How to clean a fabric playmat without wrecking the print

A fabric playmat is two materials bonded together: a printed microfibre top and a rubber base. The print is dye-sublimated, meaning the colour is inside the fibre rather than sitting on top of it, so the print itself is hard to damage. The bond between the two layers is the fragile part, and heat is what breaks it.

The routine that works

1. Lay the mat flat, printed side up, in a sink or bath.
2. Run cold or lukewarm water over it. Never hot.
3. Add a drop of mild soap — washing-up liquid or hand soap. No bleach, no solvent, no stain remover.
4. Work in small circles with a soft sponge or your hand. No brush, no scrubbing pad.
5. Rinse until the water runs clear.
6. Press the mat between two towels to pull the water out. Do not wring it, do not twist it.
7. Dry it flat, away from sun and radiators, until the rubber is dry to the touch. Allow a full day.

What ruins a mat

• The washing machine. The drum folds the mat against itself under heat. The rubber delaminates from the fabric in patches and never re-bonds.
• The tumble dryer. Same problem, faster.
• Hot water. Anything above roughly 30 °C starts working on the adhesive.
• Drying rolled or hung. The mat keeps whatever shape it dries in. Hang it over a line and you get a permanent crease down the middle.
• Ironing. Direct heat on the print side. Never.

Sleeve residue and shine

After a few hundred games, a mat used with sleeved cards picks up a faint polish in the areas cards move across most. That is plasticiser transferred from the sleeves, not wear on the print. Cold water and soap lift most of it. The rest is cosmetic and does not change how cards glide.

Spills

Blot immediately with a dry cloth, pressing rather than rubbing — rubbing pushes liquid into the fibre. Then clean the area with cold water as above. Sugary drinks need a proper rinse, not a wipe, or the fibre stays tacky.

Storage

Roll the mat with the print facing out and the rubber inside. Rubber against rubber under pressure can stick to itself in a warm car or a hot cupboard. A loose roll beats a tight one, and stitched edges mean the mat comes back flat instead of holding the curl — that is most of what the stitching is for, as we cover in what makes a playmat last.

Our mats are 2 mm microfibre on a non-slip rubber base, stitched on all four edges, printed at 300 dpi and made in France. Same care routine for every one of them, whether it came from the Riftbound collection or from your own artwork in the Studio.