A slower table is a symptom, not a maintenance instruction. Before brushing harder, changing the heater or ordering cushions, identify what is installed and what has changed. This worksheet helps you separate routine care from a fault that needs inspection.
Start with a table card
Record the table model, bed and cushion cloth, cleaning tool, installation date and the relevant care instructions. If the cloth is unknown, ask the installer before trying a new method. A treatment approved for one product is not permission to use it on every surface.
Before play, inspect for loose cloth, tears, debris and marks; note the ball set and room conditions. After a session, record the care actually performed. Use exposure and the product instructions to set a schedule, not a universal daily or annual rule.
Match the motion to the tool
Simonis specifies light back-and-forth movement for the X-1, followed by gentle parallel finishing passes. Its no-liquid instruction concerns the tool’s textile pad. It does not establish a rule that every table must always be brushed in one direction.
The US Simonis care page permits careful vacuuming with a non-rotating head and without excessive suction; it says to test the attachment away from the table first. The X-1 page warns that daily vacuuming may damage cloth. Read these as method- and equipment-specific guidance, not a recommendation to vacuum every table daily.
Keep moisture instructions separate
The US care page allows a clean damp, not wet, towel after vacuuming, with complete drying before play and a light finishing brush or X-1 pass. That conditional instruction is not general approval for synthetic cloth, cushion cloth or a different manufacturer’s product.
Do not infer that steam, an iron, household spray or stronger pressure will solve a stain. Check the actual care instructions or ask the installer. Photograph the affected area and record what was spilled or used so the advice can be specific.
Compare before diagnosing
Use the same starting marks and a modest repeatable stroke; change one factor at a time. These comparisons narrow the question for a technician. They do not certify level, ball roundness or cushion elasticity.
| Observation | Useful comparison | What to report |
|---|---|---|
| A slow roll bends | Swap the ball; repeat in reverse and on another lane | Whether the deviation follows the ball or the table area |
| One cushion returns differently | Repeat comparable approaches at more than one point | Contact location, ball, stroke and observed return |
| Speed changes after care | Compare with the same ball set after the surface is fully dry | Method, tool, time and any remaining patchiness |
Know when routine care ends
Stop play on a visible tear, loose covering or a suspected equipment fault and ask the fitter how to proceed. A persistent unusual rebound deserves inspection of the installation and cushion assembly; it does not by itself prove that the rubber needs replacing.
For a heated table, follow its own operating instructions. There is no single temperature or continuous-on schedule established by the care sources here. Do not improvise electrical work or turn levelling adjusters merely because one ball curved.
A useful service record is: date → observation → comparison → action → result. Keep the original photos and the fitter’s recommendation. Judge a cloth change by its condition and the intended use, not by a promised number of months or guaranteed restoration of a diamond formula.