Perhaps you play tennis, perhaps you have a tennis ball-obsessed dog, or perhaps you find an old tennis ball at the campground. Well, don’t toss them out! Try these tips for reusing tennis balls while RVing or in and around your home.
Note: For most of the tips, you’ll need a box cutter or similar cutting tool. Carefully cut an “x” on one side of a tennis ball. Be sure to keep the ball steady as you cut to prevent injury.
Ways to use tennis balls around your home or RV
- Cleaner. Slide a tennis ball on the handle end of your RV broom. It will help catch and remove cobwebs that form in your rig’s ceiling corners and other hard-to-reach areas. The tennis ball will always be right at hand to help you remove black scuff marks from your RV floors, too. The ball simply erases the marks away.
- Wiper keeper. Put a ball under each windshield wiper arm to keep the rubber away from the hot glass or to keep them from freezing to the windshield in cold weather.
- Laundry helper. Tennis balls will help fluff linens as they dry in your RV’s dryer. You can also wrap the ball in aluminum foil to lessen clothing static.
- Keep bugs away. Gnats and flies will steer clear of your RV picnic table with this hack. Tie a large knot in one end of a length of string. Push the knot into the “x” cut into the ball (like I mentioned above) so that it stays in place. Then coat the ball with Vaseline and hang the ball from a nearby tree or bush. Insects generally do not like the scent and will stay away.
- Steady chairs. I’ve put tennis balls on our deck chair “feet.” That way the chairs won’t get hung up between the deck boards. You can also protect your RV floors from scratches by covering the “feet” on your dining chairs, ottoman, etc.
- Jar opener. Cut the ball in half. Place the open end of the half ball over a lid to grip and open beer bottles and other twist-off lids. You can also cut along a tennis ball seam. This will result in a piece of rubber big enough to open larger lids, too.
- Ball masseuse. Put one or two tennis balls inside a tube sock. Toss the sock/ball over your back as you hold both ends of the sock. Guide the sock/ball to the sore spot on your back. Then lean against a wall or lay on the floor to soothe sore muscles. Or put a ball on the floor. Place your foot on the ball and roll it around in circles for a great foot massage.
- Trailer hitch. Put a tennis ball over your trailer hitch. It will not only protect the hitch, but it will also protect your shin.
- Treasure keeper. Cut a slit in a tennis ball. Children can hide money or other treasures inside. Use a permanent marker to label each ball and prevent mix-ups.
- Kickstand assist. We keep a slit tennis ball in the side bags of our motorcycle. The ball takes up very little space and comes in handy if we must park in a wet or sandy spot. We slip the ball over the end of the bike’s kickstand and the ball keeps the bike stand from sinking. (Hint: This works with bicycles, too.)
- Stuck, broken bulb. Cut a tennis ball in half. Place the open end of the ball over the stuck lightbulb and twist to remove.
If you still have tennis balls after implementing all these tips and hacks, you can recycle them. Go to reBounces.com for information.
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Great stuff. Thanks.
Thank you, Gail! I routinely have two tennis balls in our RV dryer. They seem to help keep the clothes separated and dry better, faster. Our RV interior is low enough (7 feet?) for me to reach all the corners of the ceiling or I’d try a tennis ball on a broomstick. Thanks again!
Before I put my cover on the RV for Winter I cut an X in a tennis ball and push them on the little gutter spout to keep the gutter point from cutting a hole in the cover when the wind moves the cover.
Great idea!