If you've decided to take your game to the next level and purchase your very own BowlingBall, congratulations! No more being stuck with a ball that's too heavy or too light when you hit the lanes, no more pinched fingers from having to use a ball with holes that are too small...but what you may not realize is that owning your own ball is also going to entail more than the initial dollar investment.

Bowling balls actually require a surprising amount of maintenance to keep performing at an optimal level. Bowling lanes are regularly oiled to protect the wood and keep the surface slick and smooth, meaning that your ball is going to pick up a little bit of that oil each time that it rolls down the lane. After a couple of games, that oil build-up can really affect your ball's performance, making it slower and really putting a damper on its hook.

There's only one way to fight oil build-up: give your ball a good, old-fashioned scrub. Keep in mind that how often you wash your ball will depend on the material that it's made out of. That cheap plastic ball you reserve for an easy spare, for example, absorbs very little oil, so you can get away with cleaning it just every once in a while. Higher-end bowling balls made of materials like reactive resin or pearl overstock, on the other hand, will absorb much more oil. A general rule of thumb is that these balls should be cleaned after every six games.

Every bowler has his or her own favorite method of cleaning their BowlingBalls. You may already have heard of bowlers who bake their balls in the oven at low temperatures to help dry out the oil, or others who let the ball sit in kitty litter (yes, you read that right: kitty litter), which also helps leach out some of the oil. You really don't need to resort to these rather eccentric measures, however. Just purchase a cleaner formulated for bowling balls from your local pro bowling shop, and rub it into the ball with a towel or terrycloth. While you're at the bowling shop, you may want to ask for some cleaning tips specific to the type of ball you use; certain balls may need to be polished after cleaning, for example.

With routine maintenance, your ball should be whizzing down the lanes for years to come!