I've been using my cutting mat for 4 years now. I'd say I'm a pretty average user - lots of use on weekends and over vacation/holiday times (those times when I have a nice chunk of time to quilt my heart out). It seems okay, but then again, sometimes we don't realize how bad things can get (like how dull the rotary blade really is until it's changed or how bad our eyes are until we get new glasses, etc).
Any thoughts on this topic?

i'm cheap, spend money on fabric, i'll keep turning mine over till it falls apart or gets cut apart. been using rotary mats for over 25 yrs, on my 3rd, still using the same cutter, new blades course. but made about 250 on these mats,
is there an estimated time

I've been using my mat(s) about 25+ years also!!! In fact I just bought a new set (I'm using the double xlg ) and put it on my table yesterday. I have enjoyed looking at it, but haven't been able to bring myself to cut on it yet!! Hope that passes soon.

I purchased a fantastic mat 30 x 36 about 15 years ago. And I'm still using it. And evry now then I use light scrubber thing and gently soften the worn spots. And then, two days ago, must be my new meds... the light bulb, which is normally rather dim in my head.. went on. And it dawned on me that if I would turned it around once in a while it wouldn't have one woon area on it. Fortunately even all of the use this mat has gotten, I had been getting it fairly clear of repeated rotary cuts over the years so while the lines were getting a little it just dawned on me to turn it around so that the right hand portion of the mat was now on the far left and the new near right side was in perfect condition. And to think, I was allowed two reproductions. A girl and then a boy. Fortunately they both turned out wondefully, but I never had the oppertunity to test my theory because another child was just not what could afforded at that time. Yep! We all have our on wall of making changes for the better by something so mundane as to changin your mao around. I had been told at the time to get the most you could posibly spend and since I was an engineer prior to my illness it was a really dumb things to have to do to get a new clear surface for my quilting, Now I have to find my common sense as I dropped that in the scrap basket.

I've been using the same mat for over 12 years now and haven't turned it over yet! Of course it has a little wear on the end I use the most but I just avoid that area :lol: :lol:

i have had mine for about 6 years..still looking good..i try to cut in different areas of the mat.
i will just flip it over when the time comes...

I truly believe that the original idea items that were manufactured first before every company jumped on the band wagon, are SUPERIOR products. My board is at least 20 years old and it is one of those green thick mats that are very durable. I just looked and couldn't find a brand name!

I cut A LOT on my board and mostly on one end. It has a LOT of life left in it yet. I bought Fiscars gray board for cutting quicky things next to my machine and it has flaked and become very uneven.

I think companies are walking a very fine line between making a product that will wear out (so we have to buy more) and making it durable enough to want us to buy their product again. Fiscars doesn't cut it! LOL

I have been using mine for 15 years now and it's just fine.

they do dry out, get brittle to the point they will almost snap in half. Lots of cut lines showing and your cutter will skip and you have those little threads that didn't get cut. I have started writting the date on all my new ones. They do wear out, and will dull your rotart blade. Mine are used ALOT so that may explain my take that they do wear out. I wait for 40% off sales or coupons.
Just purchased a Fiskers and LOVE it so far, blade seems to glide over it. Will have to see how it holds up, AND it is reversable with lines:)

Haven't I read somewhere that you can flip them over too - the green Olfa ones? You aren't supposed to use the lines on the mat anyway according to some.

There was a post about this yesterday or the day before. If you every month or so use warm sudsy water and a nylon scrungy and wash your mat it will last longer. Dip the scrungy, not the mat, wring it out and then go over your mat in a circular motion. Rinse and allow to dry flat. It will allow the self healing to work better and add life to your mat and your blades. You shouldn't "scrub" hard.

You made me smile before I leave for work - thanks!

If your mat is totally worn out and can't be used to cut on anymore it's still useful. Cut it up into strips the size of the bottom of tote bags or purses and use it in them. No more saggy bottoms!

Good idea, Rapture...we don't like "saggy bottoms" in any area of our lives, do we??? LOL

I give my mats a "quick bath" every now and then to help keep it from getting dry and crackly. I use warm water with a bit of Dawn in it, and wipe gently with a soft rag, rinse, dry with a towel. I then let it air dry too. My bigger mats I bathe in the tub. My mats have lasted for quite a long time, and I do use them lots! Hope this helps!! :)

Thanks for all the replies. My cutting mat is still in pretty good shape and I haven't had any problems - just wanted to get an idea of how long folks have used theirs.
Mariposa - I give it a bath every so often with Dawn dish liquid as well and have found this works well.

