The Game Room Maintenance Checklist I Use for Simonis Tables (and the Mistakes That Created It)

When to Use This Checklist

This is for anyone who maintains game rooms—bars, recreation centers, or private homes with a table that actually gets used. I've been handling service orders for table cleaning, cloth replacement, and repair work since 2017. I've also made a pile of mistakes. My first year I ruined a customer's table by using the wrong cleaner, and that one visit cost me about $1,100 in replacement cloth and lost credibility. I've documented 18 of those mistakes in my notes—roughly $9,000 worth of wasted budget when you count redo visits. This checklist is the one I now use every time. It has seven steps. None of them are complicated, but skipping one is usually how I end up with a callback.

Step 1: Look at the Cloth Before You Touch It

When I first started doing this, I assumed a dirty table should just be vacuumed immediately. That's wrong—or rather, it's incomplete. You have to inspect the surface first. Run your hand across the cloth in the direction of the nap. I'm looking for burn marks, dried spills, and spots where the fibers have started to loosen. If you vacuum over a wet coffee spill, you push it deeper into the backing, and then no cleaner is going to fix it.

Most commercial tables I work on have Simonis 860 Tournament Blue. That particular color shows dust fast, but it hides chalk marks better than darker greens. For home tables with lighter use, Simonis 760 is a solid option. If you're on a B2B order form, search for 'pool table cloth Simonis' and you'll see 860, 760, and the tournament colors. The important thing is to know which cloth you're dealing with before you apply anything.

Step 2: Vacuum With a Felt Brush, Not the Spinning Beater Bar

I see this mistake on a lot of service reports. A regular home vacuum with a spinning brush will chew up the fibers. Use a felt brush attachment and low suction. Move in one direction, following the nap, not back-and-forth like you're cleaning a carpet. On a table that gets heavy play, a light single pass is enough. If you need a second pass, do it in the same direction.

Oh, and empty the vacuum beforehand. I cleaned a six-foot table once with a vacuum that had a bit of debris left from the last job. It left a dark line right in the middle of the table. That was a $0 mistake to create, but a $200 mistake to fix because we had to stretch and brush it out carefully. Actually, it wasn't $200—it took two hours of labor plus the embarrassment. So let's call it much worse.

Step 3: Use Simonis X1 Cleaner the Way It's Meant to Be Used

Simonis X1 pool table cleaner is the product I use for almost every stain and for the monthly cleaning. The key word: cleaner, not polish or wax. It does not add a coating; it removes dirt. It also doesn't work well if you soak the cloth.

When I first used X1, I sprayed it directly on the table cloth and then wiped. That left a watermark. I use it sparingly now: spray onto a folded clean cloth, then work it into the felt lightly. Two light sprays on a stain are enough. For a full-table clean, use slightly more and wipe in straight lines, not circles. I know that sounds like common sense, but I see technicians all the time trying to 'give it a good soaking.' Don't.

One more thing: never use Simonis X1 on a table with chalk residue that hasn't been vacuumed. The cleaner will turn chalk dust into a paste. Vacuum first, then clean.

Step 4: Check the Cushions and Rails Before You Promise a Fix

The callbacks I get are rarely about the cloth. They're about a ball that comes off a cushion oddly. During every visit, I run my hand across each cushion. If I feel a dead spot or a visible drag mark, I tell the customer the cushion rubber needs to be replaced. A new piece of Simonis cloth won't hide a flat cushion. That kind of diagnosis saves us both a second visit.

Step 5: Give the Card Table Surface the Same Respect

If the game room has a table for cards, the felt there gets almost no maintenance until someone complains. I walked into a venue in September 2023 where the card table felt was full of drink rings and crumbs from the previous night. The staff was hosting a palace card game tournament, and the table looked terrible in photos. We cleaned it with a lint roller and a soft brush, but the rings had already started to harden. The customer didn't blame the card table; they blamed the venue. If you maintain game rooms for a living, add the card table to your checklist. It takes four minutes.

Step 6: Clean the Shared Earbuds and Headphones

This is the step that gets missed because it's not on the table. But in a modern game room, if someone connects their phone to the sound system or uses headphones at a table, those earbuds get handled. And they get gross. Shared earbuds collect ear wax, skin cells, and whatever is on customers' hands.

If you've ever searched how to clean earbuds, the answer is simpler than you'd think. Remove the silicone tips, wash them in warm water with a drop of dish soap, dry them completely, and use a dry soft toothbrush to gently brush the speaker mesh. Do not use alcohol on the mesh unless you're sure it's rated for it. Rubbing alcohol can damage the coating. And never run earbuds under the tap while the tips are off.

This should be a monthly task. It takes less time than a table vacuum, but it's the detail customers remember when they post a review.

Step 7: Check the Floor Around the Table, Including the Gym Corner

Table leveling is not glamorous, but it's the most common source of 'the ball rolls left' complaints. I use a 4-foot level across the slate in two directions. But the table isn't the only thing that moves. If there's a barbell floor press station in the same room, rubber mats can shift and create a small uneven spot under one leg. I had a customer in Q1 2024 who insisted the table had developed a roll. The table was level. The problem was a rubber mat from a barbell station that had buckled under the table leg. We lifted the table, fixed the mat, and the complaint disappeared.

So while you're crouching with the level, look around the base. If you see a mat edge pushing up on a leg, fix the mat before you adjust the table. Otherwise, you're making the table level by a fraction that doesn't actually exist.

The Three Things I Refuse to Do Now

I could give you a longer list, but these three mistakes have cost me the most:

• I don't put household cleaners on Simonis cloth. Not disinfectant wipes, not window spray, not a 'magic eraser.' If I'm not using Simonis X1, I'm using a dry cloth.
• I don't promise a cloth will never stain or never need replacement. That's a quick way to lose a customer. Actually, from an advertising standpoint, it's also risky. Per FTC guidelines (ftc.gov), advertising claims have to be truthful and substantiated. 'Stainproof' is a claim you can't defend on a pool table that gets beer spilled on it.
• I don't skip the before photos. In 2022, a customer said the stain under the rail was there before I cleaned it. I had no proof. Now I take a photo of every table, every cushion, and the floor base before I touch anything. It protects the customer, and it protects me.

Final Reminder

This checklist isn't everything. If the customer plays a lot of bar billiards, add 'check the ball return.' If the room has a full gym, check the floor mats every month. But for the core job—keeping a Simonis table in good shape—these seven steps will stop most callbacks.

In that conversation, I'd rather spend five minutes showing the owner how to do a monthly clean than get a phone call about a stain next month.

Before you close the ticket, ask yourself: did I look at the cloth, clean it with the right product, check the cushions, and look under the table? And did I clean up the details that aren't on the order form—the card table, the earbuds, the floor mat? That's the difference between a one-time service visit and a vendor who gets called back.

Oh, and if you're mailing fabric swatches to a potential client, check current USPS rates at usps.com/stamps. According to USPS pricing effective January 2025, a First-Class Mail large envelope (1 oz) is $1.50. Postage changes can wreck a small quote if you're still using last year's number.