How to clean the Cricut mat

This article is brought to you by Lizzsews.

You've used your Cricut mat for weeks on end, don't tell me wrong. Your vinyl should stick to your mat, you shouldn't need to use extra tape. Get that dish scrub out and clean that mat!

Cleaning your Cricut mat is something that you don't really think about when you're first starting out, but it is essential to do eventually.

Now, the tough part about cleaning the mat, you want to get all the dirt, hairs, and gunk off the mat, but without removing the sticky adhesive.

Everyone has their own method for cleaning their mats, I will share how I clean my mats and would love to hear how you clean yours in the comments!

What you'll need:

- Dish soap

- Scrub brush

- Dish cloth

- Cricut scraper

- Cricut mat (obviously)

How-to:

Start by wetting the scrub brush and adding some dish soap to your Cricut mat. Scrub your mat with the brush in circular movements, don't worry about how hard you're scrubbing, it will be okay. Don't use the scraper on the back of your scrub brush (I made that mistake when I was first learning).

When you feel that you have scrubbed enough, use the Cricut scraper to get all of the loose dirt, hairs, and gunk down to the bottom of the mat. Don't worry about the excess water on the mat, scrape it down to the bottom of the mat with all of the gunk. And yes, this water will be gross!

Now, rinse your mat under running water. Your mat should look clean now, if you feel that it is still dirty, feel free to go through the two steps again. Keep in mind here: your mat will not be sticky right away.

Take your mat and hang it over a dish cloth overnight, it should be (almost) good as new in the morning!

Note: By using the Cricut scraper, you're ensuring that you're not removing any of the sticky adhesive from the mat.

Tips for preserving your mat:

- Use the Cricut brayer or scraper to adhere your materials to the mat

- Keep away from pets

- Use a separate mat for glitter cardstock

- Use a mat protector -no, this isn't something you need to purchase. You know that sheet that comes on top of your mat when you purchase it? Yeah, that one, keep it! Use this to put on your mat when you're not using it, I don't know about you, but no one told me this when I started!

Recommended read: What is the Cricut Brayer used for
Recommended read: What is an SVG

Leave a comment below and let me know what size hoop you have. And don't forget to subscribe to stay up to date with all of Lizzsews new articles. See you next time!

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