Yoga mat need a refresher? Choose your cleaning products wisely. There are all kinds of chemicals lurking in the average cleaning products you can buy at your favorite big box store. When seeking out a non-toxic yoga mat cleaner stay away from conventional cleaners. They not only have loads of chemicals, but wreak havoc on your hormone system (wether you are female or male).
Why you may ask?
The majority of the big box store cleaners have intense chemicals that can induce headaches, cause allergic reaction, and are linked not only too infertility, but also a variety of cancers, respiratory issues, birth defects, and more. At this time 80,000 different chemicals are unregulated in our US market place. They are used in household cleaners, health and beauty products food storage, baby products and so much more. Many of these chemicals have very similar reactions on the body, called endocrine disruption. Endocrine disruption, is the process that happens when chemicals enter the body, mimic hormones like estrogen in our body, confuse our system, and wreak havoc on our hormone systems causing a variety of reactions from early puberty, birth defects, reproductive problems, low sperm counts, neurological disorders, estrogen dominance and more.
When choosing cleaners for your yoga mat, home, car, or where ever you need them, choose cleaners that are safe and non-toxic.
How do you find safe cleaners? Think natural, and make your own. It’s not only easy, but then you can control your ingredients.
When you make your own you know exactly what is in the cleaners. Currently manufacturer’s of cleaning products are not required to disclose all of the ingredients in their products, so we have no idea what is in them. This is deemed proprietary information. So when you choose your own ingredients, you have complete control of what you are adding. I like to keep my ingredients pretty simple using vinegar, dish soap, borax, and essential oils.
When choosing essential oils, make sure they are pure organic essential oils. Just like choosing organic foods, the more organic we can use, the more hormone disrupting chemicals we can avoid.
Easy Non-Toxic Yoga Mat Cleaner Recipes
General Cleaning
3 drops of Tea Tree Oil
2 drops of Peppermint Oil
2 Drops of Lavender Oil or Lemon Oil
8 ounces of Distilled Water Empty Spray Bottle
Directions: Mix all items in spray bottle, lightly shake, spray mat and wipe down.
Deeper Cleaning
1 Cup White Vinegar
3 Cups Warm Water
10-12 drops of essential oils of your choice
Empty Spray Bottle
Mix all items in Spray bottle, spray mat (do not soak), wipe down. Tea Tree and Lemon are disinfecting so these are good options, and remember you can mix scents too!
Summer Time Cleaning
1 hose
1 sprayer
1 Fence (or equivalent)
1 Yoga Mat
Drape mat and spray that bad boy like crazy! Leave hanging to dry.