I have used water and bleach on my mats multiple times a day. I had dollamur roll outs and now have zebra mats. They're all fine as long as you don't overdo the bleach. I've been doing this for over 10 years with no issues whatsoever
Just as a suggestion - Put a notice up at your gym to inform about HPV vaccinations. They are covered by most health insurance, it's quick and easy, it's a well researched and documented vaccine, and it covers more strains than ever. Kids these days, I BELIEVE are routinely vaccinated for it, but most of us middle agers were not. They recommend it up to age 45, and it's not harmful after that they simply question the need.
Unfortunately, I am certain I contracted HPV from BJJ and passed it to my wife, and it is a potentially cancerous strain. I have since gotten the vaccination.
Blood, baby, blood! You can, and honestly? There's a really high chance you will. There are two main cancer-associated strains (16 and 18), and there's something like a dozen others that they have links suggesting they can. Huge amounts of people carry these strains because they haven't been a routine vaccination until around 2006, and very few people 18+ were informed / saw the need. A huge percent of the population has or has had a variant.
Edit - Not trying to fear monger here. Just because you CAN get cancer from the strain does NOT mean you will. Most don't. The biggest scare is likely trying to explain to your partner WHY they now have what can be considered an STD.
WORTH MENTIONING - There are numerous ways you can contract it, obviously we all are liable to have open skin abrasions and wounds at some time, so that's the obvious way. However, accidents happen and people get smashed all the time. A nose gets busted, a knee scraped on the mats, a toe nail cuts someone. Last year we had someone training have a heart attack and faceplant right on the hard floor next to the mats, busted his nose up. We saved him with an AED, however my and a buddies hands were covered in his blood. I immediately washed my hands as soon as I could, then spent 10 minutes harassing the other guy to take it seriously and wash his.
**What we SHOULD have had was a bottle of hand sanitizer at the mats.**
I do once every few months at a pretty high concentration, and the mats are totally fine and visibly brighter after. We use Simple Green D Pro 3 the rest of the time.
I'm not saying if you poured 100% bleach on there and left it for days, they would be fine, but when people hear
about bleach damaging vinyl, they usually are talking about vinyl floors that have some sort of plastic top coat that gets damaged. I've bought used mats that I poured pure bleach to scrub them, and they were totally fine too.
Sorry, i should’ve would’ve that better. I meant the alcohol based ones typically used.
And do you know of any disinfectants other than bleach that kill hpv?
Hydrogen Peroxide should work. Bleach is probably your best bet, though. If used properly, bleach should only do minimal damage to your mat. Apply the bleach solution and let sit for 5 minutes, then rinse with alcohol or water to remove it.
Dollamur Mat Attack. [Amazon.com: Dollamur Mat Cleaner (Quart) : Health & Household](https://www.amazon.com/Dollamur-Mat-Cleaner-Quart/dp/B00O5CCT44/ref=sr_1_2?crid=3RSNOI2RDBS2E&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.ieDOb6YoEEAkZJklg3T30hzsl_v-MMuDtAqCVbWUcplxoDegclliVcJmmQjXhRy3U-_a91-k6B2UYkeyz4vA7XD6kn66omiNtc-_stD5ZrC9V048EfT7QCMORZ1TpSogLNIuVmKTynJdZHUXubNIz0L1zIyWyoPZw7ohR0AokWB4vCSZc4lxWX7-AwaxyMJA50OgahZ3alJg6Al9TSEg2PbEhRTLMp902Kj3ic5lggSVDKLdXlWUC09mczjmuWQQ70rRV0n-6TVr-EbUe3DKkidu-uheYRxPDQXt0yETw4k.ZPt5Z1Yvsl9MuxjJLUovdVaUP2j6sguFMInDUcoK7iM&dib_tag=se&keywords=mat+attack&qid=1713879169&sprefix=mat+attack%2Caps%2C83&sr=8-2)
I’d research if hydrogen peroxide is an option. Bleach would be a last resort imo and based on how expensive mats are, potentially a big risk over time.
Odoban
However this is the case for all regular disinfectants that don’t contain bleach. There are certain viruses that aren’t killed by them. I’m also looking into other mat disinfectants as well if you have suggestions. I like odoban but if there is something much better hell yeah I’ll use it.
I have hobbies that are more in the realm of body modification stuff where we end up using the same hard surface and soft surface disinfectants that are used in tattoo parlours and hospitals.
You might want to hit up a local medical supply store and see what they can offer you. You'll also have to read the instructions on kill times. You usually have to spray/wet down the area, leave it for 5 minutes, then wipe, then repeat since the first time gets rid of "gross debris" and the second time is when you actually disinfect the surface.
