The Complete Guide to Cleaning and Maintaining Your Yoga Mat
1. Why It is necessary to Clean Your Yoga Floor Covering
Hygiene: Throughout yoga practice, our hands, bare feet, and sometimes our faces enter into straight contact with the floor covering.
Product Qualities: Yoga exercise floor coverings are made to be absorbing to soak up wetness and sweat, which stops you from slipping. As a result, they likewise take in a great deal of gunk, oils, and germs. Normal cleaning is important to keep them sanitary.
2. The Golden Rule: Know Your Floor Covering Product First
Prior to you start cleansing, it is crucial to recognize your floor covering's material, as different materials call for different treatment. If you have a floor covering made of a specific material like cork or a recycled product, their cleansing needs may be various. It is very recommended that you examine the maker's suggestions for cleansing guidelines initially.
- PU (Polyurethane) Floor coverings (e.g., Liforme, Lululemon, Ever Before Grasp™): Have an "open-cell," porous framework that is excellent at soaking up sweat yet is additionally sensitive to oils and water. Spray-clean just; never ever soak.
- PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride) Mats (e.g., Manduka Pro): Have a "closed-cell" framework, meaning they are non-porous and do not take in sweat. Can endure much more durable cleaning.
- Natural Rubber Mats (e.g., Jade Harmony): Environment-friendly and naturally degradable. Need gentle treatment and avoidance of rough cleaning agents.
- Microfiber-topped Mats: Have a permeable fabric surface on a rubber base. Sweat can suffuse the whole mat. Can be deep cleaned with soaking.
- TPE (Thermoplastic Elastomer) Mats: A closed-cell structure made from safe products, so it doesn't soak up bacteria and sweat.
- Cork Floor coverings: Naturally anti-bacterial and "self-cleaning." Hardly ever need greater than a basic spray clean.
3. Step-by-Step Cleaning Approaches
A. Daily Quick Clean (After Each Technique)
Embracing the practice of a quick wipe-down after each class is a wonderful practice. Prepare a spray container with one of the solutions below. After your session, provide your mat a quick spray down. Wipe it tidy with a soft cloth or sponge.
Cleansing Solutions for Daily Usage:
- Lemon Water Solution (Particularly for PU floor coverings): Mix the juice of one fresh lemon with warm water. Utilize a damp (not saturated) towel to wipe the mat.
- DIY Vinegar Spray: In a spray bottle, mix one part pure water and one component white vinegar.
- General DIY Cleansing Service: In a spray container, mix warm water with a "teeny-tiny squeeze" of recipe soap and a percentage of white vinegar (vinegar must be no more than one-eighth of the overall service).
Optional Fragrance: You can include regarding 10 declines of an essential oil like Tea Tree (for its disinfectant properties) or Eucalyptus.
CRITICAL KEEP IN MIND: Do NOT use necessary oils on PU mats, as they can block the pores and harm the hold.
B. Periodic Deep Clean (e.g., Every 10 Makes use of)
This technique is suitable for the majority of mats other than PU and Cork mats, which must not be soaked.
Prep work: A bath tub is an ideal place for this process. If cleaning inside without a bathtub, lay down towels to take in excess water.
Scrub: Utilize a soft sponge (not the rough side) and a light cleansing remedy (like heavily watered down dish soap) to scrub down both sides of the mat. Pay unique focus to the areas where your hands and feet are most often put.
Saturate: Enable the floor covering to saturate for at least an hour. For an extremely thorough tidy, you can even leave it to soak overnight to assist raise away all embedded grime and dirt. For very stubborn discolorations or smells, you can add a scattering of cooking soft drink to the water.
Rinse: After soaking, give the mat a great, extensive rinse to get rid of all soap and dirt. Any type of residue can make the floor covering unsafe.
Dry Totally: Hang the mat up or lay it flat to completely dry.
C. Disinfecting
For a stronger tidy, you can utilize a diluted anti-bacterial solution, such as one-third of a cap of Dettol Liquid Antiseptic Disinfectant in one liter of water. When utilizing on a PU floor covering, make sure the towel is just slightly damp.
4. Proper Drying and Storage Space
Drying: Allow your mat to completely dry level in a great, shaded location. AVOID direct sunlight, as UV rays can cause the mat to fade, become stiff, and breakable. Hold your horses. A fully saturated floor covering can take 24 hr or longer to completely dry completely.
Storage space: Store your floor covering level or rolled. Stay clear of folding, which can cause irreversible creasing and damage.
5. Vital Tips & Ideal Practices
- Stay Clear Of Body Lotions/Creams: Do not apply creams or creams to your hands and feet prior to method, as the oils will transfer to the floor covering and decrease grip.
- Laundry Feet First: A fantastic method to maintain your mat cleaner is to experiment newly washed feet.
- Make Use Of a Face Towel: When in postures where your face touches the floor covering, position a small towel under your temple to stop face oils and makeup from transferring.
- Machine Clean with Caution: Avoid device washing unless the manufacturer explicitly suggests it, as it can degrade the floor covering in time.
- How to Roll Your Mat Appropriately: To prevent dirt from all-time low of the mat from transferring to the tidy top surface area, initially, fold your floor covering in half so that the bottom side touches the lower side. After that, roll it up from the folded end.
Keeping your yoga exercise mat is vital, but choosing the right one is the essential to beginning a terrific yoga exercise trip.
Ready to upgrade your equipment? At The Yoga exercise Mats, we provide you a significant choice and amazing prices! From green TPE to professional-grade PU non-slip mats, we have an alternative to perfectly match your needs. We are committed to guaranteeing every yoga exercise lover can take pleasure in top-quality products at one of the most cost effective rates.
Call with us to buy your favored yoga exercise mat today!
