Am I Committing a Gym Faux Pas?

I work at the Y, and I have never seen a member wipe any part of the equipment other than the parts that they touch with their hands, or the parts they have deposited sweat on (mats that they lie on, or back of seats on exercise bikes). Maintenance staff regularly have to clean the tread part of the treadmills and pedals on bikes because of another breach of etiquette many members make-wearing outdoor shoes in the gym. They think that their shoes are clean but they have dirt, dust and gravel in the treads of the shoes. This debris gets into the equipment and jams it up.

I was a 6 day a week gym rat for 15 years. I never wiped down the floor or pedals, nor did I ever see anyone else doing it, either.

I've belonged to the Y and other gyms and only ever cleaned where my hands touched.. NEVER the treadmill pad.. to me, that seems a bit dangerous and I think if the Y organization knew someone was doing that, would want to stop them before they get a finger stuck or say the machine jams... Just keep doing what you were doing..

sounds pretty excessive to me.
khairete
S.

They are going overboard but I'd love to use the machines after them!

Excessive.
You should wipe off the parts of the machine your body touches.
Don't forget the touch screens.

Wow...I don't know. But thanks for reminding me why I work out at home. :)

The people who do this likely drip sweat and are going over and above. If you don't drip sweat all over the ground what is there to clean? Just make a judgment call based on the way you sweat.

LOL I agree they're nuts. Just wipe anywhere your sweaty, germy body touches. For cardio equipment, the touch screens & buttons, hand holds, handlebars, and bike seat should cover it. If I workout on a bench or a machine with a seat or padded back, I wipe down all the padding.

I am not a fan of all that cleaning. Those products can be toxic. Who knows what is in them. Someone reacted to it once and died a few years back.

Where I go nobody wipes stuff down. We just wash our hands afterwards. And we don't contribute to the "too clean" problem that is aiding superbugs.
If there is sweat I'll wipe it, but other than that, we do not.

I was going to say, not excessive if the guy dripped sweat all over the floor, etc.

I have seen (and occasionally been) that super sweaty person and had to mop the floor underneath me after my workout.

it is the exception, not the norm:)

I've never seen anyone clean like that. You might ask the management what their policy is.

They're going a little further than most. I used to teach swim lessons at the Y, and would sometimes get a workout in the gym there. I don't recall EVER seeing the actual treadmill wiped down. All the parts that you touch/sweat on/breathe on, sure.

That's hilarious!!! Those people are total overachievers. You are actually doing more than I do sometimes. The only time I wished someone would literally wipe down the whole treadmill was when I saw this guy running like a crazy person, and literally dripping all over the place. It was nasty. But for most of us, a quick swipe on the handles and the screens is plenty. You're doing fine :)

Is that a "rule" at the gym? It sounds very excessive OR you have encountered some really OCD people.

Protocol is typically to wipe off any sweat, etc. on the seat or handle areas.

Do they keep these wipes available for your to use or do you use your own towel? I'd rather use a disposable wipe vs my personal towel. I'd only wipe down areas I touched.

The point of wiping is to remove your own sweat. People who sweat/spit/bleed/urinate during a vigorous workout are supposed to clean up their fluids.

This is an excellent example of why scripted thinking does not work and why people need to understand the logic behind certain rules. This is not a dig at you. It's just that this is a point that I often make, and your example here is perfect.

at our gym you just wipe down the spots your body or hands touch, not your feet. So seats and handles yes, but not floors or peddles.

I think they are extreme. You only wipe down what your hand touches or your sweat touches. So if you lie down on a padded bench or seat, you wipe that down. Same with handrails and the part of the screen you touch.

Some gyms provide cleaning spray and paper towels, which are better than the hand wipes which are alcohol-based. A lot of gyms use "Simple Green" or something safe which is good for wiping up sweat and general dirt. I don't think alcohol is good for the padding. The cleaning solution can be sprayed on the benches and handrails, then wiped with a towel. It should NOT be sprayed directly on anything with electronics in it - for example, the heart rate sensors on a treadmill. The liquid can get inside and short things out, so you spray it on the towel and then wipe down the sensors, the screen, etc.

The only people who should be moving equipment are the employees doing maintenance and overall gym cleaning. Members should not be moving equipment like that. I suppose every month or so they might clean the belt on the treadmill (after all, people do step in stuff outside!) but that's not for members to do.

When in doubt, ask the gym manager. Instructions should be posted anyway, on the door or on the gym floor, about what's expected. Gyms may vary a little in what they recommend, in part based on the manager's preferences and in part based on the equipment manufacturers' recommendations.

Nope. You are good!! He's a tad anal...maybe OCD???

I only clean what my body - hands, head, butt and back touch. I do NOT clean the foot pads.

Nope. Just clean where your sweat drips or soaks through clothes leaving wet spots, or where your sweaty flesh touches things, and your sweaty bike seat. The floor and/or parts of equipment touched by shoes are for gym staff.

I too clean everywhere my hand touches or where i think someone else would touch. I have not gone as far as wiping down pedals or the treadmill mat. I guess i may be committing a big faux pas too.

I sweat like some kind of farm animal at the gym. You wont see me cleaning the treadmill running part. That's crazy! Everyone is wearing shoes at the gym! I clean up like you do...all the parts people's skin can touch. When I stretch though I always clean the mat I was sitting/laying on.

I always carried a hand-towel with me to wipe up any part of the machine where I left visible moisture. I don't think it's necessary to wipe-down with handi-wipes, although I see many people that do - and I think that's for their benefit, not ours. Occasionally some guy will run a marathon on the treadmill and leave a puddle of sweat beneath it; it that case, they're pretty good about mopping up and wiping down, and moving it if they area really gung-ho. But nobody is expected to move a treadmill!

Unless you are dripping sweat on all those other parts, then just wiping the parts your hands touch should be fine. But I always hated getting on a machine after someone super sweaty had used it!