As a yogi we all spend a lot of time on mats. Whether that's at home, at the studio or gym or if we're lucky outside in our local parks or even on the beach. The last thing we want to disrupt our flow is a dirty or worse smelly mat!
One of the main benefits of owning your own yoga mat vs using one provided at the studio is that you know exactly where it's been and when it was last cleaned!
Thankfully, sweat, odours, sand, dust and dirt can all be removed simply by wiping down your mat after every practice with a damp cloth. Depending on the intensity of your sessions you can always use a Yoga Mat Cleaning Spray after your workout to disinfect and clean your mat.
We recommend using a yoga mat spray to clean and freshen your mat at least once a week. Our preference is to make our own spray with natural ingredients.
Not all sprays are created equal
All Luxya yoga mats are made from natural rubber so it's very important to never use any cleaning products or sprays that contain alcohol, petroleum based solvents or high concentrations of essential oils.
Essential oils will unfortunately degrade the rubber making it brittle so please avoid any spray or recipe that adds lots of essential oils if you have a natural rubber mat.
How to clean your yoga mat
We recommend a light daily cleaning and using a mat spray weekly if you're using your mat at home and daily if you're taking your mat to a studio.
Daily Cleaning
Take a cloth and dampen it with water. You can use this to wipe off the majority of any dirt. Make sure to clean both sides of your yoga mat.
Leave the mat somewhere out of the sun to air dry completely before you roll it up and store it.
Weekly Cleaning
We follow the same routine as our daily cleaning. Using a damp cloth to wipe off any sweat or dirt first. Repeat on the other side. Then take your yoga mat cleaning spray, make sure you shake the bottle and lightly spray your entire mat. Don't forget to spray both sides!
Wipe down your mat removing any excess spray and allow 5-10 minutes for your mat to dry before rolling it up for storage.
Making your own yoga mat cleaner spray
This is our go-to recipe for our natural rubber safe mat spray. If you have
Ingredients
- 400ml spray bottle
- 50ml Witch Hazel (100ml for use on studio mats, just use less water)
- 50ml White Vinegar
- 1-2 drops of tea tree oil
- 280ml filtered or distilled water
Instructions
- Add the witch hazel and water to the spray bottle leaving some space at the top.
- Add the tea tree oil.
- Close the bottle and shake!
- Spray on your mat to leave it disinfected and clean!
Feel free to tweak it to your taste but remember if you have a natural rubber mat to be very careful adding essential oils to the spray. You can remove the witch hazel completely and replace with white or apple cider vinegar but we find the witch hazel helps remove the vinegar smell as well as being a great antiseptic.
If tea tree oil doesn't do it for you Peppermint, Lemon, Eucalyptus and Lavender all make great smelling sprays and all have disinfecting or antimicrobial properties to boot!
Keep your mat clean and germ-free!
Making your own DIY yoga mat cleaner spray is easy! It’s also a safe, effective, and natural way to keep your yoga mat clean and cared for, and help you avoid germs so you can stay healthy.