Cricut How to Make Mat Sticky Again

Acquire how to clean a Cricut mat and make it gluey again with this helpful article full of useful tips and tricks.

Cleaning your mat can save you lot a trivial money, or at to the lowest degree salve yous a trip to the store!

When your Cricut cutting mat gets muddy and loses its stickiness, you lot might start to wonder: Should you make clean the mat? Try to restick it? Or just toss it in the trash and buy a new ane?

If your mat starts to lose its "oomph," don't fret. You don't have to throw abroad onetime muddied cutting mats! I'll show you how to refresh Cricut mats with a lilliputian cleaning, instead.

In this mail service, I'll share my all-time tricks and tips for cleaning Cricut cut mats and making them pasty over again.

New to Cricut? Y'all may want to read this first: What is a Cricut Machine, and What Tin can it Do?

Non certain which Cricut auto is correct for y'all? Check out this detailed Cricut Comparison Guide.

How to Clean Cricut Cut Mats

Cricut mats are the sticky cutting mats that hold materials equally they get through the Cricut cutting automobile. There are four types of Cricut cut mats, each with a dissimilar level of agglutinative. In general, a Cricut cutting mat should last for 40-50 uses before it starts to wear out.

You read that right; the cutting mats do non last forever. They will start to wear out and lose their stickiness over time. However, you tin extend the life of your mat by cleaning it when information technology gets dirty and protecting it between uses.

How ofttimes should you clean your Cricut mat?

If you craft with your Cricut mats every day, you lot'll need to make clean your mats more oftentimes than someone who crafts once a week.

Near Cricut mats will need cleaning subsequently 2-iv cuts, depending on the types of materials you use.

I recommend cleaning the mat whenever you observe that the materials don't stick as well as they used to.

You may need to clean the mats more often if you use materials that leave a lot of debris, like felt, denim, glitter vinyl, or leather. Y'all'll especially desire to clean the mats later on you lot cut wood material with the knife bract.

Just, if you lot stick to smooth materials like vinyl and cardstock, you tin can probably get away with fewer cleanings.

How to Keep the Mats Make clean

The best way to extend the life of your cutting mats is to keep them make clean in the first place.

Here are some of the easiest ways to keep the mats clean.

• Clean the mats regularly with a lint roller or scraper. If you don't take a Cricut scraper tool, yous tin can utilise an old credit card or plastic gift card to remove scraps from your cutting mat. Simply run the border of the card across the surface of the mat to release flake pieces.
• Ever supersede the plastic protector sheet. Cricut mats come with a articulate protective sheet. You can keep your mat cleaner by covering the mat with the protective sheet in between projects. And, if the plastic sheet always gets dirty, you can wipe it off with a infant wipe or a niggling squirt of Windex on a paper towel.
• Use the right mat for the right material. Utilise the LightGrip mat for delicate papers, the FabricGrip mat for material, and the StrongGrip mat for heavy-duty materials.

What can you employ to clean a Cricut mat?

Here are some of the most common items y'all tin can use to clean Cricut mats. These are inexpensive and easy to fine – you lot might already have them at home!

Remember that you may not demand all of these supplies, depending on which cleaning method you choose.

Supplies and Tools

• plastic Cricut scraper tool
• lint roller
• alcohol-free babe wipes
• Dawn dish soap
• dish castor
• LA's Crawly cleaning spray

Different Cleaning Methods for Different Mats

It's essential to cull the right cleaning method for your specific mat.

In the list beneath, I describe several "low-cal duty" methods, "medium-duty" methods, and "heavy duty-methods". Start with the gentlest method, and make your way down the list.

Note: The cleaning methods in the list below will work well for the blue LightGrip mat, the Green StandardGrip mat, and the imperial StrongGrip mat — just not the pink FabricGrip mat.

The pinkish FabricGrip mat, on the other hand, has a special type of adhesive that requires dissimilar cleaning methods. Whorl downward for a special section on how to clean the pink Cricut mat.

Calorie-free-Duty Cleaning Methods

You can use the light-duty cleaning methods after every project to maintain the mat.

1. Scraper tool

Use the plastic Cricut scraper tool to scrape off large pieces of leftover material or debris. (I like the Twoscore scraper for this job.) Gently pull the border of the scraper tool over the surface of the cutting mat. The tool should dislodge whatever small pieces of excess fabric, devious hair, or fuzz.

2. Lint roller

Y'all can use a lint roller to remove small pieces of leftover material that remains stuck to the mat. Roll it over the surface of the mat to option up small newspaper pieces, glitter, or fuzzies.

3. Baby wipes

Infant wipes are a cheap and easy way to clean Cricut mats. I ordinarily continue a purse of wipes in my arts and crafts area to clean up spills and messes anyway — then they're a convenient item to have around.

How to Make clean a Cricut Mat with Baby Wipes

Y'all tin employ baby wipes to gently wipe the surface of the mat without damaging the adhesive. Choose alcohol-free baby wipes for the all-time results.

To make clean a mat with wipes, but wipe the mat in a circular motion until you take cleaning the entire surface. If the mat is actually dirty, yous may need to utilise 2 or three wipes. Utilise gentle pressure, and be careful not to scratch the agglutinative off. Allow the mat air dry out completely earlier using information technology.

Let the Mat Air Dry out Completely

Whichever method y'all choose, remember to let the mat air dry. Place the mat on a drying rack or hang it up vertically. Don't use heat, which tin damage the mat. And don't wipe it with a towel, which would cover the gluey surface with even more fuzz and lint – just what you're trying to get rid of!

Medium-Duty Cleaning Methods

If none of those gentler methods work to clean the mat, try washing it with lather and water.

