How to Clean a Yoga Mat to Remove Salmonella, Staphylococcus

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Yoga mats are one of the most commonly used pieces of workout equipment. Whether you have your own or use one at your local gym, it’s important to know how to keep yoga mats clean and free of bacteria that thrive on the surface.

“The grooves, crevices and other designs that give a yoga mat that three-dimensional effect allows for greater surface area and feel — but also greater opportunity for bacteria to colonize and hide,” explains Jason Tetro, a microbiologist and germ expert known as “The Germ Guy.” Tetro says the soft surface can quickly and easily trap all sorts of water-based contaminants, such as bacteria. “As it dries, some of the bacteria survive and can transfer when the surface gets wet yet again,” he explains, as shown in this study published in the journal Microbiome.

According to Tetro, the average yoga mat can contain around 100,000 bacteria per cubic centimeter, though some studies he’s analyzed have found mats with millions of bacteria.

Since yoga mats are a high-touch surface, Tetro says most bacteria commonly found on yoga mats are skin-related, including:

There’s cleaning a yoga mat, and then there’s disinfecting it. In an ideal scenario, a yoga mat should receive a wipe-down to remove dirt and sweat after each use, which can be done with whatever cleaning products your gym supplies. However, properly disinfecting a yoga mat to kill bacteria effectively requires two key components: using the right disinfectant and letting that disinfectant sit on the yoga mat’s surface for the right amount of time.

“[Disinfecting] means using an active ingredient (think hydrogen peroxide or citric acid) known to kill microbes,” Tetro explains. “That active ingredient then must be sprayed onto a surface and left there for a specific period — we call that the contact time or the dwell time.”

To effectively disinfect a surface, Tetro says that an EPA-registered disinfectant needs to be applied to the entire surface of a yoga mat, then remain visibility wet for the whole duration of the product’s recommended “dwell time.”

Dwell times vary based on the type of product. Disinfecting wipes, a popular cleaning method at many gyms, can have dwell times of anywhere between 1 and 3 minutes, depending on the formula. Most gym goers quickly wipe down mats without properly saturating or allowing them to dry, which means mat bacteria never get killed effectively.

Natural disinfecting sprays found at some boutique gyms and yoga studios are another challenge. Essential oils like lavender, tea tree oil and lemongrass oil have become popular, more natural options for cleaning yoga mats. While they may make your mat smell better, Tetro says they do little to curb bacteria. “Lemongrass oil won’t affect the bacteria unless you leave it covering the mat for a minimum of 20 minutes,” he says. “Tea tree oil requires about 15 minutes to be effective and must be undiluted. Lavender has some antimicrobial actives but also requires hours to get the bacterial populations down.”

Wiping down your yoga mat with a damp, warm cloth or surface cleaner of your choice should be done after each use. Disinfecting your mat can be done every handful of uses if you’re only using your mat at home, Tetro says. If you’re taking your mat to a gym or workout class where you’re laying it out on the ground, you should disinfect your mat after each public use to avoid bringing bacteria home with you.

When choosing disinfectant, opt for a non-bleach formula, like this one from Clear Gear, to prevent damage to your yoga mat. To disinfect your yoga mat, Tetro recommends following the “3W” method: wet, wait, wipe.

If you’re looking for an all-natural option for disinfecting your yoga mat, Tetro says this can be achieved using hot water or even a steamer. “Hot water (over 160 degrees Fahrenheit) will kill bacteria immediately,” Tetro explains, so briefly submerging your mat in hot water is a free way to disinfect your mat if you have access to a tub. You can also use a handheld steamer on your mat. Tetro recommends holding the steamer on each area of your mat for around five seconds for best results.

No matter which method you choose, make sure you allow your mat to dry fully before storing it. Rolling up a yoga mat that’s not completely dry can create a moist environment for bacteria to grow again. Don’t undo all your hard work!