Do you keep your yoga mat clean? How do you clean it? Is using soap and water enough? What about yoga mat sprays?
What is in Your Yoga Mat?
Have you ever rolled out a sticky yoga mat before practice? Yes it happens to the best of us. We all have had those moments sniffing out that pungent smell reeking from a grimy yoga mat because we simply forgot to clean it.
Dirty yoga mats contain millions of bacteria. Imagine the countless drips of sweat clinging to your yoga mat after hours and hours of use. It makes your mat a petri dish for bacteria, fungi and viruses.
Who wants to get ringworms, athlete’s foot, plantar warts, staphylococcus infections? No one. So don’t be gross and keep your yoga mats squeaky clean.
How to Clean your Yoga Mat
You might think it’s easy to clean a yoga mat. Simply wash it with soap and water and you’re ready for your next session. It’s not actually that simple.
Not all bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites die from regular soap. Some of you may have experienced this, that after washing your yoga mat and hanging it out to dry, there’s still that lingering that reeks of human effluence.
So what do you need to do? You need to sanitize it to keep your sanity!
Yoga Mat Cleaning Spray
There are a lot of products marketed as yoga mat disinfectant spray or antibacterial yoga mat spray. But how good are they?
What you need to look for are yoga mat sprays infused with essential oils because these oils have proven antibacterial and antifungal properties.
The best yoga mat spray products contain essential oils that eliminate odor causing microorganisms.
Here are some steps on how to clean your yoga mat:
- Rinse your yoga mat with water
- Once the yoga mat is all wet, lather it with mild soap using a soft sponge.
- Properly rinse the yoga mat with running water. Make sure that the soap is totally washed off.
- Hang the yoga mat to dry. As much as possible, let it dry under the sun. UV rays are effective at disinfecting.
- Once your yoga mat is all dried up, spritz both sides with a yoga mat cleaning spray. Be sure to use one that is infused with essential oils.
- Let the yoga mat air dry. Do not let it dry by laying it down on a surface. Remember, you want both sides to dry up properly.
Public Gyms
Some yogis do not bring their own yoga mats. Which is perfectly fine. We all have our own reasons anyway. But here’s the thing, not all gyms or yoga studios keep their equipment sanitized.
It would be safer to assume that the shared yoga mat that you are using has not been washed nor disinfected in weeks.
Imagine all the residue from the sweat of other people touching your skin.
Need I say more?
This is why you need to have a yoga mat cleaner spray handy before starting your session. If yoga mats are too bulky for you and you prefer using the ones in the gym, then do yourself a favor and bring a small bottle of disinfectant spray with you.
Before using a yoga mat, just spritz both sides and let them dry.
Is it impolite to do this in a public gym? Of course not. You’re doing yoga to improve your health and wellness.
Better safe than sorry.
Essential Oil Infused Yoga Mat Sprays
Kukai Shop Yoga Mat Cleaning Sprays come in 100 ml bottles which is a good carry-on spray for your yoga mats and gym mats. You can use these yoga mat sprays to remove sweat and soil before and after each yoga session.
Our yoga mat sprays come in various fragrances – Rose Quartz, Hibiscus Red Tea, Japanese Orange Yuzu, Midnight Pomegranate, and Lemongrass and Sage.
You can also use these antibacterial yoga mat sprays to disinfect your shoes and gym bags.
Make it a habit to clean your yoga mat regularly! Check out the best yoga mat sprays here.