Oooh, where did you get it ?

When I first started back sewing 4 years ago my friend bought me a gray fiskers for xmas. I was thinking that i needed a new one too. I do turn mine around often. I have a few deep cuts in a spot. Hope to get a little more use out of this one. I also have a small 12 olfa rotary that I really like to use for the samll things. Then I bought a nother small one at a yard sale that I use. I don't think that one is self healing. It use only a 25 cents so couldn't beat that.

It sounds like my mats have a few good years left.

I need to replace mine; it's a cheapie purple one that's onesided from WalMart....had a wonderful thick green one from when they first came out but took it to work to help out with a friend's quilt---left it in the hot car---and never could get it flat enough to use again. Will definitely buy a green one (coupon at JoAnn's!) the next time. Cheapie purple has been used a lot in the past few years and is starting to show her age....

Is there any cure for a mat that has warped due to being on a table in the sunshine coming in my big window?

I have used crocus cloth on mine. It's at least ten years old. I gently rub the crocus cloth over the board and it smooths out those little bumps and also picks up the lint caught in fine cracks from cutting.

Don't laugh but what is crocus cloth????

I don't know how long I have had mine. My first one got broken when I packed one time.
I am wearing out my rulers though. The printing is coming off. :-)

I never have heard of crocus cloth. What is it and where can I get it?

I have several mats. I do my work on a ping pong table and I have four "stations" set up at the four quadrants of the table. Three of them are Olfa's, and one is some other brand that I can't remember. It was the first one I bought when I went back to sewing some five years ago. It doesn't seem to be "healing" any more, but the Olfa's are all going strong.

I found out that crocus cloth is a type of sandpaper type product--on a cloth background. That will not take all the big bubbles/warp out of my mat. Any other suggestions?

I have read in a blog elsewhere that putting your warped cutting board on a
dark asphalt driveway when the weather is over 90º can correct the warp.
I hope so - I just put mine outside at 2 pm and will see how it works and let you
know. It sounds too easy but I hate to have to spend so much money on a new one. I use the 24 x 36" Olfa mat. If I have to buy new, I use my 40% off coupon at JoAnne's and that helps soften the blow....-Judy

I have the large 36X30 and love it. Have a small 12x12 that I use at the side of my machine when I need to cut peices that have just been sewn and pressed. The worst thing that can be done to a mat is to accidently expose it to the heat from the iron (had my pressing station sitting on it, bad idea). It warped and could not be straightened out, so I cut it into smaller boards to use at classes etc. Also they make great templates, just cut with a straight edge ruler and a utility knife.

I read somewhere that you have to check the thickness (mils?). The thinner ones are the kind that don't stand up. I think, but I'm not sure, that they should 6 mils. You can tell by the feel of it compared to a thin one.

I use it for as long as I can. When it starts to distort my cutting then it is time for a new one. I actually have about 5 cutting mats. All diffrent and all used at diffrent times so I think I've only had to replace one.

I use a plastic scrubber every so often to clean it off. I have three and change off. Read about the scrubber on another site long ago.

JoAnn's it was on sale for 40% off

to take the warping out of your mat... lay it flat in the driveway or cement patio on a hot day let the sun do the work if the warping isn't bad that should work. or what I have done with my badly warped one is put it in the jaguzzi, taken it out after couple of hours and put piece of plywood on it on the floor and weighed it down with some old phone books i had and a small table up side down on it . That was 11 years ago and it is still going strong. I thought I would at least try cause I couldn't use it the way it was anyway. I was just happy it worked.

I've got one of those big green mats and have had it for over 20 years. It has a couple of of cracks on the ends buyt otherwise in good shape. I think the cracks were cause by me standing it on end in storage . Live and learn.

Thanks Judy! I hope it works. It will be a long time before it is 90 here in Johannesburg, South Africa. We're just going into Spring. But I will keep it in mind. Ginger

I have been using my mat for the past 16 years I rotate
my mat by one corner and then I clean it on The Monday after mothers dy and christmas time that way I know I have done it . To me it is like your sewing machine look after it and it will serve you well .

I use my mats for a good long time! It definitely helps to rotate and flip them! I just bought a new mat, the one I was using got relegated to cutting curved pieces (curved cuts don't heal as well) and batting. My old-old mat got cut up for purse bottoms and "mini-mats" for chenille cutting.

Thanks! I'm going to try that! Ginger

Mine were bowing from standing them on end. I now hang them on pant hangers. One is hanging on my pegboard and one on a nail in a door .