Home gyms are extremely convenient for consistent workouts. If you are a fitness enthusiast, it is understood that you spend considerable time on your exercise equipment. Meaning a lot of sweat, dead skin cells, and body oils that attract dust and create a favorable environment for bacteria.
It leads to unclean surroundings that hoard diseases and odor if left unattended, leading to infections and unpleasant experiences. Also, such filth leads to the deterioration of your machine. You must keep the machine’s bacteria-free and smelling fresh to get optimal benefits from a home gym.
You feel exhausted after working out, but that should not be the reason to skip the cleaning regime, especially as it takes only a few minutes to do it. However, if you leave the equipment without cleaning for few days, the damage it causes is much more serious.
Most users love the workout part but find it hard to keep up with cleaning, but once you cultivate the habit, you will start telling others why they should be doing it. So, do not wait until your gym starts to stink or your skin starts itching due to infections.
Regular maintenance keeps you, and the machines fit as well as the gym smells better where you find working out to be pleasurable. Well! The question here is how do you clean the equipment without causing harm.
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Home Gym Cleaning in 3 Easy Steps
Just taking a couple of minutes after a workout to wipe down the high touch areas every time you use the equipment makes a lot of difference. However, that is not complete enough, and you also need to deep clean every week by taking a little more time as and when you can find some.
Below given are 3 quick steps to keep the home gym equipment clean:
- Using a damp cloth dipped in mild detergent, wipe down the machines, bench, and equipment at high touch areas after each use.
- Every week make sure to clean the floor and the equipment, including non-high touch areas, thoroughly.
- Always keep the cleaning supplies within easy reach so that you can quickly grab them rather than wasting time in getting them.
If you are busy and have no time to prepare the detergent and the wipe cloth, you can invest some money in instant solutions that cost you less and save you more in the long run when you compare the advantages they provide.
Fitness wipes available online are an excellent option in this case, and the good news is, they come with decent deals to lessen your burden.
Why is Daily and Weekly Cleaning of Your Home Gym Important?
Most people have a misconception that when they do not share their home gym equipment, they are safe from infections and germs. It is not true, as even a single person’s sweat and body oils are enough for accumulating enough bacteria to cause diseases.
This can further lead to bad odor due to various unpleasant smells that linger back due to the grime on the equipment. You surely sweat on the machine, and when the salts from your sweat come in contact with the metal parts, they are prone to form rust spots if not cleaned quickly.
This corrosive nature can cause your machine to become weak and compromise its integrity sooner than it should, and you can no longer trust to safely workout on it. You can avoid all these unwanted consequences by just sparing few minutes each time and 10 to 15 minutes each week.
Just a Glimpse of Unclean Home Gym
Once you know what kind of bacteria finds home on your equipment, you will think twice before leaving the room without cleaning the machines for the day. They cause havoc to your health and obstruct your fitness goals.
- Candida
- Coli
- Human Papilloma Virus
- Influenza
- Klebsiella
- Staphylococcus Aureus
- Streptococcus
You Don’t Want This in Your Gym
Though not all these bacteria are lurking in your home gyms right now, the point here is you neglect cleaning. They sure will find a place on your machines. Not to mention the odor issue that doesn’t let you work out peacefully.
You do sweat and eventually smell when you work out. Suppose you leave the gym without cleaning the stink remains, which gradually becomes a bigger issue. It smells musty similar to a school locker room, and I believe no one likes that smell.
What Else Is at Stake?
Apart from the health and smell, it also causes financial loss to you as this dirt reduces the machine’s resale value. First of all, it should survive the corrosive effect of sweat, and if it does, it still will not gain its full value as stubborn dust is not easy to clean.
You cannot build a home gym just like that but with hard-earned money, which should provide you either in the form of service or resale value. If your machines become unusable before their promised service period, then it is a loss for you.
What and When to Clean?
Not all equipment or machines need to be cleaned completely every day. If you know where to clean and how often, it would be very helpful. Check out the below information to understand how much cleaning is adequate.
Benches
If you doubt whether you need to clean the benches even after you use them by putting a towel on them, the answer is yes! It is always a good idea to put the towel on but not trust them to keep the sweat completely away from the bench.
They do soak considerable sweat but still do not provide complete protection. Also, it is one type of equipment with a large surface area in contact with your body, meaning a lot of odor chances if left unclean. So, it is always a good idea to clean the bench after each session.
Exercise Machines
Machines such as ellipticals, rowers, treadmills, weight machines, and BowFlex will be wiped down daily in high-touch areas and wherever you drip the sweat. Also, they require weekly cleaning to keep them tip-top.
