How to Clean a Cricut Cutting Mat and Make Them Adhesive Again

When you start using your Cricut machine, your cutting mat will be sticky and remain for many more cuts. But, over time, the Cricut cutting mat becomes less sticky and may even lose its adhesive properties completely.

This blog will show you many methods to clean your Cricut cutting mat and get it in optimal condition. Also, we will offer some effective methods to re-glue your mat and make it look new.

Cricut mats come in many different forms, but the cleaning method should be more or less the same. You will find this helpful guide when you need to reuse an old Cricut machine, a Silhouette mat, or a cake mat used for baking.

To make a Cricut cutting mat sticky again, you must first clean it.

When To Clean a Cricut Machine?

After many uses, your Cricut cutting mat begins to get residue and bits of shredded material. This residue coats the mat's adhesive layer, making the overall adhesive dull and less effective.

You should give your Cricut cutting mat a light cleaning to keep it sticky and effective after each use. But, cleaning your mat after every use is not always practical.

You will know it is time to clean your Cricut cutting mat when it is visibly covered with marks and residue, and the material no longer sticks to it.

How Often Should You Clean a Cricut Cutting Mat?

You should clean a Cricut cutting mat after every 3 to 5 cuts, relying on the project size.

Regular cleaning of your mat ensures that it stays sticky for as long as possible.

It will be best if you always cover Cricut cutting mats with the plastic sheets that come with them when you are not using them.

5 Methods To Cleaning Your Cricut Cutting Mat

Cleaning your Cricut cutting mat makes it last longer and stickier. The following are the best 5 methods to clean a Cricut cutting mat and make it sticky again.

1.   Light Cleaning

The first thing you should do is whip up your plastic scraper, which should come with your purchase of a Cricut machine. If not, any similar stiff plastic scraper will do. Move the material slowly and systematically over the surface to remove small debris. Do this many times before proceeding to the next step.

2.   Use a Lint Roller

You can use lint rollers to remove any characteristic buildup on a Cricut cutting mat. Lint rollers are handy for picking up fine dust and shine from the mat. Also, they have the benefit of shedding some stickiness to your mat.

To clean the Cricut cutting mat with a lint roller:

1. Run a clean lint roller over the mat.
2. Remove the dirty sheet and continue if applicable.
3. Repeat until you have removed all easily removable particles, dust, and shine from the mat or until you have lifted enough to fill the lint roller sheet.

3. Use Baby Wipes

You can use baby wipes to clean the Cricut cutting mat. Baby wipes are an effective choice and benefit from cleaning rubber and moisturizing them, making mats more likely to recover and retain their stickiness.

Scrub Cricut cutting mat with baby wipes to remove excess stains and residue. While baby wipes are effective, you may need to work harder to remove some of the more stubborn stains and materials.

Be sure to use non-alcoholic baby wipes when cleaning the Cricut cutting mat. Baby wipes containing alcohol will permanently remove the stickiness from the mat, leaving it dull and greasy.

4. Use a Sponge and Soapy Water

You can clean the Cricut cutting mat thoroughly by soaking it in soapy water (dish soap and warm water) for a few minutes. Soaking will help loosen some buildup and dirt from your mat.

After soaking the mat for a couple of minutes, use a scraper to scrape off all loose buildup first. Then, use a sponge to scrub the rest of the mat down to the desired level of cleanliness.

5. Air Dry Your Mat

Now that you've removed stains and buildup from your mat, gently pat it dry with paper towels. Then, allow the mat to air dry for 15 minutes or more.

While the mat is still wet, the surface won't feel too sticky, but don't panic! Once the mat is completely dry, you should be able to notice a better level of stickiness.

How To Restore Stickiness in a Cricut Cutting Mat

Has the Cricut cutting mat lost its stickiness and is no longer as accurate as you'd like?

No worries, there are tons of ways you can make it sticky and usable again.

For this, you will need an adhesive spray, sticky spray, or a disposable adhesive. These are available at all retail craft stores and online shops and are affordable. Remember that each product may have different instructions for use, so be sure to read them properly before doing anything else.

Some strange re-stick things you can use in a pinch include quilt basting spray, reusable glue sticks, and scrapbooking glue. If you have all the materials ready, let's move on.

Ensure the edges of the Cricut cutting mat using masking or painter's tape. It is important not to make the edges sticky to ruin the cutting machine.

Step 1 - Spray the adhesive to cover the mat to remove any remaining stickiness evenly. Apply plain rubbing alcohol or Goo Gone to the surface, then go over it with a scraper.

Step 2 - Spray slowly or apply sticky spray and evenly coat the surface of the Cricut cutting mat. Some products require you to brush a few times, while others work their magic by making contact. Once again, follow the directions on the label for the best results.

Step 3 - Allow the adhesive to rest and bond properly to the mat's surface. After about 15 to 20 minutes, remove the tape from the edges and inspect the finished product. Cricut cutting mat should be as good as new and ready for activity.

Conclusion

It shouldn't be a problem to get your Cricut cutting mat sticky again. Residue and physical particles from continued use are the leading cause of low density, so cleaning your mat can usually restore density.

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