Cleaning a yerba mate gourd is a mandatory chore that comes along with the hobby.

Although it may seem simple to do, there are a lot of little things you need to keep in mind when going about it.

Otherwise, you may risk seeing mold in your gourd.

In this post, you’re going to learn how to clean a yerba mate gourd so it’s fully dried by tomorrow. This way, you can safely use it again without having to miss a day.

But first, a quick disclaimer…

This guide only applies to calabash and wooden gourds. Gourds made out of ceramic, glass, stainless steel, or silicone are much easier to take care of. Just a good rinse with water and drying with a towel will do the trick.

Now now that’s out of the way, grab your gourd and let’s start cleaning…

How To Clean Yerba Mate Gourds

You have your gourd. Refilled it several times. And you’ve drained all the delicious flavors and nutrients out of your yerba. It’s now time to clean it out and get it ready for the next session.

Here’s our quick Youtube tutorial for a good visual, and underneath, you can find every step in detail…

Step 1
Get rid of the yerba in your gourd. Ideally, you want to use a spoon bombilla (like ours) to scrape the yerba out. If you’re using a different type of bombilla, use a spoon instead.

Step 2
Now, you’ll still have some yerba stuck inside your gourd no matter how much you scrape. So just rinse your gourd  under warm water. While doing so, you also want to take your bombilla, and again, gently scrape along the walls of your gourd.

Step 3
Once you’re finished, double check to make sure no leaves are in your gourd. All clear? Now, grab a paper towel and place it inside (you may have to fold it up depending on the size of your gourd). Then, with your bombilla, press it against the bottom and walls of your gourd.

This will soak up the excess water. Remember, you want your gourd to be as dry as possible.

Step 4 (Optional)
This step isn’t necessary but it helps. After you discard the paper towel, your mate gourd will still be a bit damp. To shorten the drying process a bit more, take a hair dryer and aim it towards the inside of your gourd, while rotating it.

Make sure it’s on a cooler setting to prevent damaging your gourd. Again, this is optional.

Step 5
Store your gourd in a cool, dry, well-aerated area on its side. This could be on a counter-top, windowsill, drying rack, or anywhere. Just make sure it meets those conditions because it makes it harder for mold to grow. Placing your gourd on its side allows for air and light to flow through, which further prevents mold growth.

Step 6
If you’ve done everything above correctly, just wait until it’s 100% dry and it’ll be ready to use again!

Although this is the best and fastest way to dry your gourd safely, it won’t always be bone-dry in the next 24 hours.

Drying time varies between gourds.

I own 5 different calabashes and one finishes drying in 12 hours, while another one takes up to 2-3 days.

How NOT To Clean A Mate Gourd

As great as it is to know how to clean your yerba mate gourd, it’s also worth knowing how NOT to clean it.

Specifically, things you don’t want to use to help clean your gourd.

What are they?

Any cleaning supply that you can’t consume. Sounds obvious, but some might think pouring in soap, detergent, rubbing alcohol, or even bleach into their calabash gourd will help. But this is a bad idea.

Calabash gourds are highly absorbent. If you pour anything inside it, your gourd will soak it in. Use soap? Your gourd might taste like it. Use alcohol? Your gourd might taste like it too.

The only time you’ll need to use anything besides water, is if there’s mold in your gourd.

Final Words

Cleaning a mate gourd properly is essential to improving its lifespan.

So long as you clean and store your gourd the way I showed you above, you’ll almost never have to deal with mold (I’ve still yet to see mold in any of my gourds).

Key points to remember when it comes to taking care of your calabash is to ensure there’s not one single leaf in your gourd, and to store it in a cool, dry spot.

Do these two things and your gourds will be with you for a lifetime.

P.S. If you found this article helpful, you might also want to check out our store for exclusive bombillas and gourds that are super easy to clean.