Disinfecting the mat.

[broken fingers]

so yesterday i got to class a littler earlier than usual (bout an hour early) and decided to mop up the mats. a guy caught staff a week ago so we are all being extra careful.

here is what was used.
1. disinfectant (green stuff, MR. Clean)
2. some bleach
3. water (not a lot)

I figured the more disinfectant/bleach, the cleaner the mat.
it left the mat feeling rather griddy/greasy. what am i missing or doing wrong?
the mats are real nice, dont wanna ruin them, but dont wanna catch staff either!

any suggestions/comments/unescapable flames?

thanks
-BF

[Lu Tze]

Won't bleach fuck em up?

[BSDaemon]

1. It's not staff, it's staph... short for Staphylococcal

2. That slippery feeling is due to the base still present on the mats. It feels like this because it is is actually disolving part of your skin. Give those chemicals plenty of time to dry up so this doesn't happen.

3. Cleaning your mats should not be "being extra careful" this should be your standard operating procedure.

[jnp]

It's not a good idea to combine bleach with other chemicals as they can form toxic compounds. Ammonia and bleach combine to form a highly poisonous vapor IIRC. If you're already using a disinfectant, why are you also using bleach? Bleach is also a disinfectant, it's just one of the more wide spectrum disinfectants. IME, bleach is not good for mats, but your mileage may vary.

[Zapruder]

For the love of all things holly DONT USE BLEACH!! There are mat fungicides you can get from wrestling supply places, but I am a fan of simple green and bottled water ( if there si a high mineral content in the tap water that too can eat it away). That stuff works great, and if you were in boot camp, it will bring back such fond memories. Give 'er a try and let me know what you think.

[Rhamma]

[Teh El Macho]

Won't bleach fuck em up?

It could, but so would most dissinfectants.

This is an interesting topic cuz I'm developing something on my left ankle... and I so hope it's not ringworm or staph. I can't think for the life of me where the hell I'm getting this rash (a small 1"x1" patch) since I always use clean socks when working out and I haven't rolled on a mat since Jan.

Anyways, isn't staph a bacteria already living in people's skins and noses? I doubt the mats would have anything to do with it. Ringworm would be another matter, though.

An old rignworm folk's remedy from where I come from is the usage of ammonia, vinegar or gasoline. Yep, gasoline. Ringworm is very uncommon among people, but it's a plague for dogs and cats in the tropics. People w/o access to vets apply gas, kerosene or gasoline on the pet's infected area, and that shit works!!! Dogs don't like the smell, but they don't die AFAIK.

Instead of Mr. Clean, wouldn't vinegar or ammonia do the same job for cleaning mats?

[plasma]

Wait I thought broken fingers was the MMA kid, why isn't he banned yet?

[Tom Kagan]

I figured the more disinfectant/bleach, the cleaner the mat.
it left the mat feeling rather griddy/greasy. what am i missing or doing wrong?

Ah, well then .... obviously, you didn't use enough.



:smile:

[ItOnlyHurtsOnce]

Like stated before, don't use bleach on your mats. Standard simple green is not an effective disinfectant so rule that one out, you could buy the food service simple green and that might work.

Buy some wrestling mat disinfectant, so you know it won't eat your damn mats.

If that is too exspensive for you, wipe the mats down with a little water, dry them, then use lysol spray, it doesn't take much of the lysol. Wipe them off again and you should be good to go. If your mats are sticky you are using too much lysol.

[Zapruder]

Oh yeah sorry Simple Green D was the one I was talking about, but the food service one would be great too i think.

[broken fingers]

thanks to everyone for your input. can "simple green" be found in your local grocery store?

[ItOnlyHurtsOnce]

yes, but prolly not the right type of simple green. If it doesn't say disinfectant on it, you will do just as good wiping the mats off with just water.

[broken fingers]

so i have to order it? that kind of sucks, i wanted to help out but im not planning on spending more than 20 dollars for disinfectant.

the disinfectant that im using is the stuff i steal from work. MR. clean all purpose dissinfectant.
somebody posted a large pic of wiping and spraying. i think thats a good idea if each student cleans there own section of the mat. but im wondering if that will get all the germs that cause infection/ringworms.

[plasma]

MMA kid, go the fuck away.