Amature you are going to have to take the
tape out of the ball when you do a hot water bath, if the
tape gets wet it is ruined. If you get moisture on your thumb it will hang up in the hole.
You should do a hot water bath every 40 to 50 games which is about how long the
tape should be replaced anyway. The carpet would last longer, but the
tape turns green at about that time and needs to be replaced anyway. The magic carpet can be stuck to a
tape back and reused some times.
Edit: Definitely tape the holes before doing the hot water bath. If water gets into the core then gets cold or hot it will expand or shrink the core faster than the cover and crack the coverstock or become separated from it.