One cleaning resolution that I am making for 2019 is to establish a regular routine for cleaning my self-healing cutting mat. I have set a reminder at the beginning of each month in my planner to clean my cutting mat, and today I want to share with you how quickly and easily this can be done.

Before Cleaning

Before Cleaning

To demonstrate, I am going to use my most abused cutting mat: I have one self-healing cutting mat set aside to use when I trim my quilts square prior to applying binding. As you can see in the photo above, there are lots of excess batting fibers embedded in the mat.

Loosen Fibers

Loosen Fibers

The first step to cleaning a self-healing mat is to remove as many of the embedded fibers as possible using a rubber eraser. It’s a surprisingly fun, fast, and tactile experience!

Soap and Water

Soap and Water

The second step is to use room temperature water and mild detergent to build up a lather on the mat. Using an old toothbrush, I gently rubbed over the entire surface of the mat.

After Cleaning

After Cleaning

After the mat has been cleaned, rinse and wipe dry with a cotton towel. As you can see above, the big pieces of batting that were embedded in my mat have been removed, and this particular mat would be in much better condition if I had already established a practice of cleaning it (at the very least removing batting fibers after each trimmed quilt)!

This simple practice will help extend the life of one of the most used sewing tools.

Note: this is based on the cleaning process recommended by OLFA.