“What’s the best way to keep my yoga mat clean?”, “How often should I clean my yoga mat?” and “ How do I prevent my yoga mat from becoming stinky and tacky?” are questions I regularly get asked.
From a hygiene perspective, it’s obviously most beneficial to have your own personal yoga mat that only you use (as opposed to renting or using publicly accessible mats that most studios make available).
If you own the mat, you can ensure that it is in fact cleaned after each use (which cannot always be guaranteed in the studio environment) – this is the best way to ensure that your mat not only stays clean, but also odour and bacteria free.
So how to go about cleaning your mat? The quickest and easiest method is to spray down and wipe off your mat after each use. There are so many fantastic commercially produced yoga mat cleaning solvents that can be used – alternately you can whip up a quick DIY preparation that costs next to nothing.
I like to use a solution of 100ml water to 100ml white vinegar (i.e. 1:1 water to vinegar ratio) and 10 -15 drops of tea tree (depending on how strong you like your brew). Both the vinegar and tea tree oil have excellent antibacterial and antifungal properties – keeping your mat clean and odour free.
I keep this preparation in a spritz bottle. I always have one bottle at hand in my home yoga space, and use a smaller travel size spritzer in my yoga bag when traveling between studios.Glass, is best, but a recyclable plastic spritz bottle will do in a pinch:-)
A quick shake and spray on the mat, and then wipe it off with a soft cloth (I keep a cotton face-cloth handy – make sure you launder it regularly), or use paper towel if you prefer. Leave your mat to air dry, before you roll it up. Be sure to not only wipe the top side of your the mat, but the underside as well.
That’s it for now – see you all for playtime on the mat😉
Till next time – Keep it Light😘
Louise