Cleaning Gym Equipment?

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.

One acronym: MRSA.

Wipe off every machine after use.

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.

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!

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.

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

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

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

There are some people (mostly guys) who seem to feel that it is an honor for you to share their sweat. I don't know how anyone can get up from a machine, leave a dripping "back of the head" sweat stain, and then move on.

But I see it every day--esp during the summer. Sometimes it is seems so deliberate--I mean the guy gets up and stares at it for 10 sec and moves--that I can only assume it's some type of "territory marking" ritual--like dogs peeing on a fire hydrant.

As far as the nudity goes--I know what you mean. I have seen things in the locker room that no man should ever have to look at.
(And let's just say, I am never going to use the hair dryers again).

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 would think you were awesome if you did that and I saw you! More people should be so considerate!

"Uncontrolled Nudity" is a big No-No in my book. The one thing that drives me nuts is when you see grown men, mostly older guys, standing around naked talking to each other. I'm waiting for them to shake hands and grab the wrong thing by accident.

No chance of that happening at my place. A lot of these guys haven't see that part of their body in 20 years--except in a mirror.