Your favorite fitness facility is probably well-stocked with disinfectant wipes and spray bottles, along with signs advising you to do two things: re-rack your weights and wipe down your equipment. It might be second nature to you to give your weight bench a solid wipe-down after a bench press session — but do you apply half as much effort to keeping your home gym clean?
Chances are, the answer is no. That’s because you may be more concerned with not leaving behind a sweaty souvenir for other gym members than actually avoiding contact with germs. Unfortunately, bacteria can build up on your home gym equipment just as easily as they can on surfaces in any commercial gym. It will also stay there until you decide to eliminate it.
To help you fend off gym germs and help your equipment last as long as possible, BarBend talked to MDs to find the best strategies for post-workout clean-up. Here’s everything you need to know about how to clean home gym equipment.
- How Dirty Is Your Home Gym Equipment?
- How to Clean Your Home Gym Equipment
- Tips for Keeping Your Gym Cleaner
- Frequently Asked Questions
How Dirty Is Your Home Gym Equipment?
In all likelihood, the last thing you think about after concluding your at-home workouts is cleaning up. If that’s the case, your dumbbells, barbells, kettlebells, foam rollers, and exercise mats are all probably teeming with bacteria. And yes, those germs can still be harmful to you even if you’re the one who put it there in the first place.
“If you rarely clean your home gym equipment, it’s probably very dirty,” Dr. McComb says. “Exactly how dirty depends on how often it’s used, the number of people using it, and their cleanliness. Depending on the type of bacteria and conditions, they can divide rapidly once transmitted from an infected source.”
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At least one study of fitness center surfaces found that bacteria from 17 families and 25 genera were present on the tested equipment. (1) Moreover, much of the bacteria was of air, dust, soil, and water origin. (1) This underscores how easily bacteria from diverse environments can migrate onto workout equipment, and potentially cause serious health problems.
“Some bacteria, specifically methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), can cause significant skin infections, like a staph infection,” adds Koehler. “The bacteria can live on gym equipment surfaces and spread to people if they touch the contaminated surface and the bacteria gets into a cut or open wound.”
How to Clean Your Home Gym Equipment
If you’re resolved to sanitize your workout space, it might seem daunting — but it’s actually not that difficult. In fact, all it takes is access to a few recommended cleaning supplies to prevent the spread of germs from your free weights onto your hands, and then over to your cardio machines. This way, you can halt the spread of germs at its source.
Spray Equipment Down After Every Use
Far and away, the simplest strategy for dispensing with germs on your gym equipment is to wipe your equipment down after every use. Douse your equipment with a disinfectant spray, wipe it off with a microfiber cloth, and then allow it to air dry. This will address the problem long before it escalates to the point where your equipment needs a deep cleaning.
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“Ideally, people should be wiping down their equipment after every use at the minimum,” Koehler advises. “There are specific EPA (Environmental Protection Agency)-registered disinfectants to remove methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. There is also a list of EPA-registered products that are effective against MRSA.”
Use an Appropriate Cleaning Solution
While the ultimate outcome of cleaning your exercise equipment is a safe training environment, that doesn’t mean all cleaning products will have an equal effect. You won’t want to blast your resistance bands with something as strong as undiluted bleach, nor will you want to wipe it with something as mild as ordinary warm water.
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“While there may be some benefit by wiping your equipment with water immediately following use, it isn’t an adequate disinfectant,” McComb cautions. “Conversely, some cleaning products can damage the surfaces or upholstery of the equipment or can be irritating to skin or lungs if inhaled. Abrasive solutions should be avoided to extend the longevity of the equipment. Always follow the instructions on the disinfectant label to ensure it’s being used safely.”
How to Clean Stainless Steel Home Gym Equipment
Spray on 70 percent isopropyl alcohol solution. Wipe clean after 30 seconds.
This material is frequently found on:
- Barbells
- Fixed-Weight Barbells
- Dumbbell Handles
- Metal Cable Attachments
- Weight Plates
- Kettlebells
How to Clean Rubber Home Gym Equipment
Wash thoroughly with non-detergent soap and water. Allow to air dry.
Polyvinyl, polyurethane, polypropylene, and rubber are commonly used as the primary materials for:
- Yoga Balls
- Exercise Mats
- Weight Benches
- Battle Ropes
- Rope Cable Attachments
- Gym Floors
They also are used to coat the surface of some:
- Dumbbells
- Kettlebells
- Weight Plates
How to Clean Cast Iron Home Gym Equipment
Spray on 70% isopropyl alcohol solution. Wipe clean after 30 seconds.
This material is most commonly found on the unvarnished surfaces of:
- Weight Plates
- Kettlebells
How to Clean Aluminum Home Gym Equipment
Spray on 70 percent isopropyl alcohol solution. Wipe clean after 30 seconds.
Some of the equipment you can clean like this are:
- Assorted Workout Handles
- Cable Machine Attachment Handles
Check with the manufacturer of your home gym equipment to determine which tool is composed of which material, and clean accordingly.
Tips for Keeping Your Gym Cleaner
Preserving the cleanliness of your home gym doesn’t need to be a time-intensive activity. On the contrary — a little bit of cleaning in the short term will likely save you grief in the long-run.
Keep Cleaning Materials Stocked and Ready
It’ll be far less aggravating to quickly wipe down a piece of equipment after each use than to scrub it clean after several months of poor hygiene management.
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To make cleaning as convenient and systematic as possible, keep all of your cleaning solutions premixed and within arm’s reach for easy application.
Schedule Thorough Cleanings of Your Gym
Regularly wiping down your personal equipment is a wonderful habit to get into, but even that healthy habit won’t account for all of the bacteria that sneak by.
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To ensure that you’re addressing all of the potential germs, aim to thoroughly clean your entire gym once a week. This includes the floor.
Schedule Thorough Cleanings of Your Home
Even if you keep your home gym in pristine shape, it won’t be as effective as possible if you’re consistently tracking in a lot of mess from the rest of your home.
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You can reduce the likelihood that you’ll carry bacteria into your home gym with you if you also safeguard the cleanliness of your entire living space.
Wear Clean Clothes When You Train
Your clothes are a perfect conduit for transferring residue onto whatever fitness surfaces you come in contact with.
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If you spent all afternoon at a mall, a movie theater, and a local restaurant before lying down on your bench to start pressing, you’re carrying bacteria with you from all three locations. Suit up in clean clothes before your workout to avoid this eventuality
Get Cleaning
It’s often said that perfect is the enemy of good, and this can be quite true when it comes to maintaining the cleanliness of your home gym. If you are regularly treating your equipment to small cleanings, you won’t need to rely on irregular deep cleanings to keep yourself free from home-grown illnesses of your own creation.
FAQs
Most of the key questions you have about how and when to clean your home gym equipment will be answered below.
Are you supposed to clean gym equipment?
Definitely. Gym equipment should be cleaned regularly in order to keep it free of bacteria and other germs.
How often should you clean gym equipment?
Ideally, gym equipment should be cleaned immediately after each use. This immediately eliminates the presence of bacteria.
What is the best way to clean gym equipment?
The best way to clean gym equipment is to wipe it down with an approved disinfectant solution that is capable of killing disease-causing bacteria without damaging the equipment.
References
- Mukherjee N, Dowd SE, Wise A, Kedia S, Vohra V, Banerjee P. Diversity of bacterial communities of fitness center surfaces in a U.S. metropolitan area. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2014 Dec 3;11(12):12544-61.
Featured Image: sylv1rob1 / Shutterstock
