You practice your yoga regularly, and that is great. However, that means your mat is going to take a fair bit of abuse. The human body can be pretty gross, and when you exercise it can be even worse. Sweat, oils, dead skin, and other assorted microscopic nasty things get rubbed into your yoga mat every time you practice. It also gets put on the floor in numerous places, and when it gets rolled up it transfers everything on the floor to the top of your mat. That really isn’t pleasant to think about while you are sitting in Child’s pose, and your face is on the mat. Thankfully there are a few simple things you can do to keep your mat clean.
Freshen Up Quickly
The most important way to keep your mat clean all the time is to quickly wipe it down after every use. When you do that, your mat gets much less of a chance to build up significant dirt and oil. A spray bottle with diluted vinegar is a suggested cleaning agent for freshening your mat. The vinegar should be mixed with water with a ratio of about 1 to 20 to provide proper cleaning power, while not being overly vinegar smelling. To clean just spray down, let soak, and then wipe down. Do this on both sides, and then let it dry. It shouldn’t take too long to dry. If it takes more than two minutes or so to dry, then you have used too much. A light spray is all you need. In this video, you can find out how to make a homemade yoga mat spray. It is easy!
Deep Clean
In the event that you have gone a little too long without cleaning your mat regularly, you may need to do a deep cleaning. Even if you do gently clean your mat regularly, you still may want to deep clean your mat once every 3 months or so. A good rule of thumb is that your mat should be soaked and hung up to dry every time the seasons change.
To deep clean your mat you will want to fill a bathtub up with warm water, about two or three inches is all that you need. In that water, you want to add about an ounce of dish soap, and then give it a stir. Place your mat in the water, making sure that it is completely submerged, and then let it soak for 5 minutes. The dish soap is going to dissolve the oils that your skin leaves on your mat, and soaking lets the soap get deep into the material. Rinse with warm water to remove the soap residue. Finally, to dry your mat, hang it up. A good place to dry your mat is on a close drying rack or hanging it over your shower curtain. Drying after a deep clean will take a while because the water would have been absorbed. Check out this video to learn how to clean your yoga equipment and save the money!
Yoga mats can get dirty very quickly, and that is gross. However, quick wipe downs and the occasional deep clean can keep it fresh. Remember, you place your face on this mat, and you probably want to make sure it is clean.
