Everybody is talking about Spring cleaning. Most of it involves purging and organizing. So I thought I’d tackle some of my personal pet peeves and share how I clean them up! First up: DIY Yoga Mat All Natural Cleaning Spray.
Do you exercise? My favorite way to get exercise is to grab a friend or two and haul up one of the many trails that are plentiful here in Colorado. But when the weather is uncooperative, I head to the gym. I might take a pilates class or spin. Either way, at some point I will get on a mat to exercise. Do you think the gym cleans the mats they provide for you? The completely-icks-me-out and makes-me-gag -a-bit answer is: not very often. Which creates a truly ugly picture. Sweaty person after sweaty person using a highly absorbent mat. Sorry if I just grossed you out too. Of course, you can invest in your own mat and bring it. However, it might remove the numerous people using the mat – it doesn’t remove the sweat.
Here is a quick and easy recipe for a DIY Yoga Mat Cleaning Spray:
- 1 C Water
- 1/4 C Witch Hazel
- 10 drops Tea Tree Oil
- 15 drops Lavender Essential Oil
- 5 drops Eucalyptus Essential Oil
Mix the above ingredients together and funnel it into a spray bottle that is small enough that it can easily tuck into your gym bag. It is simple and easy to use. Spray on your mat, preferably right after your workout, and wipe down. Give your mat about 5 minutes to dry before rolling it up. See? Easy, right?
Not sure where to get essential oils? Try Vitacost. You can get $10 off your first order at Vitacost. You can also find the witch hazel there!
Viola! Stinky, sweaty yoga mats are now clean! WARNING: Be prepared for everyone in your pilates or yoga class to want to borrow it! It smells that good.
Hi Andrea, this grosses me out too. In yoga class we are touching these dirty mats to most of our bodies. I think I will buy a natural rubber mat and then clean it! I am a little concerned that the oils will break down the mat though. Have you had problems with that?
Jennifer, I’ve had my mat for soooo long I truly don’t have a clue what material it is made out of. I’ve gotta guess it is a synthetic. All I can tell you is I have not noticed any deterioration on mine. Sorry I can’t be more helpful.
I’m so thrilled you posted this! I teach Yoga @ 3 different gyms (just so you know, at the end of each class I DO remind them to clean their mats if borrowed from the facility
). Anyways, I am going to print this off and pass it out to all of my classes! They are gonna love it! (I would e-mail it to them, but several of them are a tad older and don’t rely on e-mail so much).
Carrie, I am so glad you liked the DIY Yoga Mat spray! I find the pilates/yoga instructors are far more likely to clean the mats than say my crossfit instructor. Those mats are disgusting!
I really do find when I pull it out everyone wants to borrow it, so I hope your classes like it as well. Thanks so much for visiting The Greenbacks Gal! Andrea