How To Disinfect Your Gym

Nowadays, viruses and infections have been spreading between people and making it harder for them to go to public places with comfort. This affected many people’s lives as they cannot visit their favourite restaurant as they used to or go to the gym regularly.

When it comes to the gym, personal trainers work in so many different places, it could be at commercial gyms, the client’s house, a small studio, or even out in the park. The only problem is the equipment they use is being touched every day by different people. Hence it’s important to hire a good gym cleaning company.

This caused many people serious concerns as they cannot risk their well-being by going to the gym and catching a serious infection. Therefore, guidelines to disinfect and sanitize gyms are in place to help reduce infections, keep reading the Clean Group this article to find out more.

Is the Gym a Breeding Environment for Harmful Germs?

Many search studies show that gyms contain a huge amount of bacteria and viruses, especially on the surfaces such as counters, exercise equipment, and floors. In fact, studies showed that the exercise equipment was contaminated with viruses more than fungus or bacteria.

Moreover, exercise weight equipment was more contaminated with viruses than aerobic equipment. Any fitness centre involves plenty of people always touching the same equipment and surfaces, making germs even faster.

Therefore, the disinfection of gyms is extremely important as they could easily become the breeding environment for dangerous bacteria and viruses.

What Is the Difference Between Disinfecting, Sanitizing, and Sterilizing?

There are many ways to describe the process of cleaning in any facility, but in the end, it all comes down to three simple words; disinfecting, sanitizing, and sterilizing.

Those are the three steps to follow while cleaning any given facility. So let’s break it down and see why each of those steps is important.

Disinfect

Disinfecting is the process of cleaning and eliminating harmful germs from all surfaces such as floors, counters, and equipment. This process helps reduce almost 100% of the harmful germs on gyms’ surfaces.

This process is usually done by using wipes or applying chemical sprays. The great thing about disinfecting is that you can easily find the products to use in any store in the form of wipes, sprays, or liquids. You can even make your own product at home

The disinfectant does not take long to work, it usually takes around 20 minutes, however with some slower products, it could take up to 12 hours to get the job fully done.

Disinfection kills most viruses and fungi and some disinfection products were marketed to be effective against COVID-19 when used as recommended.

Sanitize

Sanitizing is one more method to kill germs and remove dirt and it’s usually confused with sterilizing. Sanitizing aims to reduce the number of germs to a safe level to decrease the chances of infection.

Sanitizing is a process that can include both disinfecting and cleaning, and even though hand sanitisers might not be enough to get rid of all the germs, they are effective enough for people to use until they can wash their hands with soap and warm water.

Sterilize

Sterilizing is a process that is done by professionals in large settings or facilities such as hospitals. Even though disinfecting removes most of the germs, sterilizing on the other hand removes all microorganisms, even the harmless ones.

The process of sterilizing is more common in medical facilities, but recently, business owners sterilize their entire company to make it safer for employees. The same goes for schools if they want to eliminate germs in all rooms.

The sterilizing process can be done using different methods such as using pressurized steam, ethylene oxide, dry heat cabinets for medical tools, pressurized steam, infrared radiation, ionizing radiation, and advanced filtration.

Should I Disinfect or Sanitize the Gym Equipment?

Since it is quite uncommon to see someone clean equipment after they use it, sanitizing is not going to be enough to kill the germs and stop the spread to the next person. Accordingly, the best way to clean the Gyms and fitness centres after exercising is to use a disinfectant like wipes or spray before and after every use of the equipment.

Clean and Disinfect Your Gym’s High-Contact Areas Daily

High-contact areas at gyms are the surfaces that people touch all the time such as doorknobs, handles on exercise machines, light switches, weights, barbells, stability balls, foam rollers, and rubber flooring.

These areas should be cleaned multiple times a day especially since clients touch them with their bodies and use them for relatively long periods of time. And surfaces such as tables and counters should be cleaned at least twice per day to avoid germs spreading.

Cleaning the Bathrooms and Locker Rooms

When it comes to locker rooms and bathrooms, we have to pay extra attention to the sterilizing and the disinfection of those areas since people touch them all the time while being sweaty and after practising and touching multiple exercise equipment.

Some of the high contact surfaces such as faucet handles, toilet seats, door handles, and toilet handles should be cleaned more than once per day. On the other hand, toilet bowls, floors, and sinks can be cleaned once per day.

Remember to Disinfect the Front Desk and Office

Even though focusing on workout equipment is very important, don’t let it distract you from other areas that need your attention, c In case your employees use a touchscreen to log in and out of work, make sure to include those touchscreens in your disinfecting process as well.

Deep Cleaning the Gym

Your cleaning schedule for your gym cleaning should include a regular deep cleaning for the entire gym, this usually takes place when no clients are in the gym, usually overnight or on a day that you close the gym for cleaning purposes.

Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic, it is only safe to assume that the virus is spreading in your gym and act accordingly. This might call for professional help, but if you cannot afford it, make sure the area is ventilated properly while you clean and use protective gear.

You might also want to use products that are recommended for disinfecting as they do a better job cleaning the surfaces. Moreover, you should follow the Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for complete deep cleaning.

After the COVID-19 pandemic, it is only normal to want to take every possible precaution to prevent the spread of the virus. And since gyms are a huge part of people’s everyday lives, it is important to maintain their safety and wellbeing while working out.

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