How to clean your Silicone Baking Mats

It's no secret we love Silicone Baking Mats. They are a serious game changer in the kitchen and SO have many uses. The best part? They replace Baking paper which can only be disposed in landfill unfortunately. Even though it's made from paper, it is then treated with acid during production to give it high stability and high heat resistance, and is then coated with a nonstick material, typically silicone. So it can't be recycled, it doesn't break down, it's just landfill.

Silicone Baking Mats to the rescue! Reusable, versatile and easily storable as they roll up! There's one thing you'll notice if you're a Baking Mat convert, they can get oily and dirty. Oil and flavour residue remain on the surface of these mats. If you like keeping your kitchenware sparkling clean it can be a little off-putting. So, what's the best way to clean them? We thought you'd never ask.

We'll start with the more natural approaches -

Baking Soda: Scrub your silicone mat with a paste made of warm water and baking soda, let it sit for ten minutes, then rinse. Fresh and clean.

Lemon and Hot Water: Soak your silicone mat in hot water with the juice of a few lemons to give it a deep refresh.

White Vinegar or Lemon: Another more scientific suggestion is to warm the Silicone Mat up in the oven first, then while the mat is hot, immediately plunge it into a bath of warm water and white vinegar (or lemon juice). It should emerge smelling like new!

Then for the less natural approaches -

Soak mats in extremely hot water with a few squirts of grease-fighting or heavy duty dish soap for 20 minutes. Natural varieties don’t work as well for this; use soap designed to tackle tough stains. The water should be piping hot, not warm. Wearing kitchen gloves, scrub clean under the water with a sponge or towel, then dry on a drying rack or with a towel. If the stains are pretty bad, repeat this process. (Source: Sally's Baking Addiction) 

Dishwasher: While we don't recommend regular use in the dishwasher (as it can reduce the longevity of your Baking Mats), you could choose to pop it through the dishwasher every now and then for a deep clean. 

While not a cleaning suggestion, one of our lovely customers suggested to use one mat for only baking sweets and the other for savoury flavours. That way if there is some flavour residue, it's keeping similar flavours to what you're using it for!

So how have you kept your Baking Mats clean? We'd love to hear if you have any tips and hints.