mat cleaners

[TenTigers]

what do youguys use to clean and disinfect your mats?
I have Zebra mats, and their cleaner is35 bucks plus 10fifty for shipping.
I asked Matt Serra's guys and they use Kennedy products.
What do you guys use?

[lkfmdc]

soap, water and some bleach.. that's all you need

[Mutant]

We did a bunch or research on this last year because we wanted to make sure that what we were using killed all the nastiest germs including staph and MRSA.

Turns out that bleach works as good or better than any of the new $$$ cleaners on the market. And it breaks down naturally and becomes harmless after it dries, and dissipates so its perfect for this use.

We sometimes add some other soaps but usually just straight up bleach and water per recommended mixtures. We tend to make it a bit stronger to fumigate the place at the end of the night, by early morning classes its fresh with no bleach smell. Add too much soap and you get slimy mats and soap scum residue.

We were getting some of the pricey new solutions and decided to do some research and have saved a ton of money for it. Some of these new gym-marketed cleaners are crazy money, but cheap old bleach kills germs just as dead. Since bleach doesn't say on the bottle that it 'kills MRSA' it can be a bit misleading, because it does (the US Dept of HEalth research studies are out there), but the more spendy new brands make it a point to be more clear on this and benefit from bleach's brands vagueness on specific cleaning properties as relate to some of the latest super germs.

We do both traditional mopping (with water/bleach mix), we use an industrial sprayer to mist down (water/bleach, sometimes some other soap solution), a steam mop (can be used quick between classes with no left over dampness, used between sanda and bjj for example), and we just got these 'Athletic Body Care' brand wall mounted hand sanitizer dispensers. This all works well for us as we're the only gym the Boston area w/o a chronic staph and ringworm problem or germy reputation.

There are some good resources out there, here is a start:

"How can the spread of CA-MRSA be controlled?
http://www.health.state.ny.us/diseases/communicable/staphylococcus_aureus/methicillin_resistant/community_associated/fact_sheet.htm
Careful hand washing is the single most effective way to control the spread of CA-MRSA. Skin infections caused by MRSA should be covered until healed, especially to avoid spreading the infection to others. Family members and others with close contact should wash their hands frequently with soap and water. Personal items that may be contaminated (towels, razors, clothing, etc.) should not be shared.

Both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) have issued recommendations for preventing the spread of MRSA among athletes. These include practicing good personal hygiene, including showering after practices and competitions and not sharing personal items such as towels. Athletes who participate in sports where equipment is often collectively used are encouraged to reduce sharing as much as possible and to regularly wipe-down equipment/mats with commercial disinfectants or a 1:100 solution of diluted bleach (one tablespoon bleach in one quart water)."