Homemade Yoga Mat Spray
This homemade yoga mat spray will keep your yoga mat smelling fresh, even during a hot yoga class!
I have a confession to make.
My yoga mat was not the.. erm… freshest petunia in the land.
So I’m not exactly the stinky onion in class – at least I hope not?! oh no – but in child’s pose the other day, I put my nose down and wasn’t really loving the aroma. It didn’t smell bad, but it definitely didn’t smell sofreshsoclean. I realized it had been a little too long since I’d cleaned my mat. Back in the day, I used a simple solution to clean yoga mats: a little lemon and some water.
Homemade Yoga Mat Spray
Since it had been a while, and my mat had been to a few hot yoga classes since then, I knew I needed something with a little more sanitizing power, but natural enough to protect my mat. (I have a Manduka, and LOVE it.) Witch hazel came to mind, and after doing a bit of Googling, I discovered it would be the perfect component for a little DIY mat spray.
Here’s what I did:
In a spray bottle, I combined 2/3 the container of witch hazel (vinegar would work too, but has a stronger smell), water (almost the rest of the way up) and some essential oils. I had lavender and tea tree on hand, but eucalyptus and lemongrass would be great, too!
How to Clean Your Yoga Mat
Mix the ingredients,
spray your mat,
wipe with a cloth and let it dry.
(Putting the mat out in the sun for a little while would help with any lingering smells, too.)
After using a damp cloth to wipe the mat, it was good as new. This will also be the perfect elixir to clean the gym flooring we put in the garage. Playing around with the oils is fun, but I’d be careful not to go overboard as mats have pores and a lot of oil could seep through and affect the mat’s texture. A little goes a long way!
Soooo…when was the last time you cleaned your yoga mat? Hope you like this little cleaner as much as I do 🙂
xoxo
Gina
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Oh this is a great trick! To be honest I have never really “cleaned” my yoga mat. I have wiped it down after a class but this is something I really need to do!
This sounds great! ‘Real’ yoga mat sprays are so expensive – definitely going to try this xo
Great idea!
I’ve been looking for a natural yoga mat cleaner recipe – thanks!
OMG so funny that you posted about this today, because I just posted about my similar DIY method for cleaning my iPod armband! It smelled absolutely disgusting but tea tree oil totally helped to do the trick (plus kill the bacteria on it). I also used a natural deodorant that I received to try which smelled like lavender (the link is http://bit.ly/H2ajPi if you want to check it out), and that helped too. I think I’ll try another essential oil in addition to the tea tree next time (maybe something citrusy), and now you’ve inspired me to clean my yoga mat too!
I use a mix of tea tree oil and water, sprayed on when I get home from each class. It’s good! Tea tree oil is a natural antibacterial.
ratio?
I clean my mat every time I use it (maybe I’m a germophobe). I use a mixture of water and vinegar.
ratio?
I have wiped my mat down occasionally but I’ve never really cleaned it. Honestly, it never occurred to me to give it more than just a quick wipe down. I’ll have to do this!
Thanks for the reminder — my mat could definitely use a little…sprucing up 🙂
OH yay! this is the greatest. I always feel gross about yoga mats and gym mats. what a great idea! I am making this right away! Can I bring it to the gym and spray it on their mats? (: Haha!
This is great! I definitely need to give it a try!
I wipe my Manduka mat down semi-regularly with the homemade spray provided by my studio or with my Manduka spray. Still, I have icky marks where my hands and feet most often go that no amount of scrubbing will get off. I teach so it’s embarrassing. Wondering if a black mat would solve that problem…
Ugh. SO guilty… I saw this on pinterest the other day and thought “eh… another day.” I think this is a hint to do it sooner than later? hahah
Fortunately (or unfortunately) I have missed yoga for a while (like 2 months boo!) and haven’t had the necessity to clean it. Can’t you just spray Febreze and call it a day or is that sacrilegious?
Just what I needed! 🙂
I have The Mat from Lululemon, and I’ve heard that you’re not supposed to use any oils (not even tea tree oil) on mats such as The Mat, Jade Harmony, etc, because they are made with open-cell rubber, which will absorb oils, and over time, lose it’s grippiness. Can anyone confirm or deny this?
Confession: my mat may not be the freshest petunia either…actually i might not even be flower status any more. I will definitely be making this once I remember to pick up witch hazel, so thank you!
I should probably clean my yoga mat now that you mention it 🙂 great idea and I love that I can diy it! Lots of love Courtstar
I love my Manduka, too! 🙂 For a while there, I wasn’t cleaning it on the reg. Then one morning, I noticed one of those centipede things with a bazillion legs inside (I’m assuming wanting to be on the sweaty, moist part), freaked out, vacuumed it up, and have cleaned it after every use ever since. 🙂 I may or may not have been constantly looking at my mat during that practice to make sure none of its friends watching it being vacuumed and would want to take revenge.
I’ll definitely give this a try! I was at yoga last Friday and thought the same thing in while I was in child’s pose. It didn’t smell bad, but it didn’t smell good either. Last time I cleaned my mat was a few months ago after my first bikram yoga class. Completely necessary.
…I need to do this. 😉
Ahhh this is great! I think it’s a little too easy to forget to clean our mats and then they can quickly become rather nasty. This would be a great spray to have on hand.
I throw mine in the wash machine and hang on our deck railing to dry.
I have also machine washed mine. And tossed it in the pool or thrown it on the floor of the tub while I shower. But being in the dessert, the foam always dries fine. I don’t feel like sprays are enough but I guess in some climates actually washing it in water might be a bad idea, since it’s a big sponge. Especially for an expensive mat.
Well I now feel kind of gross for how infrequently I clean my mat. But at least now I know how to do it and what to use .
Those TOMS next to your mat are ADORABLE! Need to get some of those!
Such a great idea! I usually wipe mine down at the studio because they offer green cleaner and towels, but sometimes it just needs a little “more”. Thanks for sharing 🙂
This is perfect timing for me and my mat!
This would be great to give as a gift in a fitness-themed gift basket!
What a great DIY idea! I personally won’t be using any tea tree oil since I have a lululemon ‘the mat’ which has the slip-free coating that can get damaged/clogged with essential oils – I always have to be careful about which sprays I use at yoga studios!
what do you use?
You read my mind! I have been meaning to look into cleaning solutions and tada here one is, thank you!
Yeahhhhh…now that you mention it…
This is something I really should do ASAP. And probably issue a formal apology to my fellow bikram-ers…eek!
My yoga mat needs some serious TLC as well…but it’s hard with our concrete floors at home, it just gets so dirty so quick. Great idea with the cleaner though, I usually use vinegar, lemon and some water on mine.
Thanks for this! My mat definitely could use a wipe down and I’ve always been stumped on what to use besides some warm water.
Thayers has a rose scent witch hazel too! I order mine from Amazon 🙂
I have yet to clean my 4 year old yoga mat, Lol. Your diy cleaner will be a breeze for me to use since I use basically the same ingredients as my household cleaner!
I love this recipe. I found it a few weeks ago. I use the Thayer rose scented witch hazel, then add a few drops of lavender oil, jasmine perfume oil, and tea tree oil. It smells much better. This will make a great Christmas present for my daughter and yoga instructor, too.
I have.been using a Manduka Pro Mat Black for about 5 years using a DYI mat cleaner with essential oils (lavender, tea tree, eucalyptus & distilled vinegar & water) Manduka’s site reads do use vinegar it mat damage the metallic and opalescent properties . Has any one found this to be true, I thought vinegar would be safer then witch Hazel? The mat looks brand new after 5 years of use, using this DYI mat cleaner