Sports mats used for various exercises such as yoga, pilates or HIT training get dirty over time. As we sweat while moving, bacteria can form on our mat even if we don't realize it. In order to continue our work in a healthy way, we need to be careful about cleaning. Otherwise, acne formation or bad odor will be inevitable.
When we're done exercising, we can easily wash our gym clothes in the washing machine and take a shower ourselves, but many of us don't remember that our mat also needs to be cleaned. In this case, our hair and skin can be damaged. If you want to train in a hygienic way, you can solve this problem by preparing simple cleaning materials from the materials at home.
Topics
- Basic knowledge
- How is it done?
- Detergent Recipe
- Suggestions
Basic knowledge
If you don't know how to clean your sports mat, first of all, it's worth reminding you that you don't need any complicated materials or knowledge on this subject. You need to do deep cleaning, but simple products that you can get from chain markets such as Migros will be enough.
Ingredients that you can prepare at home will also make your job easier. It is also useful to make this cleaning routine to ensure deep hygiene, because you cannot solve the problem by doing it only once.
How to Clean a Sports Mat?
It is useful to divide these cleaning processes into two first. For example, if you are a person who does sports regularly, you should clean your mat at least two or three times a week with the materials I am about to describe. But of course, since this will be a superficial process, a deep cleaning should be done once a week or every ten days.
If you are wondering how to deep clean, the easiest way is to use the inside of the bathtub or shower. Put your mat in the bathtub or shower. Put plenty of warm water on it. Then use a good detergent.
You should definitely soak it in water for a while. This way you can be sure that stubborn dirt will also be removed. After a while, when you believe that both dirt and bad odors have disappeared, you should rinse thoroughly. If detergent residue remains, it can make the mat slippery.
When it comes to how to do surface cleaning, I will now give you some practical material ideas that you can use for this.
Homemade Detergent Recipe
The ingredients for this homemade product are four liters of water, one tablespoon of laundry detergent and dishwashing liquid.
The water must be lukewarm so that our detergents dissolve well. Dip a wet cloth in this water and wipe the mat thoroughly on both sides. Then you can go over it with clear water.
Natural Wiping Water
If cleaning with detergent is not for you, there are other alternatives. For example, vinegar and tea tree oil or products such as lavender oil. However, you should make sure that you do not overdo the vinegar so that your mat does not smell bad.
If we talk about exact measurements, I can make the following suggestion. You can put water, white vinegar and tea tree oil in an empty spray bottle. After mixing and using this, it will be enough to wipe the mat with clear water.
Suggestions
It is important that the products you use to clean your mat are as natural as possible. At this point, you also need to consider what kind of material your mat is made of. Otherwise, you may use the wrong product and cause damage to your mat.
Plant-based products are always the best. If you are going to clean superficially, do not add too much oil to the natural wiping water you use so that your mat is not slippery. Otherwise, even if you wipe it again with water, it is possible to have problems while doing sports.
After wiping your mat, if you have a balcony, you can also try putting it on a chair and leaving it in the sun. This way, if there are other harmful bacteria, they will be eliminated by the heat. Drying the mat completely will also prevent you from having problems while you work.
Finally, it is worth mentioning that some mats can be washed in the washing machine. If you are sure that it will not be damaged, you can rarely clean it with this method. Apart from detergent or natural wiping water, it is also possible to clean them with soapy water.
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