The 5 Germiest Places in Your Gym

Posted on June 19, 2017

The 5 Germiest Places in Your Gym

It’s no surprise that the average gym is filled with germs and bacteria. Without a rigorous gym cleaning plan in place, it’s all too easy for bacteria to take over your fitness facility. To protect your staff, your customers, and your facility, you need a team that can identify, target, and disinfect your gym’s germiest places on every clean.

At JAN-PRO®, our EnviroShield® system allows our gym cleaning specialists to target and eliminate bacteria wherever they are found. Our cleaners are trained to zero in on the areas where germs are at their worst, using non-toxic, zero-residue disinfectant to knock out 99.99% of bacteria on contact. Our cleaners know where bacteria thrives in your gym, so we asked our experts about the germiest spots in the average fitness center.

Here are the five germiest spaces that our cleaners deal with when it comes to gym cleaning…

Exercise Equipment

When your customers use your exercise equipment, they leave bacteria all over its surfaces. That bacteria can be because of sweat, saliva, or unwashed hands. In a study of treadmills, exercise bikes, and free weights, all three types of equipment were teeming with bacteria. More than one million bacteria per square inch were found on the surface of each kind of equipment, and over 70% of these bacteria were pathogenic.

Mats & Flooring

Flooring anywhere is prone to bacteria build-up, but gym floors and gym mats are especially vulnerable to germs. Your customers’ shoes not only track bacteria in from outside — they also spend a substantial amount of time in your gym’s change rooms and washrooms. Meanwhile, mats come into direct contact with floors and sweaty bodies, making them a haven for bacteria.

Showers & Saunas

Bacteria thrives in warm, wet areas. Unsurprisingly, bacteria find themselves right at home in your gym’s showers and sauna. On top of bacterial concerns, showers and saunas are also breeding grounds for fungi and mold, making them a major health and hygiene concern.

Restrooms

Restrooms are a bacterial breeding ground in any workplace, and your gym is no exception. But restroom bacteria goes well beyond your gym’s toilets. In fact, several high-touch areas in your restrooms will have more bacteria per square inch than your toilet seats. The worst culprit? Your faucet handles, which typically has more than twenty times as many bacteria per square inch as your toilet seats.

Drinking Fountains

Your gym’s water fountains can easily collect bacteria, potentially infecting those who drink from your fountains. Studies of water fountains in schools have found as many as 2.7 million bacteria per square inch. While your gym’s users are (hopefully) more hygienic than young students, your fountains are still likely to be crawling with germs and bacteria if not cleaned frequently.

Your local JAN-PRO® can help you disinfect the germiest areas in your gym. Call us today at 866-355-1064 for a no-cost cleaning fitness center cleaning consultation.