I have been in many countries and many cities and I have trained in many martial arts gyms. I think that it is more than two hundred. I had to do my MMA training sessions on very dirty mats so over the years I got sensitive and thought that I should have an article on my site about the cleaning.
Below you can find a very good and informative video about it, tips and at the end of this short content, you can also find recommendations as well.
Do This Before Cleaning! Not all mats are made of same materials. For example, the surface materials are different and even the qualities of foam can be affected by a cleaner. With that, companies generally provide a detailed description for cleaning (materials etc.) and before you clean, you should definitely check it.
Why should you clean your mats? These can have sweat and bacteria and it can invade your mats! And I am sure that no one wants to train on mats which have blood stains, right? With that, sweat can make your mats sticky and while training, you may not even move your foot properly! So you should clean your mats regularly. This is common sense, right? I should not even write this but as I said I trained on dirty mats many times. And some of them happened in commercial MMA gyms!
How to Clean MMA, BJJ Mats
There are actually numerous ways to clean mats. First of all, you should not harm the surface of mats. These should stay soft and continue providing good grip all the time. And there is actually a video which covers everything you need to know about cleaning mats. In this video there are also some incredible tips about cleaning mats and considering Dion Watts’ reputation among BJJ and Muay Thai gyms, I highly suggest you watch the video below carefully!
This video is actually for people who know the cleaning materials. But what if a company does not provide any information about cleaning?
Even though most mat companies provide it, sometimes we just may not have a budget to go with higher end mats and need to settle for cheap BJJ mats. And these mats may not have any description for it. This actually happened to me many times while I was looking to buy mats for local martial arts gyms.
So how should you clean your mats?
Firstly, you need to find and use neutral cleaners. You can read the label and find out whether it is neutral or not. Actually, many companies produce good cleaners which have good ratings and these can be used for cleaning mats without any problem whatsoever.
Secondly, if you want to continue doing your martial arts training, you should not use sharp objects to clean your mats. As a side note, bleach can also ruin many mats on the market and I highly suggest you avoid it. These are just some examples and I know that there are also other materials which can hurt the shock absorbing qualities of foam. So before you use anything do your research well and if something works, just stick with it!
How Frequent should you clean your Martial Arts Mats?
Use your common sense. Some guys go really hard and can bleed on jiu-jitsu mats during sparring and there are also some people who don’t even sweat after rolling on mats for twenty minutes! With that, if you are responsible for mats, which are used regularly, I highly suggest you clean them every day. However, if you train on home mats, you can clean them less regularly.
Recommendations: Some mats are suitable for conditioning. You can get essential oils like Tea Tree and mix it with water and rub it on your mats with some old clothing. I know that many Z-Athletic Mats are suitable for it. In this way, your mats can last more and also look really awesome!
How to Train on Gym mats?
First of all, I do not have germophobia, however, I really appreciate doing my MMA training sessions on mats which are really clean. Because I have trained on really dirty mats many times and I honestly can’t even stand seeing dirty mats in gyms. But sometimes we got to do what we have to do. For example, I just can’t stop doing martial arts training ever! So you can always wear a quality rash guard while training on mats. In this way, you can be protected from the bacteria and fungal infections. This is actually the reason why I started wearing spats and rash guards.
Final Thoughts
With that, if your mats have some rough or soft spots, you should get some new mats. Since these do not only affect your wrestling, BJJ… training quality. You can even fall and get hurt.
If your mats are not in a good condition, check out these good BJJ mats.
Cleaning your mats improves the durability and also makes sure that you can have a good training session. I really hope that you enjoyed reading and if you have any questions about the cleaning of a specific mat model, just leave a comment below or just send me an e-mail and I will check it out (cleaning materials etc.) as soon as I can!
hi Dion my son has a bbj gym. I agree with you on cleaning the mats. He does disinfect them after every class but I don’t think that’s enough. He doesn’t have a mat cleaner. I looked on line they said to use a cap full of bleach with a mild detergent. ( per gallon ) Crazy as it sounds I put the solution in a carpet cleaner because it extracts the dirt and water . I was wondering if there Is a conditioner that I can apply afterwards. Not sure what mats are made out of .
Hi Marie, knowing the mat’s material is quite important as I can provide better suggestions or you can just get classic ones that are used for gym mats.