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How to Clean Sink Mats

Mary Ylisela

Placed underneath your dish drying rack or in the bottom of your sink, a sink mat keeps your counter dry and free from water damage after washing dishes and protects your sink from getting marked up. Eventually, dirt, water and mildew build up on the sink mat, leaving an unsightly and smelly mess. There's no need to throw the mat away and replace it with a new one. Follow a few simple steps and your sink mat will be clean and odor-free again.

Dish washing eventually leads to a mat with mildew.
    Use a cleaner with bleach added.
  1. Sprinkle powdered cleaner with bleach onto the surface of the sink mat. Straight bleach is too harsh for the rubber, as it causes it to eventually dry and crack.

  2. Scrub with a clean cloth.
  3. Scrub both sides of the sink mat with a dampened cleaning cloth to remove dirt, mold and mildew. Add more cleaner if necessary to remove all the grime. Rinse off your cleaning cloth in the sink from time to time, so you're not spreading the dirt around.

  4. Rinse away dirt and cleaner.
  5. Rinse both sides of the sink mat, in the sink, with cool water. Check to see if any dirt or mildew remains. If it does, you can repeat the process of cleaning it with additional cleaner until the sink mat is free of dirt and mildew.

  6. Wipe the sink mat with a dry towel and then let air-dry.

  7. Baby oil keeps the rubber moist.
  8. Prevent your sink mat from drying and cracking by rubbing a little baby oil into the rubber. Let the mat sit for an hour, then wash it off with dish soap and water so any baby oil not absorbed into the rubber doesn't get on your dishes.