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Old Tennis Balls

Old Tennis Balls

Q. Playing tennis over time I have found the balls can’t be used effectively anymore. Does anyone have any ideas how to use them once they have lost their bounce?

A. Great for pets and always good to hang from the ceiling of the garage. This way I know when to stop/park the car. When the hanging ball hits my windshield, I stop! Works like a dream….sdm

A. My stepson’s dog loves (!!!!) tennis balls. The dog can practically chew through one in a day, and can even spot them on the shelves in our garage when she visits. She’s been known to jump up on the shelves ’til she gets to the tennis balls. I recently bought 25 used balls from man on e-bay, just for the dog. So my suggestion is for people to save their used balls and sell them! -Cathy

A. After washing pillows, you can throw several tennis balls in the dryer with them and they keep the pillows from becoming lumpy. – Janine

A. I have seen them used on walkers and canes in retirement homes. I also buy old tennis balls for my dogs to play with. Cheaper than new. Don’t know if it works or not, but saw that someone sewed old tennis balls into the back of her husbands pj’s, so that it would keep him from sleeping on his back, which caused him to snore. Cheryl

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A. Easy- Give them to any dog owner. Nothing pleases a dog more then a tennis ball and grass. – Lawrence

A. Our schools cut holes in them and use the tennis balls on the bottoms of the chair legs. It keeps the class room much quieter and no scratches on the floors.- Annie

A. Put two or three tennis balls into the dryer with your just washed pillows and as they dry, the tennis balls will knock out any lumps that will form in the pillows if you try and dry them without the tennis balls. And if you have too many tennis balls, then share with other people who wash their pillows regularly. – Erin

A. The animal shelter in your area may want them for toys. Angie

A. Keep old tennis balls to throw in the washing machine with shower curtain liners….they add friction so that you can remove the "slime" from the dirty shower curtain. It’s important to wash shower liners once a month or so with either a little vinegar and detergent or bleach or ammonia (don’t mix the bleach and ammonia it’ll make poisonous fumes) to keep nasty fungus’ like the ones that cause ringworm or athelete’s foot or plantar’s wart from growing. Now isn’t that a fun subject! Kathleen

A. Old tennis balls, one for each foot, may be used to massage the bottom of your foot while watching tv. Of course it is a challenge to do both feet at the same time, but it does activate your mind too. God bless, …saraJ also Louise B

A. It’s very good for a massage of your feet. Put the ball on the floor and one of your feet on the ball , do circles with your feet on the ball. Imagine you ball is a ink ball and you want to cover your feet with the ink. You could do either small or large circles on the feet – Louise B

A. You can cut one open and use it as a cover for your trailer hitch knob or whatever that thing is called. Keeps it away from the elements. TK

A. Another idea is to donate them to a day care setting or preschool. One small slit with an exacto knife and a few beads or jingle bells make an old tennis ball a great musical instrument. Lissa

A. My dog loves to play with them after their is no bounce. I also make a play tug for him, I take a piece of canvas sew it down the side and one end, then I put two balls in it, one at the very end of it and sew it after the ball so it doesn’t move then I close the top end and put the ball at that end and sew it again pass this ball. We play for hours with it. He loves it. Also if you put a broom handle in the ball it removes scuff marks off the floor it works great.

A. I always put 2 or 3 tennis balls in the dryer when I am drying a blanket or something larger – to help it turn better, instead of continually falling back on itself. It saves drying time.

A. If you play a lot of tennis and have many tubes of no bounce tennis balls, and are going to ship or mail something that needs some packing, a few tennis balls will do the same thing that a lot of the plastic peanuts will do. And, maybe the friend that is getting package has a dog that likes to play ball. Two birds with one stone…..er, ball, that is. Well, you asked for it. My words of wisdom for the day. Keep the good ideas coming. I missed the newsletter while it was gone. And, I am an Okie, too. Sherli

A. I would think the first choice for tennis balls no longer up to snuff would be to give them to less serious players. A second idea is to offer them to a boys’ & girls’ club or similar organization. Allen

A. Stuff two tennis balls in to a sport sock..Twist the spare bit of sock and wrap again over the tennis balls. Secure the ends. This makes a great back or foot massager and takes care of odd socks as well. D Bennison

A. You can cut in half to make dolls’ heads doing crafts with kids. Jean

A. Yellow tennis balls smeared with Vaseline and hung from trees and shrubs attract gnats. This works well in keeping those critters off of you while you enjoy your yard. Ruth

A. I saw on TV a good idea for old tennis balls. They said, that the common field mouse was beginning to become extent and old tennis balls with a hole through the center and a small hole cut on one side of it about the size of a quarter with a dowel or small rod sticking through the middle and then place the tennis ball rod and all out in a field would make a great house for a mouse ! – Susie

A. I have found one use for old tennis balls, we have one of those barrel type bbqs (with the handles that stick out on the end so you can roll it around). Well, those handles are just high enough to injure a small child while playing in the yard. I made a large X in the ball and slip it over the end of the handle. Thanks you for your informative newsletters. Sue

A. 1) Make slice in tennis ball large enough to fit over the ball of your tow bar. Keeps the ball from getting rusty.
3) Make slice in tennis ball halfway around. Draw eyes and nose with markers. Squeeze sides of ball to make "mouth" move. Instant puppet! – Tina

A. I’m a ‘ham’ operator and we used to put one over an antenna on our car to keep it from swaying in the wind too much while driving down the hi-way.

Another use is they could be used when packing something heavy like radio equipment etc to cushion the ends and sides so the item wouldn’t get crushed.

Another use is to put them on metal or wooden poles placing them on either side of your driveway if you have a ditch on either side so friends won’t back into the ditch at night, day, or fog! ! I had two people back into our ditch until I put two bright yellow flourscent tennis balls up on thin metal poles and pounded them into the ground on either side of the driveway!

Our cat’s love to play with them as a toy and they are nice size so they don’t go under the furniture rub a little cat nip on them first! ! Dog’s love to chase them also! !

Place on the corners of sharp objects around the home.

On the bottom of walkers for the disabled.

I have my family and friends brain-storming now to see what they can come up with! Hopefully will send more ideas your way in the near future! ! – Best Regards, Gil

Numerous Contributors repeated the same ideas, I have listed them in order of receipt. If your name is not showing, let me say thanks for sending in the ideas and I am sorry your name couldn’t be posted.

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