How squeamish are you about other people's sweat in the gym?

spartan_d

You know how it is. Some gyms have policies that state people must wipe off each piece of equipment after using it. Others aren't so strict, though it's naturally best to wipe the equipment off if you've sweated into it.

Where do you stand?

Personally, I'm not that easily squicked out. If somebody drips sweat onto the equipment, of course, that's one thing. If someone is just using the elliptical at a moderate pace though, then this doesn't bother me so much. People's hands usually don't sweat that much unless they're pushing their cardio limit.

Ditto with someone just using a bench or doing seated presses. Unless you're really dripping in sweat, that's unlikely to cause a problem. Heck, unless they've really been sweating a storm, I almost never see the heavy lifters wipe off their benches or chairs, and that doesn't really bother me. I figure that we routinely encounter much worse outside of the gym -- on buses or subways, for example.

That's me, though. How does everyone else feel about this?

tiefighther66

I get skeeved by people in general. I clean equipment before and after use because some folks are just nasty, regardless of how much or little they sweat.

I also sweat a lot, like an embarrassing amount, so I clean everything after use really well - even its just the bench and I only used it for dips or something.

Unknown

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spartan_d

zachbonner_ wrote: »

wipe your sweat off the machine, that's disgusting if you don't

If there's noticeable sweat, then yeah, I'm with you on that one. Heck, I even think it's reasonable to do so anyway, just to spare someone else's sensibilities.

If someone hasn't really sweat into the equipment, though? Just doing dips on a bench, for example? I'm not going to get upset if someone doesn't bother to wipe that off unless he or she really dripped into it.

KyleGrace8

I wipe down anything the ol' butt touches. I don't trust that everyone is reasonably clean and I'm considerate of the people after me. Plus, if no one is wiping down then what about the collective sweat from multiple people??

GiddyupTim

I believe in keeping things sanitary.
Staph, and all.
Molluscum contagiosum, which might be scarier, though is less potentially lethal.
I wipe.

spartan_d

Folks, I'm not asking whether you wipe or not. I do so even when it seems like overkill.

I'm asking how squeamish you are about the notion of other people's perspiration. Again, not visible pools of sweat, but mere flesh-to-equipment contact even when one isn't noticeably sweaty.

SonyaCele

gyms are so nasty and disgusting. there is no way to keep the cooties off, even if you wipe things down. i have my own towel and put it down where my head goes , and i never lay on the floor, never ever lay on the deadlift platform. I wash my hands before i leave, and shower and wash my throw my gym clothes in the washing machine when i get home.

lorrpb

It's not just the sweat, it's everything else too!

deputy_randolph

I wipe off equipment after I use it. I assume other people do the same, so I'm not usually grossed out by equipment. I have occasionally wiped down something BEFORE I use it if I have seen the previous person...and the person has BO or is super sweaty.

Interestingly...when people work in with me or ask to use something immediately after me, they don't wipe after me. I don't look gross maybe?

cs2thecox

@spartan_d I'm with you - remarkably unsqueamish.
Other people use the same gym and same equipment as me - fact of life.

We all come in to contact with things other people have touched every day, multiple times a day.

Do I wipe the toilet seat before I sit down? No.
Do I wipe the toilet flush before I touch it? No.
Do I wipe taps before I turn them on? No.
Do I wipe the handles of shopping trollies or baskets in the supermarket? No.
Do I wipe all the handrails on the 6 trains I take every day on my commute to and from work, and all the handrails on the stairs and escalators I use along the way? Heck no.

Have I ever caught a single thing that I can honestly attribute to "cooties" transferred via my skin?
Nope.

Do I wash my hands thoroughly and correctly (most people don't) at all relevant occasions?
Do I avoid poking myself in the eye or any other mucous membrane when I'm out and about?
Do I usually lie on a towel in the gym and wipe up after myself?
Do I start from a place of trust and assume that most folk who I come into close contact with on a daily basis are not "just nasty"?
Yes.

This conversation about catching gross things in gyms comes up fairly often on these boards, and I just WISH I could be bothered to dig out science links about how most bacteria need skin-to-skin contact to spread, and a flashback for those of us who remember the early days of widespread knowledge of HIV and how (and how not) the virus spread. But given that I don't believe the gym is a significant risk factor for anything much beyond a common cold (transmission of which is predominantly airborne), sadly I won't be spending my time doing that...

sijomial

Not squeamish - it's just another public space shared with other people some of whom will have poor personal hygiene. As I don't lick my hands or the equipment don't really see it as a big issue.
It's a bit like when you have small children, they are filthy little creatures but I wouldn't wipe them down with anti-bacterial spray.

I wipe down if I leave visible sweat behind and most people in my gym do the same, I mop up the puddle that forms under the indoor bike trainer - that's just common courtesy.
Beyond that I'm really not bothered.

firef1y72

Not in the least bit squeamish, when you go the Insanity class I go to on a Tuesday, you will encounter sweat, lots of sweat. As in we tend to literally be dripping on the floor by the end of the 45 minutes.

Not only that but I have teenage children, have you ever ventured in to a teenager's room to collect the dirty washing and/or dishes (with their own previously unknown flora)? Oh and I have a 4 year old, the contents of their nose are one of the less attractive things they'll try and share with you.

