The success of a fitness centre rides on more than great equipment, experienced and friendly staff, and awesome classes. From the moment a person enters a gym, they expect to see cleanliness and tidiness. Not only do patrons deserve as much, but it is crucial to meet regulations and minimise community-spread illnesses. We only need look back over last couple of years to see how a hot and busy gym environment can be the perfect breeding ground for a virus.
Members need to feel assured they are safe as they workout. Safe from germs, safe from clutter-induced accidents, and safe from gross sights and smells. And let’s face it, the last thing you want when you are getting your endorphin high is to put your hand in a puddle of someone else’s sweat.
Future gym members assess a fitness centre based on several criteria. One element that sets a strong first impression revolves around the gym’s atmosphere and environment. There are various ways a gym can ensure that adequate cleanliness, tidiness, and hygiene are maintained, and at Cleantastic, we can provide suitable advice and professional cleaning services.
Why Is Regular Gym Cleaning So Important?
A crucial part of working out is increasing our heart rates, which in turn increases our sweat production. This is all part of regulating our temperature, burning calories, and allowing us to continue to exercise. Inevitably, this means that all those workout machines, mats, equipment, and chairs will succumb to a heavy dose of unhygienic sweat with the high turnover of people using them every day.
There are other bodily substances that need to be cleaned away too. These can include saliva, hair, and skin. These are unavoidable and just part of being human, but it reinforces the importance of cleaning a fitness centre because these can all carry germs. And when in a public, shared space, it’s downright gross!
Other sources of uncleanliness and untidiness can come from dust, dirt, and oils. These can not only affect hygiene, but also the functioning and longevity of equipment.
Members go to the gym to improve their health and fitness. Acquiring an illness or an injury is not what they signed up for, nor is being unmotivated by grotty and malfunctioning equipment. These will not help them reach their goals. So, it is crucial to maintain high levels of cleanliness.
How Can A Gym Be Kept Adequately Clean?
The main factors to consider are what to use and who will do the cleaning. When it comes to cleaning products and methods, it is important to choose affordable, easy-to-access, innocuous options that do not require extensive training or time. It is also efficient to incorporate everyone in the gym space, including members and staff, as well as employing professional cleaners.
Member-Driven Gym Cleaning
In recent years, we have all become more aware and competent when it comes to maintaining good hygiene. Subsequently, most gym goers will be mindful of the importance of washing or sanitising their hands before and after entering the fitness centre and minimising the sharing of personal items. To ensure this is maintained, adequate signage and facilities to do so should be clear, accessible, and encouraging. It is also beneficial to have options such as sanitiser gels or hand wipes near equipment to increase frequent hand cleaning.
Other methods may need prompting and regulating, and it is important staff ensure members are provided with adequate education and products. These include using a towel as a barrier between the equipment and user, and placing wipes and suitable sprays in obvious areas.
Staff Driven Gym Cleaning
Staff of every workplace and public area should be made aware of the importance of a clean environment and be provided with suitable education and resources. Gym staff should clean their hands frequently, particularly before and after handling equipment and interacting with members. Regularly emptying bins and wiping down high traffic areas and surfaces are also crucial. A schedule and documentation are easy and efficient ways to ensure cleaning is performed regularly and spread fairly between the team.
Maintaining a clean environment extends to the care of members in the case of accidents, injuries, and illnesses. This includes maintaining staff safety and hygiene when in contact with bodily fluids such as blood, minimising the contamination of equipment from such substances, and assisting the affected member to obtain positive outcomes. This requires education and the provision of suitable resources, such as gloves, masks, and medical aids.
Professional Gym Cleaning
Cleaning by members and staff can be effective and beneficial, however, they do not have the time and energy to continuously do high levels of thorough cleaning, nor should they be expected to. That is where professional cleaning comes in. Cleantastic can provide our services as regularly as desired – daily, weekly, or fortnightly – and will care for all types of commercial a fitness centre spaces.
We will attend to bathrooms, kitchens, and general communal spaces, as well as the gym facilities. Professional cleaners can also undertake vacuuming, mopping, dusting, and disinfecting, and window cleaning and carpet steam cleaning when required. Employing cleaners also means that professional quality cleaning products and equipment can be used to increase the standard of the clean.
Hygiene Can Make Or Break A Gym
Ensuring that the risk of germ-spreading and injury from clutter is minimised, and the quality of equipment is maintained at a high standard is crucial to a successful fitness centre, and happy clients and staff. All equipment that staff and members come into contact with should be cleaned regularly. This includes such items as workout equipment, tv controls, bathrooms, chairs, mats, and even extends to things like magazines, manuals, and pens. There is a range of products that are suitable, such as borax solution, vinegar water, spray bottles, anti-bacterial wipes, and towels. Education, signage, and regulations are also highly beneficial.
At Cleantastic, we know that gym members are detracted from a dirty and messy fitness centre. Subsequently, we understand how to put in place adequate methods to improve hygiene and to clean a gym to a high standard. Exercise should be a safe and enjoyable activity, so we are enthusiastic about creating a positive environment for patrons and staff. Get in touch so that we can provide our quality services and advice.
