Caring for your Cricut mats properly will extend the life of your mat and keep them sticky longer. If this doesn’t work I do have a tutorial on making your mats sticky again here
Cleaning
Paper fiber and dust can cause your mats to lose their stickiness after just a few cuts. Proper cleaning and caring for your Cricut mats can remove these issues. I clean mine at the end of every day but then I use them for 50 cuts or so every day.
You can clean them with baby wipes. Scrub them pretty hard and you can remove the little bits of things clogging up your mats. You should see them getting cleaner and see the residue on the wipe. The mat will be wet after so it won’t feel sticky right away but as it dries you will feel the sticky coming back.
You can clean Cricut mats with dish soap too. Use whatever soap you have to do your dishes. Do not use a rag to scrub your mats. This can leave fibers. And a scrubbie can take the adhesive off completely. Scrub with a sponge for best results or your finger nails.
This also makes the mat very wet. Do not dry with a towel. Just hang them up and let them air dry. It will take some time though.
WARNING: Using the cleaner Awesome from the Dollar Store will remove all the sticky from your mats!!!
Caring for Your Cricut Mats Daily Routines
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- Never leave papercuts on your mat. I use a paint scraper that I bought at the dollar store or the cricut scrapper.
- Don’t gouge your mat with the scraper. Digging a corner of any scraper into the mat will remove glue.
- Always put the cover back on your mat when not using it. You don’t know (or maybe you do) how easy it is to lose the cover in a cluttered craft room. I have a tutorial on engraving on your mat cover to make it easier to find. If you write on it make sure to put the clean side down on the mat or you will transfer ink.
- Hang your mats up. I have a nail in my craft room that I hang the mats on with the cover sheet to keep them off my work-space.
- Avoid using too much pressure on your cuts. When I made the movement card, there were lots of thin parallel cuts that ruined a mat because I used too much pressure and I couldn’t get it cleaned or healed. I reconditioned my mat and it wasn’t even good then. There was just too much damage.
Reconditioning your mats
This is not recommended by Cricut. That said, I have done it many times. That post is separate since it is a long topic itself. See how to recondition your mats here.
