It is important for players to know how to improve the overall conditions of their gloves. Without proper maintenance, it is possible that our gloves are not too far away from crumbling and coming apart. The laces can be brittle and hard; while the leather can be increasingly stiff. The problem is, the gloves themselves may not be too old and we purchased them not too long ago. This could happen to both low-cost and fairly expensive gloves. Fortunately, there are things that we can do to prevent this kind of nuisance. It is important for us to know how to deal with these constant breakages. It is a bad thing to lose our favourite baseball gloves due to simple neglects. When left untreated, our gloves can usually become stiff and very dry.
An important thing to consider is that we should make sure that these gloves are always like in a brand new condition. It means that the surface of the gloves should be mostly soft, including the laces and leather surface. In order to maintain the softness of the gloves, we should make sure that the gloves are protected against heat, sun, water and various environmental elements. There are special conditioner products that can make sure our gloves in good condition. In this case, we should avoid applying random type of oils on our gloves. Improper type of oil could actually clog the pores of our gloves. If this happens, our gloves could actually become weaker and they could slowly disintegrate. This is something that we want to avoid at all cost.
After the baseball season ends and we are preparing for the cold winter, it is important that we maintain our gloves; before we store them. They should be cleaned and maintained. Use a thin coat of conditioner on the surface of the gloves, especially if the surface is dry. Often, gloves could be muddy and damp. In this case, we need to remove all the mud and dirt. When drying the gloves, we shouldn’t leave it under the sun or put it in the oven. The best way is to put the gloves in places with good air circulation. The gloves should be let dry outside and inside by itself. Often, even if the gloves are not exposed to sun light or other sources of intense heat, they still feel drier than usual. Again, this is a good time for us to apply a thin coat of conditioner on the surface.
Before storing the gloves, we should keep laces snug. Any broken laces should be fixed and things must be like when we originally purchased the glove. If we keep our gloves conditioned and clean, we should be able to keep them usable for a longer period of time. This is an important fact that we need to consider. After performing the above steps, we should be able to make sure that our gloves still look good. The leather should maintain its overall softness and color tone. Laces should still be strong and snug.