Vomit though, that's something I really can't deal with, but sweat, *kitten*, urine, boogies, nits and even the occasional crusty pair of teenage boy's boxers, those I can and do deal with as a Mother.

jemhh

I'm not squeamish. I wipe the seats/benches. I don't wipe dumbbells.

spartan_d

The last few folks get what I'm saying. Seriously, the degree to which people try to avoid sweat at the gym gets to be ridiculous.

If someone hops on an exercise bike for a few minutes without breaking a sweat, I won't expect that person to wipe the bicycle down afterwards. And why should I? That'd be like wiping down a bus seat after you've sat on it.

Again, visible sweat is another matter. Even then, though... if you've ever taken a CrossFit class, you've probably had to share equipment with a bunch of other sweaty exercisers. At some point, it's just a fact of life.

FatWithFatness

I like to leave snail trails.

spartan_d

deputy_randolph wrote: »

Interestingly...when people work in with me or ask to use something immediately after me, they don't wipe after me. I don't look gross maybe?

I have NEVER see anyone wipe the equipment down before or after "working in." I'm okay with that. I wouldn't expect people to do that sort of thing -- again, unless they're dripping with sweat.

Grimmerick

I wipe down and like to see things wiped down after use. Squeamish....No, working at a hospital takes the squeamish with body fluids right out of you.

H_Ock12

I carry my own alcohol wipes and clean machines prior to and post use. I'm not concerned about sweat...it's more the people who touch things without washing their hands post bathroom use. My immune system is also wacky, so better safe than sorry with the germ aspect.

Vune

Am I squeamish? No. Am I cognizant of how any slip-up can cause me a world of pain as a user of immunosuppressants? Yes. So I work out at home.

jemhh

spartan_d wrote: »

deputy_randolph wrote: »

Interestingly...when people work in with me or ask to use something immediately after me, they don't wipe after me. I don't look gross maybe?

I have NEVER see anyone wipe the equipment down before or after "working in." I'm okay with that. I wouldn't expect people to do that sort of thing -- again, unless they're dripping with sweat.

Yeah, I've noticed that. If somebody is waiting for a piece of equipment, I'll usually turn to them and say "would you like me to wipe this off?" and they always say no.

stacj27

tiefighther66 wrote: »

I get skeeved by people in general. I clean equipment before and after use because some folks are just nasty, regardless of how much or little they sweat.

Yes yes yes! Like others have said, it's not just sweat. It's all the other stuff too. I love that SonyaCele used the term cooties because that fits with how I view gym germs. Gyms are gross no matter how much the staff tries to keep up and I figure there's only so much I can do, but I still wipe down everything before and after I use it. I know it's not the only place that has germs (although I always carry sanitizer in my purse for other places) but since I'm there 5-6 days a week I am much more aware of how clean things around me are.

tigerblood6

Bring your own towel and also practice using hand sanitizer

quiksylver296

Zero squeamishness. I worked in a jail for 10 years. Nothing grosser than that. Nothing.

stanmann571

It's not that I'm squeamish, It's just that I don't want to sit/work out in whatever comprises the puddle you left behind on the floor/equipment.

piperdown44

Nope, not squeamish.

MostlyWater

I wipe off after I use a machine, not a yoga mat or dumbbells though.

And if I'm doing a circuit type class, I wear workout gloves.

zdyb23456

I’m not that squeamish. Unless there’s visible sweat. I mean I don’t wipe down seats at restaurants or movie theaters or anywhere else I might sit. Maybe in the winter there’s a clothing barrier, but in the summer it’s probably not much different than a bench at the gym.

I get more skivved out by people/kids hacking around me. I can almost feel the airborne germs flying around me

rheddmobile

A local news channel did a wipe down and culture of the gyms in my area and found there were less bacteria on the machines than they expected, and while there were bacteria, there were no cases of serious disease causing bacteria on machines.

However, my dad died of a MRSA infection (hospital acquired) so I'm well aware that a surface touched by someone else - no sweat necessary - can theoretically kill you. If I have a scratch on my leg from where the cat jumped on my lap and I use a machine used by someone with an illness, I could easily get an infection. I also know the dwell time on the cleaning product provided by my gym for wipe downs is long enough that it does basically diddly squat to wipe down. Many products have a dwell time of something upwards of ten minutes to be effective on bacteria, and don't kill viruses anyway.

I use hand sanitizer frequently, wash my hands and face when I get home, and store my gym clothes away from my other clothes.

JoRocka

spartan_d wrote: »

deputy_randolph wrote: »

Interestingly...when people work in with me or ask to use something immediately after me, they don't wipe after me. I don't look gross maybe?

I have NEVER see anyone wipe the equipment down before or after "working in." I'm okay with that. I wouldn't expect people to do that sort of thing -- again, unless they're dripping with sweat.

I have and will.

But usually if it's someone leaving puddles.

I won't if there are no puddles or "grease" stains from their head.

Totally dependent- I'm not skeeved out just touching equipment- I never whip down my equipment after a warm up. I do wash my hands when I leave and try not to marinate in the gym stuff- but sometimes it's inevitable. (work- gym- dance) sometimes there is no chance for a break.

lilithsrose

I wipe down the machines before and after I use them. The sweat itself doesn't bother me unless the equipment is visibly wet from it. Its more so the chance of getting something like a staph infection, ringworm, etc. that influences my decision to always wipe the machines before using them. I also use the hand sanitizer pumps as I walk by them.