Let's clean our broom heads
And don't do any other chores.
You’ve probably heard this old joke from a non-curler at least once: if you’re so good with brooms, then why is your house such a mess?
The joke you tell back is that you’re a skip. The joke will not be understood.
Curling equipment is an easy clean. They get dirty quick, as you have noticed. Not only will your ice maker thank you, but it’ll generally keep your broom head working longer (even if your shoulders give way by the sixth end). We’re reminded all the time, and I’m reminding you now. And I reminded myself this week!
Here I have two pads: one I bought two weeks ago (probably four games worth of use), the other is my WCF head (been used in roughly 20 games — but as a skip, so most of the foreign particles are strategy sweat).
Those around me are pretty sure I do not sweep. They might be right! So maybe I just like to have the unkempt broomhead around to show that, hey, it at least looks like I put some downward force on it.
There might be some other tricks of the trade, but when you get right down to it, scrubbing it by hand is the most effective method, but I’ve always read you can clean these suckers in the dishwasher (here’s the source, it’s Laura Walker). So I decided to try that first. Here’s the difference.
What they don’t tell you about kitchen lighting is it really brings out the truth in objects.
Okay, the dishwasher might have done something, but I’m still not eating off these pads. At least they’re not ruined. So after that I put a dab of laundry soap on one and then mashed the two together thinking I came up with a brand new way of cleaning broomheads before finally locating the scrub brush and put some good elbow grease into it.
Minutes later:
Grippers are the hard ones … there’s not a whole lot you can do other than scrub them and get some of the excess dangly rubber bits off them. Better in the trash can than the ice. But you just need a new one(s) about every year. Order them somewhere, such as [INSERT LUCRATIVE CURLING RETAIL SPONSORSHIP LINK HERE] or wherever you prefer.
Clean your heads!
• Worth it for the headline, but also worth the read: “Can curling save the planet?”
• Fantasy curling is a thing over at CurlingZone. They have another game this week for the Boost National. It’s basically like a FanDuel/DraftKings thing, except if you’re like me you’re going to be bad at it, so thank goodness it’s free.
• Megan Rapinoe was named the SI Sportsperson of the Year, one of the rare times a woman was given the honor without a male counterpart. (Just the fourth time!) I am assuming they didn’t get my write-in vote for Anna Hasselborg. I’ll keep writing them.
• Russia is banned from international play for four years, including the Olympics and world championships. This will affect curling, whose non-offending athletes will probably curl as “Independent Russians” or “Back As The USSR” or some B.S. You might remember they had a mixed doubler test positive last Olympics. The women qualified for 2020 worlds and the men were relegated to the European B group for next year (but can still qualify in the last chance event.)
• We got Spotify end of year jokes.
