How to Maintain Your Pool Table Use a vacuum to pick up the chalk dust that is underneath the cloth. (Note, do not use a nozzle that will pull the cloth from the bed.) Leaning heavily against the table or bumping it with your hip to help the ball go in may cause your seams to break on the slate. Lines will develop in your cloth from a broken seam. Lint rollers work great for picking up dust and particles off the table. Spraying a light mist of water on your cloth will help restore its color and keep it clean and tight. Brush your table in the direction that you break. It will keep the nap of the cloth in tip-top condition. Keeping your table covered will reduce fading from the sun light (felt fades quickly in the sun) and will protect the table from dust which gets under the cloth and eventually wears down the fibers.