Since the GUYS on the general forum didn't answer me, I figured I'd ask here -- I can't be the only baseball mom who doesn't know how or if a glove should be cleaned! I guess after 10 years of ball (son is 14 now) we should know this! Especially for catcher's mitts. Any advice? As the gloves get more high end the older he has gotten, it has occurred to me that there must be some sort of maintenance we(or really, he) should be doing. HELP fellow moms!

I use the "Glove stuff" and it works great.

http://www.sandalady.com/

Sorry I did not see your post in the general fourm.

emeraldvlly,
What exactly do you mean by " cleaned ".
What is it that you are trying to get off of the glove?
I'm asking because other than my son conditioning his glove from time to time, I've never known him to clean it. (?)
Did the glove fall into something " icky " or have something spilled on it?

You're gonna touch the sacred glove??? WOW! Nobody, but nobody is allowed to handle my son's "baby". He once left her at a practice facility by herself for about 20 minutes (we were 10 minutes away when he realized she was missing). We spun around and picked her up and her held her for the entire 2 hour ride home!

Have to say its kind of funny to see how serious guys are about their equipment gloves. When son got his current love, a year or so ago, her brought her to his next pitching lesson. Coach admired the glove and asked permission to put his hand in it. I was floored, but they both told me that's how its supposed to be. You don't mess with another man's "baby" without permission. Gotta be a guy thing

No "icky" stuff! But you know how the infield dirt collects in all the nooks and crannies of a catcher's mitt? (Especially during a rainy game)I've just wondered if maybe it would be smart to get some of the ground-in dirt out occasionally. I've been trying to imagine what a glove could "fall into"! I guess the ground in a dugout can be pretty discusting. Now THAT is a sacred place. I am allowed to touch the glove -- but I would NEVER think of entering the dugout!

About the special bond between a guy and his glove -- my son does love his gloves. But the one thing he has insisted I keep for "sentimental" reasons is not the first glove; the bat he hit his first homerun with; a favorite team jersey -- for some reason I will never understand, I have been forbidden from ever getting rid of last year's cleats! He has had so many athletic shoes over the years -- and I've always given them to Goodwill when he outgrows them. But not these size 11 beauties!

Well, I checked with my son who used to be a catcher before HS and he says to just take a light soft brush ( tooth brush ) and basically " flick " the dried dirt out if need be, although he looked nervous at the mere suggestion of someone cleaning a glove,... ( he had such hesitation in his voice that you would have thought that I asked how to touch up paint Monalisa's smile on the original painting with a black sharpie!!! geesh! )

He said that he personally had never cleaned his glove ( why doesnt that suprise me? ha! ),..even after gatorade was spilled on it ( both icky and sticky- ha!) by a team mate.

Hmmm,.....not sure this is the best advice because he is no longer a catcher.

Wheres Momof2catchers?
I bet she knows!

Well,(sheepish grin)I have no idea! We have never cleaned gloves here other than just wiping them out now and then with a damp cloth. Back in the days when I was a catcher (history has a way of repeating itself), I used to use shoe polish on my glove when it got so dusty that it wouldn't hang onto a ball anymore (I'm sure it was just the dust!!) But I never even considered getting all the dirt out of the little crevices of the glove.

If I may interrupt.....

Let me preface this by saying that I have an older daughter (college Frosh) that played softball and golf in HS and now college golf, and a 14u son (baseball & Football...and basketball) and if I didn't clean thier equipment, it would STILL be caked with mud!

For thier gloves, when dirty, I'd "clean" them with a damp rag and then oil as needed; maybe once pre-season, once during and once at the end of the season.

Good day ladies.

Beeeezer to the rescue!!!

If you're talking about repairing gloves, i would highly recommend this guy Kenny's glove repair..we sent our son's glove to this guy and not only did he return in great shape, he charged a very reasonable amount and made several follow up calls to see if we were satisfied..totally understand that sending the glove "away" was pretty scary for our son...he called us the minute the glove arrived and called us when he sent it back..nice guy
http://www.kennysgloverepair.com/

My son is a catcher and he conditions his gloves and mitt about once a year or when they start feeling a little yucky or dry. He uses Nokona glove conditioner on them. You can get it at most sporting good stores.

Its not just a guy thing. Its a ballplayer thing. Especially to a catcher. I am surprised my teammate let me use her catcher's mitt let alone take it home when she went on vacation. Of everything a catcher has the most important tool of his or her trade is the mitt.

Another baseball playing girl here.