How to Clean Commercial Fitness Equipment
- 1). Establish a cleaning schedule. This schedule should list each piece of commercial fitness equipment and its daily, weekly and monthly cleaning requirements. Create columns where each piece of equipment is listed along with all of the cleaning that needs to be done to it each day, week, and month. Post manufacturer's recommendations for maintenance on the schedule as well. Leave a blank space for employees to sign and date once they have completed preventative maintenance. Post the schedule in a conspicuous place -- where it can be seen by employees. Establishing a schedule ensures that every piece of equipment is routinely cleaned.
- 2). Stock cleaning items. In order to properly clean commercial fitness equipment, you need to have the proper supplies on hand. Some essential supplies include disinfectant, glass cleaner, anti-bacterial wipes, and any other cleaning supplies necessitated for the machine by its manufacturer. Organize these supplies on a shelf or in a cabinet and label the area according to their use, placing all of the daily cleaning supplies such as antibacterial and disinfectant wipes, paper towels, rags and disinfectant spray in one labeled section, and the weekly and monthly supplies such as vacuums for treadmill belts, grease remover and soap solutions in another labeled area.
- 3). Clean commercial fitness equipment daily. In order to prevent the spread of germs and bacteria caused by stagnant sweat and multiple uses, equipment should be daily cleaned by wiping down the handles, screens, seats, handlebars and any other area regularly touched by club members with antibacterial wipes or with a disinfectant spray.
- 4). Perform a more detailed cleaning of machines, such as inspecting and vacuuming the belts inside treadmills every week, removing excess grease from the inside and moving machines to clean the floors beneath them. Make sure that all of the upholstery on all commercial fitness equipment is washed with a soapy solution monthly.
- 5). Wash and wipe down commercial fitness equipment in the areas often overlooked. Run disinfectant wipes along the bottom of treadmills where sweat accumulates. Make sure that stairs and stair backs on step mills are wiped down with a rag and soapy water and thoroughly rinsed and dried with a towel. Wipe off the frames of all weight machines. Disinfect the weight pins with disinfectant wipes, wipe off all cable pulley attachments with disinfectant, as well as all of the free weights regularly handled by multiple people each day.
- 6). Encourage fitness club members to clean equipment following use. Adhere signs onto fitness equipment and around the gym requesting that members wipe down equipment following use. These reminders enlist members' help, keeping your commercial fitness equipment as clean as possible.
- 7). Hang spray bottles filled with disinfectant solutions and paper towels or containers of disinfecting or anti-bacterial disposable wipes around the gym near your commercial fitness equipment so that member's have easy access to them. Place wipes on the walls close to weight machines, near trash cans, in group exercise rooms and in the cardio areas near the equipment.