How to Clean a Yoga Mat
There are several ways to clean a yoga mat. With regular use a yoga mat can become entrenched with oils, sweat, dirt and goodness knows what else. The whole essence of yoga is to cleanse your body and mind so inhaling a terrible stench whilst you’re in full yoga flow could be a tad distracting.
When cleaning a yoga mat, you can definitely ‘cheat’ and use a purpose made spray some of which contain aromas such as lavender and other essential oils.Specialist Yoga Mat Cleaning Sprays:
Homemade Yoga Mat Cleaning Solutions:
These should be easy to whip up using ingredients found around the home:- 1. The most basic formula is to use white vinegar and water, it acts as a sort of natural disinfectant and can be applied using a sponge. Don’t overdue the vinegar or you could be getting a whiff as you descend into child’s pose! – DriPak White Vinegar, 500ml x 2.
- 2. Little Spray bottles could be a useful purchase if you’re going to make your own cleaning solution.
- 3. If you’ve still got the original leaflet that accompanied your yoga mat when it arrived, double check the small print as it may be ok to chuck your sweaty yoga mat into the washing machine. If you’re a little on the cautious side, put the machine on a low heat wash, perhaps 30 degrees and a gentle, quick cycle and see how the yoga mat responds. And definitely, double check the tumble drying situation.
- 4. The hand wash solution – use the bathtub to submerge the yoga mat, give it a swill around in lukewarm, soapy water (washing up liquid detergent will suffice)
- 5. A certain no-go for all yoga mats is to leave them out in the sun for too long, they could very well crinkle and crack.
