwise or counterclockwise rotation (only) is a good idea because this means you won’t accidentally get one part of the board wearing out quicker. The dart board’s logo should now be off center. Insert the numbers back into the board so that the number 20 is at the top of the board.
Doing this process every couple of months will prolong your dart board’s life by preventing bubbles and ensuring high-play numbers are redistributed over the board to prevent wear.
After you clean the board, don’t forget to clean the surrounding cabinet or wall protector as well!
