10 Steps to Keeping Your Fitness Centers Clean

In the wake of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that is currently gripping the world, it's time for personal trainers, workout coaches and other fitness professionals to review their disinfecting procedures to keep their clients as safe as possible during these difficult times.

The good news is that keeping your fitness centers clean isn't necessarily difficult - but it does require you to keep a number of important things in mind that may go above and beyond what you've done in the past.

Step 1: Make Sure You're Using the Right Cleaning Supplies

By far, the most important step to keep your fitness centers clean during COVID-19 involves making sure that you're using the right gym cleaning supplies in the first place. Remember that not all cleaning supplies are created equally and some are far more effective in the fight against the Coronavirus than others. At Pro Solutions Direct, we offer products like Shockwave RTU from Fiberlock - a multipurpose disinfectant and cleaner that is registered with the EPA for use against the Coronavirus with a contact time of just 10 minutes. It's powerful enough for all of your sensitive gym surfaces and can even be used for carpet treatment and as a laundry additive, too.

Step 2: Read Those Directions Carefully

In an effort to use gym disinfectants as safely as possible, employees should also be trained to read all product directions carefully before application. While many of the products offered by Pro Solutions Direct don't require PPE (Personal Protective Equipment), some do - and your employees will need to be aware of that to keep themselves safe moving forward.

Step 3: The Importance of Educating Your Clients

A big part of the fitness center cleaning process involves making sure that your clients are doing whatever they can to help prevent the spread of harmful germs in the first place.

Case in point: you should make it known that customers should use a towel to cover workout equipment when used to create a barrier between themselves and the surface of whatever machine they happen to be using.

Step 4: Wiping Down Equipment

Along the same lines, clients should also use a clean towel to wipe the surfaces of all equipment when they're done. This is especially important for those people who may be particularly sweaty during their workout.

Step 5: Wash Those Hands

You should also put up signage that reminds customers to wash their hands after their workout has finished. This is always important, but it's especially so to prevent the spread of harmful germs among people who may be using the same workout accessories in a short period of time.

Step 6: Training Your Employees

As the owner of a gym or other fitness center, you should also know that it's your responsibility to train employees in proper cleaning procedures during these difficult times. At a bare minimum, employees should know how to safely use not only disinfectant products like those referenced above, but also the use of PPE as well.

Step 7: Create That Daily Cleaning Schedule

Maintaining a clean fitness center means cleaning regularly throughout the day - which is why you should create a daily cleaning schedule for all of your employees to follow. Not only will this make sure that everyone knows what is expected of them, but it will create accountability to guarantee that people are actually doing what they're supposed to be, too.

Step 8: Document Everything and Document Often

Speaking of accountability, you should also create a cleaning log to make sure that all relevant tasks are being completed on schedule. Yes, this can be difficult if your facility is particularly busy - but this is a step absolutely worth taking to keep both your employees and your customers as safe as possible.

Step 9: Understand Contact Times

In order to be effective, certain products need to remain on a surface for a specific period of time - otherwise known as their contact time. Make sure that employees are well aware of the contact time for each product that you're using. Benefect Decon 30, for example, has a contact time of just 30 seconds.

Step 10: Know When to Call in the Professionals

Finally, understand that sometimes keeping your fitness center clean isn't a job you can do alone. The best practices outlined above are a great starting point, but you need to come to terms with the fact that you WILL periodically need to call in professionals to help keep your environment as sanitary as possible.

Decide on a schedule well in advance and whether you have a company come in once a week or once every few days, make sure you stick with it for the foreseeable future.

If you'd like to find out more information about what you need to know to keep your fitness centers clean, or if you'd just like to talk about your own needs with someone in a little more detail, please don't delay - contact Pro Solutions Direct today.