I found 700 golf balls in a pond.  Most have algae on them and I would
like a good way to clean them and restore them to playing condition. 
I don't have time to clean them one by one.  What is the best way to
get them clean?  I have already tried soaking them with dishsoap and
warm water, as well as running them in the washing machine with
towels.

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Request for Question Clarification by feilong-ga on 21 Aug 2004 20:44 PDT

I assume the balls have become yellowish or greenish. Have you tried
using bleaching products such as this one
http://www.clorox.com/products/us_consumer/index.html ?

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Request for Question Clarification by feilong-ga on 21 Aug 2004 22:17 PDT

These products could do the trick:

Coursigns Ball Wash Detergent -- Ball Wash Detergent Liquid
http://www.coursigns.com/golf-course-ball-wash-detergent.htm

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Clarification of Question by salsacures-ga on 21 Aug 2004 22:33 PDT

I have tried ammonia, and it doesn't seem to be breaking up the
blackish algae in the dimples.  I have also tried bleach, and it
doesn't work either.  I would think that there is some product that
the recycled golf ball industry uses to clean their golf balls.  So
far, soaking in dishsoap for a day works the best in softening up the
algae, but it still takes scrubbing one by one to get them clean.

This may sound silly, but a friend of mine has had success in cleaning
old golf balls by using denture-cleansing tablets (the kind that
effervesce in water).

For very dirty/discolored golf balls, try soaking in a large plastic
trash can (30 - 33 gallon) with a half a box of dishwasher soap (1 cup
per 4-5 gallons water). Dishwasher soap -does- contain some bleach,
which can dry the special golf ball surface and make it brittle, very
vulnerable to "smiles", so you'd want to limit exposure.

Commercial golf ball cleaner smells of ammonia, so I imagine you could
experiment that as well, though not in combination with any sort of
bleach.

---l

Peanut or almond nut crushed shells, with the balls in a cement mixer.
They do wonders for brass ammunition cases.

I have been told that some golf balls that have been in water for
several days perform poorly, so you should tell your customers to
expect an occasional dud. Neil

I have now tried washing the balls in dishwasher detergent.  No luck. 
The best results I have had were when I soaked the balls for 1 day in
warm water and dishsoap, and even then it took vigorous scrubbing with
a plastic brush to get the ball clean.

I have now tried washing the balls in dishwasher detergent.  No luck. 
The best results I have had were when I soaked the balls for 1 day in
warm water and dishsoap, and even then it took vigorous scrubbing with
a plastic brush to get the ball clean.  I am intrigued with the cement
mixer and peanut shells, but it doesn't seem very feasible to
implement.

I forgot to add that I had also tried soaking in ammonia and water.  Nope.

I have had luck with soaking the balls in Clorox?  Also, there is an
acid called "Auxillic" that is very hard to find?  Lots of area
courses use this to clean balls retrieved from ponds at our courses. 
Then, of course, resell the balls at $1 each in a bin in the
clubhouse.

A way that I cleaned my golf balls is by using concentrated Oxyclean.
It is not the powder, but the liquid used for washing clothes. It
comes in a blue bottle and the liquid is blue.