How to Clean Your Cricut Mat with Baby Wipes (Plus 2 Other Methods)

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Cricut mats can get dirty so easily and lose their stickiness. However, just because they get dirty doesn’t mean you need to throw them out. Here is how to clean your Cricut Mat with baby wipes – along with a few other methods you might find helpful.

If you’ve had your Cricut for a while, you may have noticed that your cutting mat has become a little bit dirty and a little less sticky over time.

While it’s normal for your mat to start collecting dirt and grime as you use it, letting that grime stay making it a sticky mat can have negative effects down the road.

That means the longer you wait to clean your mat, the harder it will be to make your favorite Cricut projects in the future!

Why should I clean my Cricut Mat?

Instead of worrying about your Cricut mat losing its effectiveness, take a few minutes to clean it.

Cleaning your sticky cutting mat with baby wipes will give you the best results and is such an easy way to keep it clean. Plus it might just become your favorite way to get a clean Cricut mat and extend the life of your Cricut mat, too.

Keeping your mat sticky and clean will also help save you money in the long run so you don’t have to keep buying a new mat every time it gets dirty or lose its stick.

I’m all about saving money whenever possible, so I love making sure my Cricut mats get all the life out of them possible!

These simple cleaning methods will help you keep your mat clean between uses so you never have to worry about your mat losing its stickiness again. After it is cleaned it might even look like a brand new Cricut mat!

Before and After

Before sharing the methods for cleaning, I thought I would share a before and after of one of my most grimy mats. This mat was left on the floor and got a lot of extra dirt and grime that probably wouldn’t have been there otherwise.

I actually don’t have the best before picture – but it is that blue mat on the right side of the picture.

The after picture shows some scratches that were permanent, but it’s clean, sticky, and perfect for use!

To clean your mat, you’ll need

Getting your Cricut mat clean is a pretty easy process if you have the right tools on hand.

Mat scraper: Use your Cricut mat scraper to remove stuck on pieces of paper and other small debris that could be stuck on the top of your mat. If you don’t have a scraper, a hard plastic scraper, like a kitchen spatula, will also work for this step of the cleaning process.
Lint roller: To get the smaller pieces of debris, like dust and pet hair, off the sticky side of your mat, a lint roller is a great tool to have on hand.
Baby wipes: The damp, soft texture of baby wipes is great for cleaning your Cricut mat when it starts to get dirty.
Soapy water: To deep clean your Cricut cutting mat, you may need to give it a bath in soapy water to thoroughly clean the mat.

How to prepare your Cutting Mat to clean

There are four basic steps to cleaning your Cricut cutting mat.

And the good news about this process is that your mat may not need every step.

To see if your mat needs a light cleaning or deep cleaning, just follow each step in order.

I have included a few different options for each step, and they are all easy and budget-friendly!

If you find that your cutting mat looks clean enough after completing step one or two, you can stop there and start crafting.

But if your mat is still dirty and dull, you’ll probably need to finish all the steps to thoroughly clean your cutting mat.

Step 1: Scrape off the debris.

If you just started using your Cricut or have cleaned it recently, your mat may just need to be lightly cleaned to remove some of the stuck-on debris from the sticky side of the mat.

If that’s the case, all you have to do is run your scraper along the sticky surface of the mat to help loosen that stuck-on debris.

Continue moving the scraper along the mat until you have cleared away all that extra stuff that may be keeping your projects from sticking to the mat.

Other Options:

Don’t have a scraper? Here are a few other tips:

An old credit Card
Masking Tape or painter’s tape
Plastic Gift Card

Step 2: Roll off the Lint

After getting the visible debris off your cutting mat, your mat may still not be a sticky as you’d like. That’s because there might be small pieces of dust and hair still stuck to the mat that your scraper wasn’t able to clean off. That’s where a sticky lint roller comes in handy.

To remove those stubborn small pieces of debris, roll your lint roller over the sticky part of the mat in a circular motion. The roller will help pick up all the lint stuck to the top of your mat. Be sure to reach the edges of the mat.

And as an added bonus, it may transfer some of its stickiness to the mat’s surface.

Step 3: Use Your Baby Wipes

Make sure they are the right kind of baby wipes

Before you grab a wipe from your baby’s wipes container, check the package to make sure those wipes are bleach and alcohol-free baby wipes

Those two ingredients will damage the sticky surface of your mat, so it’s essential that you’re sure the wipes you’re using don’t contain bleach or alcohol.

How to wipe your mat with a wet wipe

Once you’re sure those wipes are safe, simply rub the wipe over the mat slowly, making sure to wipe in a straight line applying medium pressure.

Step 4: Let it dry!

After it looks nice and clean, it’s time to let it dry. Air drying is usually best, rather than trying to use a rag or paper towel. You can hang it up to dry, use a drying rack or just have them lay on a flat surface.

Other Options For Cleaning Your Cricut Mat

Soapy water soak

Even after scraping, rolling, and wiping, does your mat still look dirty? It’s time to give it a bath!

Fill a container big enough to hold your mat with lukewarm water and add a couple drops of plain blue dawn dish soap.

Place the mat in the water and allow it to soak for five to 10 minutes.

If there is still stuff stuck on the mat, use a soft-bristled toothbrush (grab one at your local dollar store) to lightly scrub the mat until all the debris has been removed.

Rinse the soap off the mat and allow it to air dry completely before using it.

Avoid drying the mat with a cloth or paper towels because the lint from the fabric will probably stick the mat, and you’ll be forced to start the cleaning process all over again.

LA’s Totally Awesome Spray

This is an amazing all-purpose cleaner that you can get at The Dollar Tree (it tops our favorite Dollar Tree cleaning supplies).

I actually ran out of it when I was working on this post, so I tried the degreaser from LA’s Totally Awesome, and it worked awesome.

I usually use it before soap and water (not hot water) , just because it works so well. I just spray it on and scrub the mat with a microfiber cloth. I have heard this only works on the mats with the floral background, so keep that in mind!

How to Clean Your Cricut Mat with Baby Wipes (Plus 2 Other Methods)

Why should I clean my Cricut Mat?

Before and After

To clean your mat, you’ll need