Silicone baking mats are a great way to get amazing results from your recipes and also have the ability to save you a lot of space if you have limited kitchen storage.
These mats are generally very convenient, keeping your cupboards neat and clear while allowing you to bake or cook surprisingly effectively.
However, while silicone mats are usually pretty good at resisting stains and sticky substances, residue can get stuck to them and when it does it can be very difficult to remove.
In this guide, we’re going to look at how to clean your silicone baking mats to get the best results possible and ensure that you can continue to use them while keeping them in great condition.
Dish Soap Method
One of the simplest and most effective cleaning methods for silicone uses simple dish soap as it can cut through grease and clean most substances very quickly and effectively.
1) Put some hot water and dish soap into a bowl or kitchen sink. Ideally, you should use very warm water and a good amount of soap, as this will help cut through stubborn stains and substances stuck to your silicone.
2) Place the baking mat into the soapy water and allow it to soak for some time, ideally at least 30 minutes, but an hour or more will also work wonders on very dirty mats or tougher substances.
3) Now that the mat has soaked for some time, take out your scrubbing brush or sponge and give the whole mat a really good scour.
Typically, the longer your mat has soaked the easier it will be to remove stains and substances, however, some may still require a lot of scrubbing even after soaking.
4) If there is a stain that won’t budge, you may need to allow the mat to soak for even longer, repeating this process of soaking and scrubbing several times over to remove the stain. Using an anti-grease soap may help make this process much easier.
5) Once you’re satisfied with the state of your baking mat, rinse it thoroughly to remove all soap and then place the mat on a drying rack or towel to absorb excess moisture. You should allow the mat to fully dry before using it again.
Baking Soda Method
For some tougher stains, a baking soda clean may be required as this will tackle more stubborn stains very effectively.
1) Heat the silicone baking mat up in the oven before cleaning. This is a great step for tackling tough stains. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit or 177 degrees celsius then once the oven is preheated place the mat into the oven for roughly 10 minutes.
This will help weaken the stain or the substances on your silicone mat and make the following steps much more effective.
2) Make the baking mat damp in a sink or bowl of water, then shake off the excess water. Look for the main areas where the stains are on the mat, then apply some baking soda to the baking mat, ideally doing so in a bowl or a kitchen sink to avoid creating more mess.
Use a generous amount of baking soda and try to target the specific areas where the stains are located.
3) From here, you can rub the baking soda with a sponge or damp cleaning cloth, as this will create a thick paste on the silicone mat that is abrasive.
It’s important to apply baking soda to each area and build up a paste on each specific part of the mat you want to clean and focus on scrubbing these areas specifically.
Once the paste is made, allow it to dry onto the mat for several hours.
4) Rinse the mat off once the paste has totally dried out, ensuring that no baking soda remains. The stains should be gone, or be noticeably reduced.
If not totally gone, you can repeat the prior steps to create a paste on the specific areas of the stain as this will reduce the stain even more, or you could use an anti-grease soap to remove any remaining stain or dirt.
You can repeat these steps multiple times until you’re satisfied with the end product.
5) Once satisfied, rinse off the baking mat well, ideally washing with some soap a final time before rinsing again and allowing to fully dry off on a drying rack.
Additional Tips
1) Rinse your silicone baking mats off immediately after use! Allowing residue to sit on silicone mats allows it to penetrate into the mat and create tough stains that can be very hard to remove.
To avoid this, clean your baking tray or mat as soon as you’ve finished using it to remove residue before it has a chance to impregnate the silicone.
2) Avoid abrasive sponges, as this can damage the silicone and engrain your stains or bacteria into the silicone even more.
3) Don’t use oil or cooking sprays with silicone, as this will make the tray harder to clean, and most silicone baking or cooking mats are anti-stick by design, so there is no benefit to using additional cooking oil or nonstick coatings.
Final Thoughts
Silicone baking mats have been around for quite some time now, but they were only recently introduced to the market.
They are designed to be used for both food preparation and baking, and they are generally easy to clean, safe to use, and long-lasting making them a popular choice.
However, if they do get dirty or stained, they can be very tough to clean, so make sure to follow the tips in this guide should your silicone mats need a deep clean.
