I practice yoga occasionally (keyword: “practice”). I usually only do it at home because I hate the idea of laying my mat on the ground and then rolling it up (the dirty side touches the “clean” side unless you have one of those newfangled “fold and roll” styles like this). But back when I was using ClassPass, I attended a few yoga classes at actual studios, aka not my living room—so I had to invest in a yoga mat cleaner. This post will review the yoga mat cleaner that I ended up choosing.

Asutra yoga mat cleaner comes in a number of varieties, including unscented, but I bought the “peaceful lavender” variety. It included a bright blue microfiber cloth for cleaning the mat. I use it on an Empower deluxe yoga mat that I got at TJ Maxx a long time ago. The instructions say to spray the cleaner on the towel, wipe the towel across the mat, and then let it air dry.

Asutra lavender yoga mat cleaner ingredients

My Dad the Chemist’s review of Asutra lavender yoga mat cleaner

If it’s just a cleaner without emulsifier, it needs to be shaken before using, and normally not working effectively because the sprayout won’t be uniform and consistent. If they have the hidden emulsifier so that it spray out well without shaking, I think it should clean dirt and body oil ok, I would say it needs EPA regulated disinfectant cleaner more than this cleaner due to the potential sweat (certain yoga exercises can make people sweat) soaked into the mat and may promote bacteria growth ? This product may not kill bacteria, but the residual odors from these extract/oils may be beneficial for human breathing system. Love, Dad

My dad notes that oils and water don’t mix, so it seems like this product is missing an emulsifying agent in the ingredient list. The company is not required to list this, so it could be excluding it from the ingredient list. The company only needs to list the ingredients correctly if it classifies itself as a cleaner, in which case it would be regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

My dad isn’t sure if it will kill bacteria, but he thinks that the extracts and oils may yield other benefits upon inhalation. Indeed, this study supports the idea that inhaling lavender oil helps decrease blood pressure and heart rate. It may also help reduce inflammation associated with asthma.

Asutra yoga mat cleaner (lavender) review

The lavender variety of this yoga mat cleaner has a pretty strong fragrance. Once I finish this bottle, I’ll probably buy the unscented variety because I don’t like this heavily floral scent. The packaging it comes in is a normal spray bottle. The pump doesn’t spray out that much cleaner at a time, and I’m not sure how much I should be using, but I usually use about 2-3 pumps to cover my mat. This generates a pretty strong fragrance and dries quickly, without leaving too slippery of a residue. I wouldn’t say that there isn’t any residue at all, though. It takes a while for it to completely disappear.

I haven’t been able to find much research regarding tea tree oil’s benefits for fighting bacteria and fungus. The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health says there is “a limited amount of research” to indicate that this is so. Sometimes I just use a Lysol wipe on my yoga mat instead of this yoga mat cleaner. I haven’t noticed much difference between these two methods, but it is nice to think that the Asutra yoga mat cleaner is an all-natural way to ward off fungi, bacteria, and other nasties that accumulate on my yoga mat.

Bottom line: I don’t know if there’s anything that distinguishes the Asutra yoga mat cleaner from any other type of natural cleaner sold on Amazon, or any DIY yoga mat cleaner you’d create with your own essential oils—but at least this one comes with a nice microfiber cloth. That may be enough reason to try it.

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