How to Fold, Clean, and Store Your FlowMat

Your FlowMat is built to take a beating in training. Taking care of it is simple, and it comes down to four things: how you fold it, how you clean it, how you store it, and a few small habits that keep it like new for years.

How to fold your FlowMat back into the duffle bag

Yes, it really does fit back in the bag it came in. The trick is getting the air out in the right order.

1. 1

   Step 1: Wipe it down first.

   A quick sweep or wipe before you roll it up. Grit and sand trapped in a rolled mat are what wear on the surface over time.

2. 2

   Step 2: Reverse the pump hose and suction the air out.

   Don't wait around for the mat to deflate on its own, that takes forever and never gets it all. Your pump works in both directions, you just have to move the hose. The pump has two ports: the outlet the hose sits on for inflating, and an intake port on the other side of the pump body. Unscrew the hose from the inflation outlet and thread it onto the intake port instead. Connect the other end to your mat's valve and switch the pump on. Now instead of blowing air in, the pump pulls air out, and it vacuums the mat flat in about a minute. This is the step that makes the bag fit work, so let it run until every bit of air is out. When it's done, your mat should look like this: completely flat, like a sheet.

   

3. 3

   Step 3: Fold both long sides in to the middle.

   With the air suctioned out it folds flat and easy. Fold one long side in, then the other, and your mat becomes a long narrow strip, about a third of its full width.

   

4. 4

   Step 4: Fold one short end over once.

   Just the end, a couple of feet. Then roll from the opposite end toward it, so the folded end wraps the outside of the roll.

   

5. 5

   Step 5: Roll it tight.

   Roll it up snug, like a sleeping bag, leaning your weight in as you go.

   

6. 6

   Step 6: Strap it and bag it.

   Cinch the roll with the strap so it can't unroll, stand it up, and slide it into the duffle bag. A rolled 10x10 fits in the bag with the pump and repair kit.

   

First time takes a few minutes. After two or three sessions it's a one-person, two-minute job.

How to clean your FlowMat (and what not to use)

Keep it simple: a broom, a mop, and a mat disinfectant or regular cleaner. Sweep the grit off first, mop it down, let it dry. That's the whole routine, and it's all a training space ever needs.

The question everyone asks: will a regular cleaner ruin the mat or the seals? No. General cleaning supplies and liquids are fine, we've tested them on the mat, and your seams are welded, not glued. Clean it like you'd clean any mat in your gym.

Those three will remove the markings printed on the mat, the circle, the lines, the logo. If a cleaner is in that solvent family, don't use it, no matter how well it cleans everything else.

One rule that matters more than the cleaner you pick: let the mat dry completely before you roll it up. More on that below.

How to store your FlowMat

Storage is where mats live or die, and it's easy:

• Clean and fully dry before it goes away. Rolling a damp mat and leaving it is how you get mildew smells. If you train, wipe, and roll in one session, crack the bag open when you get home and let it air out.
• Store it in the bag, in a cool, dry spot out of direct sunlight. A closet, a corner of the garage, under a bed. Heat and UV are PVC's enemies over months, not minutes.
• Don't stack heavy boxes on top of it for weeks at a time, and keep it away from sharp tools and edges.
• Loose is fine. You don't need to roll it drum-tight for storage. Snug enough for the bag is perfect.

Maintenance: the 60-second checklist

Every few weeks of training, run through this:

• Valve check. Make sure the valve cap seats cleanly and there is no grit in the valve. A grain of sand in the seal is the #1 cause of a slow leak that is not actually a puncture.
• Never leave water sitting in the folds. If your mat got rolled up damp, unroll it when you can and let it dry out fully. Trapped water buildup after folding is how mold starts.
• Look over the seams and surface. Catch small scuffs early. A pin-hole or small puncture is a 20-minute fix with the repair kit that came in your bag: How to repair a mat puncture.
• Mind the temperature, especially stored inflated. Air expands in heat and contracts in cold. A mat inflated drum-tight in a cold garage will feel very firm in the hot sun, and one inflated on a hot day will feel softer on a cold morning. That is physics, not a leak. Top it off or let a little out as needed. And if you are leaving the mat inflated for a long stretch, keep it in a temperature regulated space, indoors at room temperature is best. Swinging between a hot garage and cold nights keeps expanding and compressing the air, which works the material over time.
• Check what is under it before you inflate. A stone or sharp debris under the mat plus body weight coming down on it is how punctures happen. A quick sweep of the ground first saves you a repair later.
• Never drag it inflated across rough ground. Pick it up or deflate and carry it. The base is tough, but dragging is how bases get scraped up.

That's the whole program. Fold it right, clean it simple, store it dry, and check the valve once in a while. Do that and your mat will outlast your current belt.

Questions about your mat? Reply to any email from us or message us any time, a human on our team will walk you through it.