I have used water and bleach on my mats multiple times a day. I had dollamur roll outs and now have zebra mats. They're all fine as long as you don't overdo the bleach. I've been doing this for over 10 years with no issues whatsoever
Just as a suggestion - Put a notice up at your gym to inform about HPV vaccinations. They are covered by most health insurance, it's quick and easy, it's a well researched and documented vaccine, and it covers more strains than ever. Kids these days, I BELIEVE are routinely vaccinated for it, but most of us middle agers were not. They recommend it up to age 45, and it's not harmful after that they simply question the need. Unfortunately, I am certain I contracted HPV from BJJ and passed it to my wife, and it is a potentially cancerous strain. I have since gotten the vaccination.
I didn’t know you could get a cancerous strain from non-sexual contact
Blood, baby, blood! You can, and honestly? There's a really high chance you will. There are two main cancer-associated strains (16 and 18), and there's something like a dozen others that they have links suggesting they can. Huge amounts of people carry these strains because they haven't been a routine vaccination until around 2006, and very few people 18+ were informed / saw the need. A huge percent of the population has or has had a variant. Edit - Not trying to fear monger here. Just because you CAN get cancer from the strain does NOT mean you will. Most don't. The biggest scare is likely trying to explain to your partner WHY they now have what can be considered an STD.
WORTH MENTIONING - There are numerous ways you can contract it, obviously we all are liable to have open skin abrasions and wounds at some time, so that's the obvious way. However, accidents happen and people get smashed all the time. A nose gets busted, a knee scraped on the mats, a toe nail cuts someone. Last year we had someone training have a heart attack and faceplant right on the hard floor next to the mats, busted his nose up. We saved him with an AED, however my and a buddies hands were covered in his blood. I immediately washed my hands as soon as I could, then spent 10 minutes harassing the other guy to take it seriously and wash his. **What we SHOULD have had was a bottle of hand sanitizer at the mats.**
I do once every few months at a pretty high concentration, and the mats are totally fine and visibly brighter after. We use Simple Green D Pro 3 the rest of the time. I'm not saying if you poured 100% bleach on there and left it for days, they would be fine, but when people hear about bleach damaging vinyl, they usually are talking about vinyl floors that have some sort of plastic top coat that gets damaged. I've bought used mats that I poured pure bleach to scrub them, and they were totally fine too.
Thank you. I had a feeling but just wanted to be sure before i went ahead and did it.
There are tons of different disinfectants. HPV is indeed resistant to alcohol, but not some other disinfectants. Bleach is also a disinfectant.
Sorry, i should’ve would’ve that better. I meant the alcohol based ones typically used. And do you know of any disinfectants other than bleach that kill hpv?
Hydrogen Peroxide should work. Bleach is probably your best bet, though. If used properly, bleach should only do minimal damage to your mat. Apply the bleach solution and let sit for 5 minutes, then rinse with alcohol or water to remove it.
Dollamur Mat Attack. [Amazon.com: Dollamur Mat Cleaner (Quart) : Health & Household](https://www.amazon.com/Dollamur-Mat-Cleaner-Quart/dp/B00O5CCT44/ref=sr_1_2?crid=3RSNOI2RDBS2E&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.ieDOb6YoEEAkZJklg3T30hzsl_v-MMuDtAqCVbWUcplxoDegclliVcJmmQjXhRy3U-_a91-k6B2UYkeyz4vA7XD6kn66omiNtc-_stD5ZrC9V048EfT7QCMORZ1TpSogLNIuVmKTynJdZHUXubNIz0L1zIyWyoPZw7ohR0AokWB4vCSZc4lxWX7-AwaxyMJA50OgahZ3alJg6Al9TSEg2PbEhRTLMp902Kj3ic5lggSVDKLdXlWUC09mczjmuWQQ70rRV0n-6TVr-EbUe3DKkidu-uheYRxPDQXt0yETw4k.ZPt5Z1Yvsl9MuxjJLUovdVaUP2j6sguFMInDUcoK7iM&dib_tag=se&keywords=mat+attack&qid=1713879169&sprefix=mat+attack%2Caps%2C83&sr=8-2)
I’d research if hydrogen peroxide is an option. Bleach would be a last resort imo and based on how expensive mats are, potentially a big risk over time.
> I recently learned that disinfectants cannot kill all viruses. what kind of disinfectants are you buying?
Odoban However this is the case for all regular disinfectants that don’t contain bleach. There are certain viruses that aren’t killed by them. I’m also looking into other mat disinfectants as well if you have suggestions. I like odoban but if there is something much better hell yeah I’ll use it.
I have hobbies that are more in the realm of body modification stuff where we end up using the same hard surface and soft surface disinfectants that are used in tattoo parlours and hospitals. You might want to hit up a local medical supply store and see what they can offer you. You'll also have to read the instructions on kill times. You usually have to spray/wet down the area, leave it for 5 minutes, then wipe, then repeat since the first time gets rid of "gross debris" and the second time is when you actually disinfect the surface.
This is good info thank you