Gym, fitness studio, leisure centre, sports club—it’s where many people go to exercise and keep themselves fit and healthy. However, while in the process of achieving that dream body, people will inevitably sweat.
Individually, this might seem like nothing. Collectively, it’s a problem. In addition, considering that different people have different hygiene habits, gyms can quickly become breeding grounds for harmful germs that cause diseases. The accumulation of grime can also cause the equipment to become sticky, unpleasant messes that affect the workout experience.
Thus, keeping a gym clean is good for business. It upholds your commitment to good health and ensures that you’re always providing top-notch services to your customers. Here are some tips to make it happen:
Hire a Cleaning Company
The most straightforward way to keep a gym or leisure centre clean is to hire a professional cleaning company. They will provide the best results simply because they have the right tools and experience to ensure deep, thorough cleaning and disinfection.
What’s even more important is that professionals know how to properly take care of exercise equipment. From yoga mats to heavy-duty weightlifting sets, you can rest assured that all your gym’s gear will be sparkling clean and in good condition for years.
Steam Clean to Remove Odours
As previously mentioned, gym-goers sweat A LOT. It’s the reason why they’re there! This is good for their bodies but not for the air inside the gym. After a while, the accumulation of body odour can make even the cleanest (on the surface) of gyms smell musty—or worse.
As a quick solution, you can mask the smells with some air freshener or disinfectant sprays. However, this is only temporary. The best way to keep bad odours from permeating every corner of your gym is to tackle the source of the smell. These are usually the most frequently used equipment, as well as those made from porous materials.
Fortunately, professional cleaners can also handle this for you through steam cleaning. It uses pressurised vapour from boiling water to loosen dirt and grime, at the same time killing dust mites, moulds, and even some kinds of bacteria.
What’s great about steam cleaning is that it’s extra effective in gyms because the high-heat moisture of the vapour dries quickly. Many gym materials and surfaces like sealed and unsealed concrete, stainless steel, and even vinyl are also safe to steam clean. As a bonus, the process also helps sterilise the gym.
Provide Wet Wipes and Hand Sanitisers
There are two kinds of gym-goers: those who wipe down the equipment after using them and those who don’t. Unfortunately, you don’t know which ones will enter your facility. As such, it’s better if you can encourage the idea of tidying up and sanitising by providing easily accessible wet wipes. Place them strategically around the gym, especially near heavily used machines like treadmills, ellipticals, and training benches.
Along with wet wipes, it’s also ideal to provide hand sanitisers with at least 70% alcohol for quick but effective sanitation. This way, you can minimise the spread of germs both among your customers and your employees. It’s also good for your image, as a fitness facility that cares about cleanliness, health, and overall wellness.
If you’re working with a cleaning company, their personnel can help ensure that you have a steady supply of wet wipes and hand sanitisers. They will check the dispensers and refill/restock as necessary so that those who need these items will always have something to use.
Prioritise High-Touch Areas and Items
It can be argued that everything inside a gym is touched often. However, it’s inefficient to clean something every time someone is done using it. Thus, focus on specific parts that are the most exposed. Some examples are the handles and buttons of exercise machines, weight, foam rollers, stability balls, and yoga mats.
Of course, remember to disinfect light switches, doorknobs and handles, as well as public lockers, benches, and tables. The locker rooms should also get a thorough cleaning, preferably two to three times a day.
Don’t Forget the Front Desk
Last but certainly not least, you should remember to clean the front desk, as well as other areas and items that are otherwise not “gym-related.” These include desktops, keyboards and keypads, telephones, tablets, and the like. If there is any equipment or facilities that require touchpad access, disinfect them as often as possible or at least whenever they get visibly smudged and dirty.
In Conclusion
Admittedly, it can be difficult to keep a gym clean, particularly if you run a 24-hour one where people can come and go at all sorts of hours. Nevertheless, it’s a worthwhile endeavour that can help keep everyone in the gym in good health.
Again, to make things easier, you can hire a professional cleaning company to handle all your major cleaning needs. This will allow you and your staff to focus on more management-oriented and service-related responsibilities so you can improve productivity and operational efficiency.