Clean Your Bathroom Mats with These Easy Tips.

There are many things or parts of our home that we miss out on when we clean. This is mostly because they are hidden and we don’t care to move things around to get to them or because they are underfoot, like the bathroom mats or rugs. Honestly, you could probably clean the whole bathroom every other day and still forget or just not bother to clean your bathroom mats.

The argument is not even whether you should clean your bathroom mats or not; you know you should. The question here is, how do you go about it? And how often should you? As earlier established, not many of us get to it as often as we should - so let’s get started.

How Often Should You Clean Your Bathroom Mats

Bathroom mats accumulate fungus, bacteria, mildew, and grime of all kinds. Seriously, without cleaning them, you are basically harbouring them on the mats and ultimately, in your bathroom. This is why it calls to reason to wash as regularly as you can. Think about it this way; the bathroom is for washing your body of dirt, so leaving your bath mats unclean defeats that purpose. How clean do you think you will end up being when you step out of the bath or shower room and immediately step on your dirty bath mat full of gunk and grime? I’m sure you can understand what I’m driving at already. If you want to achieve all-around cleanliness, you have to keep your bath mats clean. 

I would suggest cleaning your bath mats as regularly as you clean your bathroom. However, the number of people using the bathroom can also determine how often you should clean. A bathroom used by one or two people doesn’t need to be cleaned as often as a bathroom used by five or more people. However, largely, you can just use your discretion; I think it is safe to say we all know when something is just begging to be cleaned; don’t let your bath mat get to that point.

Well, now that you know you should not leave your bathroom mats for long, let’s discuss the easy steps to clean your bath mats.

Shake It Out

The first thing you want to do is to take the mat outside to shake out all the dirt, dust, debris and hair that would have fallen on it. This should not be done inside the house; don’t underestimate the amount of dirt accumulated by your mat. Go outside and thoroughly shake it out.

Check the Care Tag

Many bathroom mats and rugs come with a care tag at the back of your rug. They contain instructions on how to care for your bath mats. The reason you should do this is in case the mat requires certain cleaning products, washing or drying conditions. You run the risk of damaging your mat if you don’t follow specific cleaning instructions. So, if you find specific instructions, follow them strictly and disregard the steps below if they contradict what’s on your care tag.

Machine Wash

Bathroom mats or rugs made from materials such as polyester, microfiber, chenille, cotton, nylon, memory foam and mats with plastic or rubber bottoms can be machine-washed. 

• Gently place your mat in the washer without overloading the machine. 
• Add gentle detergent (or as stated on the care tag) 
• You can include a little amount of vinegar, especially if you are washing all plastic bath mats (avoid if stated on the care tag)
• Wash at a hot or warm temperature to kill all the bacteria and fungi your mat is sure to have accumulated. For memory foam rugs though, stick to cold temperature.
• Hang outside to dry or tumble dry on the lowest heat setting.

Hand Wash

If your mat is made of natural fibres like bamboo or jute, you should definitely hand-wash. 

• Get a large tub of warm water (use cold water for memory foam).
• Get rubber gloves
• Pour in gentle detergent (or as stated on the care tag) into the water. You can include vinegar, especially for plastic mats (avoid if stated on the care tag).
• Place your mat into the tub and scrub with a sponge. Don’t dip mats made with natural fibre into the water. Instead spot-wash by dipping the sponge into soapy water.
• Rinse the soap away with warm or cold water
• Hang to dry.

Let me conclude by saying you should check your bath mat to see if it needs to be replaced. They are not meant to be used forever. Replace them if they have served their purpose. You can get one and other bathroom products at SellOff.ng if you need a bathroom mat.