Firstly, let’s look at why you might want to iron your pool table. There seems to be a widespread misconception about what ironing a pool table is meant to accomplish. Many people think it’s a way to get rid of wrinkles or creases in their pool table felt, but this is not the case. It’s actually meant to improve the speed and performance of certain types of felt.
Humidity
But before we get into that, let’s debunk the wrinkle myth. We’ll start by examining what causes wrinkles in the first place.
Pool table felt can become wrinkled for two main reasons - humidity and improper installation. Both of these can cause the felt to become loose, which allows the fabric to bunch up or become pinched by any pressure exerted by the players’ hands or the balls themselves.
Improper Installation
Humidity
Improper Installation
Why Ironing Isn’t the Solution To Wrinkles
The only reliable way to get wrinkles out of pool table felt is to have the felt re-stretched. Wrinkles only form when the felt is loose, so re-tightening it is the only long-term solution. Other remedies may work in the short term but only treat the symptom, not the cause.
If the wrinkles are the result of looseness due to humidity, using a dehumidifier may help the felt tighten up again, but not in every case. Ironing the felt will only remove wrinkles temporarily and won’t make the felt any tighter.
Before Installation
Why Ironing Isn’t the Solution To Wrinkles
Before Installation
After Installation
When you buy pool table felt, it’s typically folded up into a neat square. If it’s been in storage for a while or has been compressed under weight, it will likely have sharp creases running through it, making it look like a checkerboard when it’s laid out. Many people are tempted to iron out these creases before the felt is installed. This is a mistake - not only will it potentially damage the felt, but it’s also unnecessary since the creases will flatten when the felt is stretched over the playing surface.
After Installation
Worsted Cloth & Woolen Cloth
If the felt is stretched and installed properly, there should be no wrinkles whatsoever in the playing surface. If there are, ironing them may work temporarily but it won’t address the root cause, and the wrinkles will only come back in a short time.
Now that we know why ironing won’t do much good against wrinkles, let’s look at what it is good for. To do so, we first need to understand a little bit about the different types of pool table cloth.
Worsted Cloth
Worsted Cloth & Woolen Cloth
The first thing to understand is that pool table felt isn’t actually felt - at least not the kind you’ll find in your average craft store. Pool table cloth is typically made from wool or a blend of wool and either nylon or polyester.
Woolen Cloth
Now, there are two main types of pool table cloth - worsted and woolen.
Worsted Cloth
In Summary
Worsted cloth, sometimes referred to as American cloth, is spun and woven to give it a smooth texture with no fuzzy threads or nap sticking up. Since it is smooth and non-directional, worsted cloth allows balls to roll faster and longer over the playing surface (which is why it’s also often called speed cloth). For this reason, worsted cloth is considered the best and is the only cloth used in professional tournaments. It is usually found on tables 8’ or larger or on high-end tables — though some smaller coin-op tables do have it.
Woolen Cloth
Worth checking out: If you need replacement felt, take a look at the Championship Saturn II Billiard Felt on Amazon.
Related Articles
For more on this topic, check out pool table felt guide, best felt color, how long felt lasts, refelting costs, and how felt is attached.
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