How to clean your Manduka travel mat – a natural DIY solution

How to clean your Manduka Travel Mat
I wanted to jump online today to offer you a really great natural DIY solution for how to clean your Manduka Travel mat – something super simple that you can make at home!

I have a whole variety of mats that I use and practice on but today I wanted to chat specifically about my Manduka mats and the best way I’ve found how to clean them – without forking out a whole host of money for cleaning solvent every season. I have two different Manduka mats, the Manduka travel mat which is super travel friendly and literally folds right up (but has very little cushioning/support) and The Manduka Pro Mat, but at almost 3.5kgs it’s definitely a mat that stays at home!

If the yoga studio that I’m going to has mats that I can use, then I often take my Manduka travel mat to lay on top of one of them. (If the studio does not have mats that I can borrow then I will end up taking one of my more portable + cushioned mats like this one).

In the last little while I’ve been doing a bit of Hot Yoga with my Manduka travel mat and being SO sweaty and all, I decided it was high time that I washed it. (Probably a few years over due, if I’m honest)

And to continue in the honest vein, I have to say that washing my travel mat was by far one of the more disgusting things I’ve done this year. Ha! But to be fair a whole lot of what came out of that mat was likely Bali Sand, India dust and a whole lot of Hot Yoga sweat. It’s been well used is what I’m getting at.

I wanted to make a simple, natural solution that a) would clean the mat properly and b) not ruin the mat – so this is what I made and used:

Manduka Travel Mat Cleaning Solution:

1 x juice of lemon
1 x tbsp of apple cider vinegar
500ml of water
optional: a few drops of an essential oil of your choice (I chose tea tree)

Blend all of the above together and put it into a repurposed bottle. I used an old Sukin Face wash bottle, (which I wrapped in washi tape) as it has a great little squirt nozzle. (It’s a brand I changed to through doing the Gut Reset I did last year)

The gentle, diluted acid from the lemon and apple cider vinegar helps to really clean the mat and the essential oil is to give the solution a great smell. I used tea tree in mine as it helps give a really fresh feel!
You don’t need a lot to use on the mat, but if you had a whole batch to clean – like your studio mats/the mats I take to class then you could easily double the quantities and make a litre.

The best way I found to wash the mat was in the bath! I put the mat down into the bath and then sprayed my solution over it and washed it around with a damp cloth. Once I had given it a bit of a scrub, I then used the shower attachment to wash the solution off the mat into the drain (whilst marvelling/gagging at how much BROWN dirt came out of it).

I took my mat outside and let it hang over the stair banister to air dry – so definitely try and do this on a sunny day if you can!

Short and sweet and hopefully helpful for you today!
Do you have any other natural mat cleaning solutions that you like using?

If you’re a yoga teacher – what do you find works the best? Leave a comment below!

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