Every business focused on fitness wants to provide its guests with a clean environment that supports their well-being. While a facility should be clean from top to bottom, floors are an important priority. During colder months, it can be increasingly difficult to keep floors pristine when guests track in contaminants like salt, sand and melting snow. Understanding floor care best practices will help ensure that floors don’t take a beating during winter.
Areas of Concern
One of the first things that customers notice upon entering a fitness center is the condition of the floors. Clean entryways are crucial for keeping customers happy and also impressing prospective members who are touring the facility. If the first floors they encounter are dirty, they may not be interested in taking a class or signing up for a monthly membership. Plus, a lack of cleanliness can also lead to negative online reviews that can further impact future business.
In addition to entryways, gyms and fitness studios need to keep floors in locker rooms clean. These areas are prone to puddles near showers and added moisture can cause mold and mildew to form and encourage the spread of viral, bacterial and fungal skin infections. Regular floor care can reduce the risk of slips as well as unpleasant issues like athlete’s foot and plantar fasciitis.
Lastly, fitness centers must keep the floors in workout areas clean. Whether dealing with a large basketball court or a smaller room for yoga, staff must address every area with the same attention to detail.
A Strong Approach to Floor Care
Dirty floors can have a negative impact on guest satisfaction and your brand’s image. They can also compromise safety, as puddles from melting snow can lead to slip-and-fall accidents and injuries. In contrast, clean floors throughout a facility project the hospitality and professionalism that helps secure repeat visitors.
Consider these floor care strategies to keep your business looking its best:
- Set down mats in key places.
- Mats help capture moisture from people’s shoes, making them an important addition at entrances throughout the building, as well as anywhere else that moisture may pool, such as in shower areas. Look for mats that not only trap contaminants, ice and snow, but also prevent it from leaking onto floors.
- Select a machine that simplifies floor care.
- There are several features to consider when looking to purchase a floor care machine. Make sure that it has the capability to adjust the amount of cleaning solution applied to the floor as the speed of the machine changes. This leads to significant water and chemical savings. Look for a W-shaped squeegee that offers optimal water pick-up so that you only have to make one pass with the machine. The machine should also be ergonomic, easy to maintain and have a working width that is well-matched for smaller spaces but can also tackle larger areas like basketball courts if need be.
- Remember to use machines to clean rubber, structured surfaces that are commonly installed in fitness facilities. These types of floors are very resilient to foot traffic and heavy weights, but are impossible to effectively clean with a standard mop and bucket.
- Train employees to maintain a consistent clean.
- It’s important to empower employees to conduct cleaning on a regular basis. For larger fitness chains, employees must follow standard procedures to keep every location looking as good as the next. Employees should understand how to properly use all chemicals, tools and machines, as well as how to maintain a floor care machine. When employees understand the importance of cleanliness and how to maintain it, they will work to achieve high cleanliness levels on a daily basis.
- Increase cleaning when winter storms occur.
- After inclement weather strikes, employees’ and guests’ shoes will bring an onslaught of snow, ice and salt into a facility. In the days following a storm, snow will also mix with dirt and can bring in muddied moisture. Employees should equate snowfall with the need to increase cleaning efforts so contaminants don’t get tracked throughout a facility when visitors enter.
Whether operating a boutique cycling or Pilates studio or an expansive fitness center with numerous gymnasiums and workout rooms, proper floor care is imperative. A consistently clean facility offers guests a warm welcome and helps to build a company’s reputation as a superior fitness destination. By following the above strategies, your business is bound to impress visitors at every training session.
To learn more about floor care solutions from Diversey, visit www.diversey.com/solutions/floor-care.