How to Make clean A Cricut Mat with Dish Soap

You tin can clean a Cricut mat with dish lather and warm water. Choose a mild dish soap similar blue Dawn for best results. (Don't use hand soap with lotion or oils.)

1. First, use the scraper tool to remove excess material from the mat.
2. Then, lay the mat on a apartment waterproof surface, similar a kitchen counter. Using a clean dishcloth or a soft dish brush, gently scrub the surface of the mat in a circular with soap and warm water.
3. Permit the air mat dry completely before using.

Heavy-Duty Cleaning Methods

If your mat is very dirty or greasy, y'all may need to utilize stronger cleaning methods. One of the most popular cleaning sprays that people use to clean their Cricut mats is LA's Totally Awesome spray. Y'all can find this spray at most dollar stores or online.

How to Make clean a Cricut Mat with Awesome Spray

Earlier y'all endeavour this method, be aware that it gets mixed reviews online. Some people swear by it, while some people say it removed all stickiness from their mat. (Personally, I've only always needed to use dish soap and warm h2o, so I would exist careful!)

Hither is how to make clean your Cricut mat with Awesome Spray:

1. Spray the mat with cleaning spray.
2. Let the mat sit for 5-10 minutes.
3. Use a squeegee or scraper tool to scrape the residue off the surface of the matgently. The keyword here is "gently". Utilise very light pressure level, and so yous don't harm the mat.
4. Rinse the mat with warm h2o. Lay apartment or hang vertically to dry out.

How to Clean the Pink Cricut Material Mat

The pinkish FabricGrip mat is made for cutting textile. Information technology has a special adhesive that is different from the adhesive on the other 3 mats.

The pink mat'south agglutinative is quite delicate, so try not to scrape it or scratch it. If you must, yous tin can use the tweezer tool to remove larger pieces of leftover material.

Yous wouldn't desire to use Awesome spray or other harsh cleaining sprays on the pink mat.

How to Clean Felt off of a Cricut Mat

One of the hardest materials to make clean off of a Cricut mat is felt. It'due south fuzzy texture since it leaves a lot of lint and debris on the mat – even if yous practice everything correct.

My number ane tip for cutting felt is to use an older pink or green StandardGrip mat that you don't mind getting muddy. Fix it bated for your felt projects, and don't worry about information technology.

You lot can besides endeavor baking the canvass of felt with freezer paper, and sticking the newspaper side down onto the mat. This will hold the felt in place while the Circut cuts, and protect the Cricut mat from lint and fuzz. Later on yous end making the cuts, you can peel the freezer paper off like it was never there..

How to Make a Cricut Mat Sticky Again?

Sometimes, all you lot need to exercise is clean your mat to make information technology sticky once more.

Merely, if your mat is older or more damaged, cleaning may non practise the play a joke on past itself.

If cleaning doesn't brand your mat sticky again, you may need to try other ways of resticking a Cricut mat.

Of import: Earlier we keep going, you should know that resticking your Cricut mats may void the Cricut machine's warranty. When you add gum to your mat, yous run the risk of jamming up the machine with backlog adhesive. So, please go on with caution!

At present, if resticking the mat seems like more problem than its worth, you can always purchase a new mat! Some of these cutting mat multipacks can exist surprisingly affordable.

Here are the bones steps to restick a Cricut mat:

1. Clean the mat. Remove dirt, droppings, or other leftover materials with the scraper tool. Then, clean the mat with baby wipes or soap and water.
2. Once the mat is clean, record off the edges to set the mat for applying the new adhesive. Apply masking tape or blue painter's tape to protect the outer border (where the rollers impact the cutting mat).
3. Apply the new adhesive. Many people recommend using Spray n Bond Basting Agglutinative, which is a temporary repositionable adhesive fabric. Following the directions on the back of the can, spray the adhesive on the mat.
4. Let the adhesive dry for 10-15 minutes.

Other adhesives people have tried include Loctite and Krylon brand repositionable agglutinative, Tacky Glue, Zig Adhesive, and Aleene's Tack It Over and Over.

If you have a tried and true method of resticking a Cricut mat, please exit it in the comments. We'd dear to test it!

More Cricut Ideas

If you like Cricut crafts, y'all may exist interested in these related posts.

• What is a Cricut Auto, and What Can it Practise?
• How to Brand Stickers with Cricut "Print and then Cut"
• How to Make a Monogram in Cricut Design Infinite

What'south Next?

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Materials

• alcohol-free baby wipes
• gentle dish lather

Tools

• Cricut Scraper tool
• dish brush

Instructions

Starting time with the gentlest method, and apply move downwards the list as needed until the mat is make clean.

1. Use the plastic Cricut scraper tool to scrape off larger pieces of leftover material or droppings. Gently run the edge of the scraper tool over the surface of the cut mat to dislodge any stray materials.
2. Roll a lint roller over the surface of the mat to pick upward small-scale paper pieces, glitter, or fuzzies.
3. Use baby wipes to wipe the mat in a circular motion until you have cleaning the entire surface. If the mat is actually muddy, you lot may demand to use ii or 3 wipes. Use gentle pressure level, and be careful non to scratch the adhesive off.
4. Using a clean dishcloth or a soft dish brush, gently scrub the surface of the mat in a circular with soap and warm water.

With all methods, permit the mat air dry completely before using information technology.

Notes

Run across more cleaning methods in the mail.

Sarah Stearns has helped thousands of makers find their next craft project with gratuitous patterns and footstep-by-step tutorials on her blog, sarahmaker.com.  Read more.

Her work has been featured in Scientific American, Proficient Housekeeping, Vox, Apartment Therapy, and more.

harrisitardarand1976.blogspot.com

Source: https://sarahmaker.com/clean-cricut-mat/

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