As much as we all love to create a clean and safe place to play for our little ones, the nature of babies and children does not always lend itself to a clean play space.
Drool, food, spit up and other bodily functions can create quite the temporary mess. Not to mention those nasty germs from a cold or the flu. Cleaning your play mat becomes very important to keep your little ones safe.
Never fear though, you can easily clean your play mat safely and easily. Here are a few ways that I personally have used over time. We still have very young grandchildren (currently 4 and 1) and have play mats literally all over our house. We use them in the kid’s bedroom, in our living room and at times out on the back porch. So, believe me, they see plenty of all the above-mentioned baby and kid messes!
Clean Rag and Water
For those not so messy spills like water and drool, cleaning your play mat with a clean rag with water does a very nice job. Using microfiber small hand towels is great, but really anything will do. We would not recommend paper towels, as the texture of the mat will sometimes tear them if they are thin (although I have resorted to this at times).
Non-toxic Spray Cleaner
Most people have their favorite non-toxic cleaner that they like to use. Just make sure it’s gentle and safe to use with babies. I would still recommend wiping off with a clean, wet rag after spraying on mat. Harsh chemical or ammonia based cleansers are not recommended for obvious reasons when it comes to your baby.
My personal favorite cleanser is a Young Living product made from Thieves Essential Oil which is made very dilute and is great for cleaning and killing germs. We use this spray cleaner all around our house and diffuse Thieves oil to prevent colds and flu germs from entering or spreading through our household. If you are interested in Thieves Spray or any other essential oil products, you can check it out here. I also use Thieves Household cleaner and mix it in my own spray bottle. If you are looking for something that will last for a very long time, this is it.
Hand Washing in the Sink
Let’s face it, sometimes the messes are a little more than a spray bottle can handle. For that you can just take the pieces apart and hand wash them with dish soap (or any mild soap) in the sink and allow them to dry. The EVA foam is water proof, so it will not seep into the foam. If it’s a really nasty mess, I wash like this and then spray my Thieves spray on it (yes, maybe overkill, but I am a nurse, it’s our nature).
I hope this helps you clean and maintain the life of your Wee Giggles Play Mat. I would love to hear some of your favorite ways of cleaning your play mat! Please feel free to comment here or to contact me directly if you have any questions or comments.
Play Safe!