Cleaning Gym Equipment?

Lisa__Michelle

I am about to start going to the gym. I was wondering if you have to clean every machine after you use them. I have heard that it is gym etiquette to clean each machine after use. Doesn't that interfere with your heartrate though? And my gym has a circuit section so if you had to do 3-5 minutes at each machine for 30 minutes, wouldn't you be cleaning the majority of your workout?

aflane

It takes about 8 seconds to do a wipedown with sanitizer wipes. Pick up a moist wipe when you're starting your circuit and just wipe as you head to the next station. Remember, you don't have to clean every part of the machine as if you were doing maintenance cleaning on it, just the hand grips, seat and back rest.... where you've been sweating.

Be courteous to the person doing the circuit right behind you. After all, would you want to handle someone else's sweaty germs?

patty6473

If I am doing the circuit, I usually wet a towel with the cleaning solution and carry it with me. I give each machine a quick wipe before and after, and then move on. Sure it might not be the most effective, but at least the people around you won't give you dirty looks.

Lisa__Michelle

Well, do you bring your own wipes? I was touring the gym and I saw a spray bottle way away from the machines so I was wondering if you have to go get it every time or bring your own wipes?

NoAdditives

I get a paper towel and spray it down before I start working out. I can use it for at least 3-4 machines before I have to spray it again.

I think it's gross and rude when people don't wipe down machines.

Robin66

I personally think people are too germaphobic and wiping down everything all the time is ridiculous. If you're worried about germs than wipe it down before you use and the next guy can do the samething for himself.

Lisa__Michelle

So I am just wondering to those who said they carry a towel around with them? Where do you set your paper towel because if you set it on the floor that is just as gross? Do you set it on the machine with you somewhere?

TrainerRobin

I had gym towels made up that are embroidered "gym" on one side and "face" on the other. I wipe off the equipment where I might have left a sweat mark with the "gym" side and then lay the towel on the next piece of equipment to lay on myself "gym" side down.

And FYI ... most of the sprays in the gyms are antibacterial but not anti-fungal and I can tell you that I (and may others) have picked up a fungal infection (ringworm! yuck!) from gym equipment. Thus my use of my own personal gym towels. It was kind of slow to clear up and I NEVER want to get that stuff again, yet it's everywhere in a gym (even a clean gym ... ask your doctor). The antibacterial sprays do not kill fungus, so just be careful so you don't get that crud like I did a few years ago.

And yes, it's gym etiquette to wipe off the equipment after you use it so you don't leave a sweaty body mark on the seats for the next person. That said, nobody expects you to clean as though you're from the housekeeping department.

AdamATGATT

One acronym: MRSA.

Wipe off every machine after use.

Lisa__Michelle

Would you think I was crazy if you saw me at the gym with a container of Lysol/Clorox wipes instead of using a towel?

aflane

I wouldn't think you were weird. But my gym has Purex wipe stations set up throughout the gym. (and trash cans) You might want to look for Purex... it's a little less harsh on the skin than Lysol wipes.

I used to work out at the local rec center (before their rates shot through the roof), and they had a couple of spray sanitizer/paper towel stations. I'd soak 2 paper towels and just take them from station to station with me. I wasn't happy putting them on the floor (cause it looked like I was littering), so I would just drape my wet (and then damp) towels over the top of the equipment.

HW2Hottie

One acronym: MRSA.

Wipe off every machine after use.

That is NO JOKE!!

Lisa__Michelle

That really makes me scared to even go to the gym!

TrainerRobin

Would you think I was crazy if you saw me at the gym with a container of Lysol/Clorox wipes instead of using a towel?

I think you should do whatever makes you most comfortable and if anyone thinks you're a clean freak, let 'em. I'd rather follow YOU around the gym, after you've cleaned, than some person who has no idea of the BASIC rule of the gym -- wipe off the equipment you use. Nobody wants to wallow in your sweat! Yuck!!

And I have to admit, that sometimes, trainers are the worst, forgetting to wipe up after their clients. LOL

miovlb6

Would you think I was crazy if you saw me at the gym with a container of Lysol/Clorox wipes instead of using a towel?

