Alcohol for slippery pole?

sosagely started this discussion · 4/5/2010

I have a suuuppper slick Lil Mynx. It drives me crazy because I will master something on the brass poles in class, then come home only to slide off the pole!!! Even when warmed up it's pretty slick. One thing I've noticed is that I really like the grip of the poles at the studio when I clean with alcohol. I even rub a little alcohol on my thighs to get rid of any slip. Does anyone know if this is a good way to clean/get grip from a stainless steel lil mynx? do i dilute it or use it undiluted? Thanks!!!

20 replies

amcut · 4/5/2010
Mm, you can use the alcohol diluted or undiluted on stainless. Windex is also an option. A 0 residue dish soap heavily diluted (3 drops to a bottle) gives me a good clean! Another thing is every once in a while, go ahead and use some acetone-only nail polish remover.. especially if you soometimes get weird residues on the pole. I don't do it more than once in a blue moon, but it generally gives optimum grip! 🙂
horsecrazy12987 · 4/7/2010
You must have the stainless steel Lil' Mynx. I do too, and you're right, it is reeally slippery. I have found that the pole seems to be grippiest when it's pretty warm out (think 80 degrees,) and I've got my air conditioner running to try to keep my sweaty hands slightly tamed. Obviously that doesn't do you much good right now, though, (unless maybe you're living in California or Hawaii.) It's imperfect, but so far my favorite way to clean my pole to get it grippier is to spray it down with rubbing alcohol, then rub it up and down really briskly with a towel several times. Let the pole completely dry, then rub it really briskly again. The friction warms up the pole. You might have to do this a few times throughout your workout, but it does help a little until temps start warming up again. Think of it this way, though: if you can do a move on your stainless steel pole, you can do it on anything else.
sosagely · 4/7/2010
Thanks Ladies! Yes, I am really struggling with "loving" my pole right now. It just really bugs me to not be able to fully practice on it. I got some rubbing alcohol and gave it a good rub down. I was practicing my CKR on it last night and kept sliding down so I don't think it helped much. However I have a huge bruise on my inner thigh today, so maybe my skin was gripping better than I thought! Thanks for the help! Are x poles and platinum stages not as slick?
Tabbycat · 4/7/2010
I have a chrome x-pole...and I can tell you its not slippery..unless it's just cold because I haven't warmed it up yet. once it's warmed up though, I feel like I could sit on it for hours...and I'm no expert 😉
SissyBuns · 4/7/2010
You have like 2 total opposites finishes that you're working with. Brass tends to be the grippiest of finishes and stainless steel tends to be the slipperyest (in my experience 😉 ). Have you had your pole very long? I think stainless steel poles get better after they've been broken in some. But your Lil Minx will probably never be as grippy as the brass pole though so you're probably just going to have to get used to it. I have a chrome xpole and it's seems to be in the middle of the road as far as slipperyness. When I'm brass I stick super good (sometimes too good LOL) and when I'm on stainless steel I'm a slippery mess 😂 . The chrome is kind of in the middle, just right.
chemgoddess1 · 4/7/2010
Amyxshi I believe did a light sanding to her LM because she had all sorts of issues with it.
Jill · 4/7/2010
Think of it this way, though: if you can do a move on your stainless steel pole, you can do it on anything else. That's how I feel about my Lil' Minx! I prefer learning on it for that reason. I dance at a (bikini) club (brass pole) and feel confident knowing I can handle my tricks even if it's slippery from girls who wear lotion 😈 I've had my Lil' Minx stainless steel for a year and it's really grown on me. I deal w/ the super slippy-ness by using a little grip aid when I'm working on a new trick and need to stick. Works great. Or when warmed up I dab a little Windex on my hands to stick better. I wipe down frequently w/ windex or alcohol.
horsecrazy12987 · 4/7/2010
Jill, do you find that Windex works better than alcohol on your Lil' Mynx, or are they about the same? I have yet to try Windex on it. Sosagely, if you're having weather like I am right now, rubbing your pole down with a towel probably won't do a whole lot of good--it was so cold last night that I couldn't do anything, even after cleaning it. I mostly just did some floor work and worked on my body waves (I'm strong but about as graceful as an elephant trying to dance ballet, so I'm trying to work on that) but I was afraid to even walk around the pole much, because it was so slick that if I extended out all the way while holding onto it I was afraid I was going to fly right off of it. It almost felt like it had some type of coating on it, like it was sweating or something, even though I'd just cleaned it and wasn't using any body lotion. Another tip I've heard but have not tried yet is to wipe your pole down with a damp microfiber cloth, then wipe it again with a dry section of the cloth. In my more desperate moments, I've thought about sanding my pole but am terrified of ruining it. I'm pretty sure it was on here that I read about someone sanding their pole very very lightly with the finest grit sandpaper they could find--if anyone's done that, how did it turn out? I don't think I'll do it just because I'm too paranoid of screwing it up, but if I get desperate enough, I want to know how to do it without destroying my baby.
