Guys. The world has come to a point where we live in irony. In absurdity.
Fat dietitians.
Someone writes a book on carbon footprint and mass produces tons of the books shipped all over the world to educate people.
Banks are only open during the times we have no time to go to them.
Both ice on earth and ice cream in your hands are melting but you only care about the latter.
“Texting Kills” PSA on a billboard at a freeway asks to text for more information.
We can live without food longer than we can without Internet.
There’s always a tall person sitting in front of you, a person who likes to kick the seat sitting behind you and a noisy kid sitting near you at the movies.
We drive to the gym to ride stationery bicycles.
We pay to be silent… at a yoga class.
Our ancestors never had to pay for yoga or tai chi or kung fu or whatever it is they did back then. They probably didn’t even use yoga mats. They use the ground, the soil or the grass. All that sweat and germs and bacteria. Mother nature took care of the cleaning.
We, however, do not have mother nature to clean our mats for us. What we do have is an extra thing we have to keep clean in our already long list of things (and body parts) to keep clean. To ease your brain activities, I share my 2 cents dos and don’ts in cleaning a yoga mat.
Hose it down with water, wash it in the tub or wipe down the mat.
Air dry thoroughly after cleaning with air circulating it for at least 24 hours.
Use a cloth or sponge and not an abrasive scrubber.
Use very little mild soap (like castile soap or mild laundry detergent) to mix in water or sponge.
To do a quick clean or to disinfect, mix a dilution of vinegar or hydrogen peroxide to water (1:4) in a spray bottle, spray directly on the mat and wipe with a rag or soft sponge.
Add a couple drop of essentials oils (lavender or tea tree oil) into cleaning solution for extra disinfecting power. Plus they smell nice too.
Most carpet cleaning recommendations are applicable here as well.
Don’ts
Don’t soak the mat too long. The mat may absorb too more water and may not dry for a good 10 years.
Don’t use harsh soap & chemicals and don’t wash too often or you’ll risk damaging the surface.
Don’t throw them in your washer or dryer (unless you’re ready to risk whatever happens).
Don’t use baking soda. It leaves a white residue that’s a pain to clean out.
Don’t sunbathe them for hours on end. It’ll become dry and crumbly or sometimes melt and become sticky. Pretty nasty.
My last post: Thai Pineapple Fried Rice
What are your dos and don’ts on cleaning a yoga mat?