Yeah, that might be a bit of overkill Seriously, I'm a TOTAL germaphobe and I see where you're coming from, but those wipes aren't great for your skin and they don't dry as quickly as the sprays the gym provides. They would leave your hands and the machines wet, which might be irritating for whoever uses the machine right after you. I think definitely, wipe down the machines--before use too since many other people in the gym won't be a conscientious as you are. You'll be fine if you're just reasonably careful: wash your hands as soon as you're done, shower when you get home, and definitely wash your clothes after each workout. A doctor recently told me that a significant contributing factor to contracting MRSA from gym equipment is re-wearing the same workout clothes for more than one day before washing; I can't imagine why anyone would do that, but evidently they do--YUCK!

I spray a paper towel and wipe down the machines before and after use. I grab a new paper towel every few machines. I also carry my own small towel which is a different color on the front and back so I can tell which is the "machine" side and which is the "face" side. I fold it and drape it over my water bottle if I'm not using it on a machine so it doesn't touch the floor. I also keep 2 large ziploc baggies in my gym bag: one marked "clean" which has a couple of extra clean towels in case I drop mine and another marked "dirty" so I can put my dirty one in it when I'm done so I don't grubby-up my bag with a sweaty towel.

I'm not kidding you, I have total OCD when it comes to things like this, and trust me, if I can deal with gym "germiness", anyone can. You can't let it scare you away from the getting the exercise you need. That's important too!

EmpressOfJudgment

I personally think people are too germaphobic and wiping down everything all the time is ridiculous. If you're worried about germs than wipe it down before you use and the next guy can do the samething for himself.

I was just talking about this yesterday. I've been working out at gyms off and on for 16 years before this wipes thing started and I never got sick. I think wiping your sweat off the machines is courteous, and I do that, but grabbing a wipe after every machine I use is ridiculous. I use about 15 different machines when I'm doing my strength training and cardio. That's a lot of wipes. I think it's creating a lot of waste and we are overdoing the antibacterial thing. I feel it's doing more harm than good. As long as you keep your hands away from your face while working out and wash your hands as soon as your done you'll be fine.

VialOfDreams

Please wipe it. It's not about germs, but nasty sweat, which can be disease carrying. I care not contact any nasty stuff from other people's bodily fluids (I consider sweat to be a bodily fluid). I personally wipe the equipment before and after I am done. Every gym has their disinfectant wipes or paper towels with disinfectant liquid, so you don't have to use your own towel.

backinthenines

I am really taken aback by such paranoia...

I have a normal flannel with me to wipe down a spin bike or a strength training bench after use but e certainly don't all walk around with a pack of anti-bacterial wet wipes.

You're much more likely to pick up MRSA in a hospital than in a gym!!!

I think in the grander scheme of things the risks of obesity from inactivity far outweigh the risk of some bacteria you may encounter in the gym.

Sweet13_Princess

My rule of thumb..... if you're on a machine for more than 10 minutes (especially cardio), wipe it down. That's long enough to sweat on it, at least at that point. Less than 10, I consider it a warm up and I rarely touch anything except the on/off and level buttons.

My second rule of thumb, if you use a weightlifting machine and you get up and you've obviously sweat on it (you can see the moisture on it, if you did), then wipe it off.

My gym is coed, and I rarely ever see the men wiping the machines off when they're done. I figure, why should I waste my time doing it if no one else is? I've never received dirty looks either.

Another reason I don't bother is that our gym has just a few spray bottles, which are NOT conveniently located... and therefore interfere with your workout. They also use paper towels, which to me is just wasteful and terrible for the environment.

I've been pondering buying a few gym towels of my own and bringing those along when I work out. If I do, I'll spray it down and carry it with me from machine to machine, cleaning along the way (using my rules of thumb, of course!)

Shannon

bionicdiver

This is one of my pet peeves at the gym. When you are at the gym you should have a towel to wipe yourself down and any benches/weight equipment that you sweat on. When it comes to cardio equipment like a treadmill or elliptical machine, I wipe down that piece of equipment with a moist towelette EVERY TIME.

For the weight machines or benches, if you sweat on it, just wipe it with your towel and move on. However, there's nothing quite as disgusting as going to a soaking wet cardio machine after someone has sweated all over it and decided that they are too busy or too good to wipe their equipment down.

My other pet peeve is 'uncontrolled nudity'...another topic for another day. lol

katrina1025

MRSA is everywhere in the community these days. Students are getting it from schools, gym mats, locker rooms, and even desks. I'm not trying to scare people but it's contagious, no joke. All it would take is a slight opening in your skin