Jill · 4/7/2010
I actually have had better luck using Windex. But, I also live in California and haven't had to deal w/ cold weather making it even more slippery...
horsecrazy12987 · 4/8/2010
I'll have to pick up some Windex next time I'm at the store. I know a lot of people use it to clean their poles and like it. Although you're right, living in California probably helps just a little. lol I noticed when I first got the pole, back in September when we were still having 80 degree days, that my grip wasn't half bad--as long as I ran my air conditioner to keep from getting too sweaty, I could manage pretty decently, but now I'm battling both a cold slippery pole AND sweaty hands, and it's not working out well. I can't wait for the weather to warm up. We've had a couple of nice days, and then right back into the 40 degree range. It's really frustrating, but I just keep telling myself to try something else. Eventually I'll find that perfect combination.
chemgoddess1 · 4/8/2010
Try hitting your pole with your blow dryer for a bit. Also if you put your hand on the pole and then run around in circles the friction does wonders for warming it up (just don't get too dizzy).
horsecrazy12987 · 4/8/2010
I've tried both before--it doesn't stay warm long enough to make a whole lot of a difference. I think until the weather starts warming up I'm just going to have to use a looot of grip aid to compensate. Oh, I just thought of something else. You can rub a light layer of liquid chalk on your pole, but beware--good luck spinning on it, and when you do leg grips, it'll hurt just like it did in the very beginning when your thighs were first getting accustomed to pole burn. Not pleasant at all, but you do stick better.
Voodoochild · 4/8/2010
I mix half alcohol and half water in a spray bottle, spray a microfiber rag and wipe my pole (which is a stainless steel lil mynx). It's always worked pretty well for me although the warmer temps outside help tremendously. Here in Texas we don't have that problem. 🙂 I think the microfiber rag helps ALOT bcauSe when I use a regular rag I don't stick as well as when I use a microfiber one (not really sure why?) but it's almost hard to do spins when I've cleaned with the microfiber.
horsecrazy12987 · 4/8/2010
I really need to pick up a microfiber cloth. I know a lot of places carry them in the automotive section, but I checked our Fred Meyer's and they didn't have any, so I'm thinking I might have to stop by an actual auto place. I'm not sure why a microfiber cloth would work better either, but I always hear good things about using them. I am wondering if maybe it is putting very superficial scratches on the surface of the pole or something? The reason why the stainless steel Lil Mynx is so slick is because it's a mirror finish, so maybe the microfiber cloth dings it up just enough to not really ruin the look of it but to give a better grip. But that's just wild guesswork on my part, so who knows.
Castleoutsider · 4/14/2010
u have to look at which alcohol you're buying. if ur buying the cheap 50% its just gonna make your pole slimy. we use the 90% at the studio and we have lil mynx =)
horsecrazy12987 · 4/14/2010
Mine is 70%. I pretty much just grabbed the first bottle of rubbing alcohol I saw. I'm going to the store today anyway, so I'll pick up some 90% and a microfiber cloth and see if they help.
sosagely · 4/14/2010
Wow! Thanks everyone! I also grabbed the first bottle of alcohol I found and it's 70%. I'm still not sold on the grip thing, but I noticed that after doing spins there is a weird dirty film on the pole. I used windex at my last practice and it was definately more slippery than the alcohol cleaning. I'll go get a microfiber cloth and invite some friends over to help me break it in!!! I had a dream last night that it was suddenly sticky. ha ha. This must really be weighing heavy on my mind! 😂
horsecrazy12987 · 4/14/2010
When you say 'weird dirty film' does your pole feel like it has an almost slimy coating on it? That's what mine feels like. Supposedly we are supposed to get up into the 70's Friday and Saturday, so I'm hoping the warmer temps will help, along with the 90% alcohol and the microfiber cloth. We'll see. I'll report back once I've used the microfiber cloth and new alcohol.
sosagely · 4/14/2010
It's not slimey, but I'll notice little black build ups on it. Like it's really dirty. I always wash my hand before dancing to wash off any oils so I know it's not dirt from my hands. It's really weird and kind of hard to wash off. I didn't have that problem with the windex though. I'm definately hoping that the warm weather will help me stick!
horsecrazy12987 · 4/15/2010
Mine never has black build up that I've noticed, it's just very, very slick. BTW, I swung into Fred Meyers today, and all they sell is 70%; 70 is the standard percentage, so where am I going to find 90%? I just checked the Walgreens website and all they sell is 70% as well. Am I going to need to try a couple of pharmacies for this? I did get the microfiber cloth though; haven't used it yet. Edit: I just checked on Amazon for 90% rubbing alcohol, and they sell Rite-Aid brand alcohol that is 91%. Check there if you're having trouble finding 90%. I'll swing over there tomorrow or Friday. I wish they'd had some at Fred Meyers; I'm ten minutes down the road from them if I drive like a grandma, and I'm there all the time anyway.