Super cheap tip to clean your cork handles

[Bassinkorea]

I know there are great ways and products that clean your cork handles, but here's the way I do it.
I use baby wipes / wet wipes and some elbow grease.

We always have wet wipes in the house with us having a young child, so for me this tip is free 

Simply take a wet wipes and rub hard on the cork handles until they are clean. You do need to add some pressure. Here's a before and after shot of one of my rods I cleaned today. The cork was fairly dirty from use all last season and only took a few seconds to get it looking much better.

[Donald Garner]

Steve,

That's a great tip 

Thanks for sharing.

[Jared LeBlue]

Good tip Steve.  Another way to do it is with shampoo. If you locked in one day because of bad weather take your rods inside, go get some shampoo out of your wife's shower ( I don't have shampoo in mine. I'm folically challenged.  ) and put a small amount on a damp rag and go to wiping. It works great and cleans them with very little effort.

[bass_101]

You can also take a very warn out piece of 220 grit sand paper and do a great job as well 

[Baron49]

Dawn dish washing liquid, warm water, and a soft bristle brush works well and does not require rubbing the cork hard.  This helps prevent the cork from falling apart or rubbing the filler out of the holes in the cork.

[Bassinkorea]

Dawn dish washing liquid, warm water, and a soft bristle brush works well and does not require rubbing the corh hard.  This helps prevent the cork from falling apart or rubbing the filler out of the holes in the cork.

That's a great point Baron, thanks for posting 

[Wildcat26]

Dish washing liquid and an old tooth brush work great also.

[Bassinkorea]

There's several good ideas in this thread, thanks for adding them guys 

[bigjack]

I use the teak bleach that we have on the boat I work on it is milder and makes the cork lighter than new.

[iClass]

Wow, I would have never thought of using baby wipes (I keep some in the boat  ) and have never tried shampoo, Thanks for the tip. 

Tip within a tip time:   
To help keep them clean after they have been cleaned...wipe them down with a little Line and Lure, it helps keep them from mildewing in the rod locker as well and makes cleaning them up a lot easier.   

  Rattle..."folically challenged"... !!  I love it!  I am a little slick headed myself    Kinda look like a "smiley face"

[Bassdyno]

Trust me all try this!  Get some steel wool. It looks mew in 10 seconds and has super grip.  NOTE there are lots of grades of steel wool coarseness,  Finer ones are a bit more work and take 0 cork off and keep smooth.  The MOST coarse wool will work FAST but it can roughen the cork the most.  I use all depending on rod and the grit on it.  At Wal-Mart or something like it in the area near the paints they sell it and also have a bag with 2 of each of the 4 levels and it is cheep! $5 to $10 or less I dont remember and last for ever!  It also has many other house hold uses. Works great on metals gets rust right off.  Give it a try  Let me know your thoughs. Tell a fellow angler! 

[Ray Emory]

Good tips guys, heres how I clean my rod cork handles, just never thought of posting.  I use rubbing alcohol and a rag. Pour some on the rag and rub the cork down, looks like new when your done.

[~Dwight~]

Great tips guys, Hey IClass, usually keep mildew off by using them..  

[screwballl]

My bass and bream are never dirty enough to get on my hands so mine stay clean for a long time

[carolinabasser]

Thanks for the info. Got plenty of those with a 2 yr old running around! A pack is going in the boat ASAP!