If you are a yoga enthusiast, you know just how fast the yoga mat can go from that crisp looking, clean and new to a seemingly untidy and worn material. The mats often attract discolored spots especially in places where you plant your hands and feet during the sessions. With time, sweat and dirt from your body end up in the mat.

A yoga mat could be a suitable breeding ground for harmful bacteria, especially if you use the shared mats in community yoga and workout centers. One study revealed that yoga mats, carpets, clothing, and equipment handles are perfect breeding grounds for harmful pathogens such as salmonella and more.
Against this backdrop, it’s always critical to developing a habit of cleaning your yoga mat to avoid the transfer of harmful bacteria back to your body. If you’re wondering where to get one, you can get yoga mats online from a reliable digital outlet. But first, here are three steps you can use to clean your yoga mat:

 

Hand Washing

This is the simplest and most widely used method of cleaning a yoga mat. Just get enough water in a bathtub with mild soap. You may use your hand, a clean sponge, or a washcloth to scrub the mat gently. After scrubbing your mat all over, rinse with clean water. To squeeze water out of your mat, get a bath towel of a larger size and spread your mat on top of it. Roll the towel together with the towel and stand on it so the towel can absorb as much water as possible from the mat. Remove from the towel and air it where there is enough airflow to dry up.

 

Machine Wash

Although some people avoid it that it may cause tears in your mat, it is by far the fastest way to clean your yoga mat. It’s advisable to put one mat at a time into the machine. You may use water or mild soap according to your preference. You may also use the dryer when it is set to a lower temperature. When the mat is cleaned and rinsed thoroughly to remove any soapy residue, remove from machine and air in a free place with enough supply of air.

 

Spraying with an All-natural Product

You can get a pre-made disinfectant from stores or yoga studios. If you have time and the required ingredients, you may also make your disinfectant. Use the disinfectant in the right quantity recommended by the manufacturer. Follow directions appropriately to avoid any unnecessary action that may lead to damage.

 

In yoga lessons, your mat is an important part of the training. It comes handy in its lightweight and easily portable nature to prevent you from slipping when you are in standing poses, and cushioning you when in sitting or reclining positions. With these activities going on almost simultaneously, your yoga mat is likely to get dirty quite often. Cleaning your yoga mat is, therefore, an important part of maintaining cleanliness even during your training session so you may avoid contamination that may prove quite expensive in the end.…