Hey everybody! I am cleaning a tennis court and want to understand why some of the dirt is still sticking.

Is it accurate to say that any material that has a tendency to stick to something has formed a covalent or ionic bond to whatever it is stuck to?

 

Hey everybody! I am cleaning a tennis court and want to understand why some of the dirt is still sticking.

Is it accurate to say that any material that has a tendency to stick to something has formed a covalent or ionic bond to whatever it is stuck to?

Hi,

I think it depends on what the two materials are made up of.
This one sounds like covalent but I do not think it is possible to be sure without knowing what the dirt is and what the surface coating of the court is made up of. If the dirt is made of several different kinds of materials, then maybe it could be both types of bonds distributed around the surface.

 

Hi,

I think it depends on what the two materials are made up of.
This one sounds like covalent but I do not think it is possible to be sure without knowing what the dirt is and what the surface coating of the court is made up of. If the dirt is made of several different kinds of materials, then maybe it could be both types of bonds distributed around the surface.

I think the dirt is probably comprised of a small amount of silica together with some decomposing pollen and whatever else might fall out of the nearby trees. Where there are puddles, the mixture tends to persist and retain moisture for a good while longer. Even after being squeegeed and blown with a leaf blower it can be slick enough to cause a fall. The paint is probably acrylic.

The bulk of the material can be broken loose with a pressure washer. The pressure washer has a rated potential of 4.5 gallons per minute which is limited by nozzle constraint to attain velocity. In some cases there is a very thin dark pigmented layer that stubbornly clings to the surface. Does this mean that the charge density and bonding potential of what remains exceeds the given mechanical limits of the machine under the current set-up?

It seems the bulk of the stuff can be moved by a collision with a fairly fast moving water molecule. This leads me to believe that what remains may need to be addressed with concussive wave frequency. The water is a medium but the concrete and paint are also mediums through which energy can travel and be focused. My concern is that as the frequency is increased, so is the likelihood of dislodging the electrons that the paint share with the concrete.

 

I think the dirt is probably comprised of a small amount of silica together with some decomposing pollen and whatever else might fall out of the nearby trees. Where there are puddles, the mixture tends to persist and retain moisture for a good while longer. Even after being squeegeed and blown with a leaf blower it can be slick enough to cause a fall. The paint is probably acrylic.

The bulk of the material can be broken loose with a pressure washer. The pressure washer has a rated potential of 4.5 gallons per minute which is limited by nozzle constraint to attain velocity. In some cases there is a very thin dark pigmented layer that stubbornly clings to the surface. Does this mean that the charge density and bonding potential of what remains exceeds the given mechanical limits of the machine under the current set-up?

It seems the bulk of the stuff can be moved by a collision with a fairly fast moving water molecule. This leads me to believe that what remains may need to be addressed with concussive wave frequency. The water is a medium but the concrete and paint are also mediums through which energy can travel and be focused. My concern is that as the frequency is increased, so is the likelihood of dislodging the electrons that the paint share with the concrete.

Hi,

Something like this probably has to be tried and proven. The only thing I can suggest is you try it with different machines or techniques.
It may be possible that when you get the problem material off it also takes off the surface coating as you suspected, which would mean a new surface coating would be necessary. Alternately, you would have to find an expert on this. Tennis courts have been around for ages now there must be somebody out there that does this on a regular basis and therefore can better suggest some good solution than I can.

This is interesting to me because I used to be a big tennis fan. I watched all the big matches like the Agassi/Sempras matches and the Williams sisters matches. I had no idea that cleaning the courts would be such a problem.

How do you intend to clean the grass courts in England (just kidding).

 

I use sheep on my grass courts. This isn't just about cleaning the courts. It is about establishing a habit of having more of our students using some of the math and science they are studying to apply their skills at problems that need dealing with on their home turf. The idea is to get a few of them to take more ownership of our facilities and go on to become craftsmen and caretakers of our structures. Our community needs a handful of these.

Anyways, it seems like their might be an expert around here somewhere if one was needed.

There are in fact a number of methods of court cleaning that are tried and true. I am starting from scratch.

Did you ever watch Chris Evert play? She was an absolute genius.

 

I use sheep on my grass courts. This isn't just about cleaning the courts. It is about establishing a habit of having more of our students using some of the math and science they are studying to apply their skills at problems that need dealing with on their home turf. The idea is to get a few of them to take more ownership of our facilities and go on to become craftsmen and caretakers of our structures. Our community needs a handful of these.

Anyways, it seems like their might be an expert around here somewhere if one was needed.

There are in fact a number of methods of court cleaning that are tried and true. I am starting from scratch.

Did you ever watch Chris Evert play? She was an absolute genius.

Hi,

Oh so you use real sheep to clean up the grass courts? Then who cleans up after the sheep? (ha ha).

I'm sure I have seen her play but it's been so long ago I hardly remember now.