Exercise Equipment
Equipment you use for exercising, such as kettlebells, bars, and free weights, is not that easily affected by sweat as they are not made of porous material. Moreover, they are not drenched in sweat when you use them.
Flooring
It depends on how you work out, i.e., with shoes or without shoes. If you do work out for complete-time with shoes on then, you can clean the floor for the sweat less frequently. However, if you work out barefoot, then consider cleaning it daily.
Yoga Mat
Just like a bench, your body comes in total contact with a yoga mat at some point during your workout. So, it is best to keep it clean for your every use. Yoga mats are prone to a lot of sweat and need proper cleaning to keep away the bacteria.
Physio Balls
These balls are also totally drenched in sweat as you roll and exercise on them. Just like the bench and yoga mat, these balls are also recommended for cleaning after every use. They are porous and can hoard bacteria well.
Clothes and Towels
As they are made from cloth, you need to clean them after every use as they absorb most of the sweat and are not to be used a second time without washing. They stink awfully if you do not wash them, and no need to talk about the bacteria they host.
Bands
Washing them under warm soapy water cleans them thoroughly. You can perform this routine every two weeks or so.
In short, when you sit, lay or sweat on anything, it means cleaning it right away after exercising. Otherwise, you can clean it weekly.
What Are the Right Cleaning Tools for Your Home Gym?
Now that you understand why you should clean your home gym, let us see what you can and cannot use to clean it.
Fitness Wipes
You can use the natural variety of fitness wipes that are gentle, inexpensive, and smell nice. Other wet wipes such as car detailing wipes and Clorox wipes are not apt for this purpose as they leave an unwanted residue.
Vinegar Solution
You can use both homemade or a store brought vinegar solution diluted appropriately. All you need is 2 cups of hot water in a spray bottle mixed with 1 cup of vinegar and ½ cup of baking soda to get you started. If you are not a DIY person, you can buy the same right away online and use it.
It is not only an effective solution but also an inexpensive one. Along with cleaning the surface spotlessly, you can also use it as a deodorizer as it neutralizes the smells effectively.
Yoga Mat Cleaner
Yes, your yoga mat deteriorates when you clean it with household cleaners, and it requires a special cleaner made just for them. You might be wondering what is eating up your mat, and these cleaners are the culprit. Get an appropriate cleaner for maintaining their longevity.
Microfiber Towels
Microfiber towels are best for damp cleaning when you are not using the wipes. If you are thinking of using paper towels, be mindful that they shred and leave traces that require cleanup after them making it double the task.
Dish Soap
The equipment is covered in foam near handles and some other impact-lessening places. You need to remember that foam corrodes when you use vinegar and absorbs soap if you put in too much of it. So, use only dish soap diluted enough and in little quantity just enough to clean.
Few Extra Tips
Well, that covers it for the most part, but if you are interested in knowing a few smart moves to keep your home gym fresh, keep reading.
In-Between Workouts
Choosing to clean the equipment during your rest time will save you time and keep your machines clean. When you are clean as you go, it does not even feel like a task anymore.
Air Quality
Maintaining the quality of air in your home gyms is important as you breathe heavily when you work out and require ample oxygen to fill your lungs for optimal gain from your exercises. If the place has some form of ventilation, then a fan can keep the air circulating and fresh.
But if it is a closed space and has no proper ventilation, you should opt for an air purifier with a HEPA filter. They come with certification and claim to filter most allergens such as pollen, dust, and other harmful particles that you breathe in.
A Separate Set of Shoes
Keep a different pair of shoes to use with your workouts in a home gym and for an outside workout. This way, you do not bring in any dirt from outside to dirty your floor. Also, having a floor mat inside the door eliminates any little dirt you carry from outside.
Fresh Towels
Keep ample towels handy so that you can have a fresh towel after every workout session. You need not depend on the laundry this way and yet have a fresh towel for each use for many days. After all, you wipe your skin with these towels, and they should be clean, right?
Final Words
After reading all this, you might be wondering if you can accomplish such a big list of things. No, it is not as complicated as it seems, and once you start doing it, you get enough motivation from that fresh feel and the pristine-looking equipment.
All you need to do is get started and keep admiring your work and then come back repeat the same till it becomes your second nature. Keep it simple and try to adapt it with what works for you rather than complicating it with what all should be done.
Once you get on track, you can see the odors vanishing and air quality improving, which makes your home gym more inviting and pleasant for working out.
