What causes odors in gyms and fitness centers?
Gyms, improperly maintained, can smell pretty bad. Almost everyone who’s ever owned one – either professionally, or just in their home – can attest to this. And when you’re in the business of running a gym, needless to say, keeping it smelling pleasant is as important as maintaining the machines. After all, the gym business is a seriously competitive one, and nothing will get your patrons looking for an alternative workout spot quicker than having to work out in an atmosphere of offensive odors.
As you might well have guessed by now, most of the offensive smells in gyms is caused by the same thing that makes you smell bad after a workout: sweat.
But unlike you, the sweaty smell in gyms can’t just be cleared away by spraying it with some warm water. When it comes to a room – especially an expansive one, like your average gym – the sweat gets into some seriously obscure places. . It stains seats, seeps into the floor, even floats about in vapor form and works itself into the more porous parts of the architecture. That’s why you should be thinking about a central scent delivery system to cover all spaces
It hardly ends there, of course – really, the body just doesn’t smell very appealing in general when put under strain. Among other things, many folks, particularly those that like to stick to high-protein diets, find themselves releasing a great deal of gas during physical exertion. Either way, the point is that the foul odors that can often accumulate in gyms is a natural result of putting physical strain on the body – which, you’ll likely agree, is not something that can be realistically avoided in any active gym or fitness center.
What does a bad smell do to your members?
As mentioned, even if your gym is equipped with the latest, trendiest equipment, even if it offers expansive workout space and an array of slick and convenient features, it’s likely to quickly lose members if they find themselves having to workout in an environment that smells bad.
Why? Well, obviously, a bad smell is likely to be harmful to more or less any business; but it’s especially grating in a business like a gym, which, naturally, is a business that centers on physical exertion. In an environment dominated by offensive odors, your patrons are going to have trouble breathing at a regular rate – which, as one finds out pretty quickly, makes the whole matter of working out far harder than it should be, as a lack of regular air flow into the lungs leads to rapid exhaustion.
In other words, keeping your gym clear of offensive smells is not just a matter of making the experience more pleasant for your customers; it is also a critical part of making sure that it is a healthy environment that is properly conducive to physical exercise. After all, that’s really the main thing that gyms are supposed to provide – and if yours doesn’t, you can bet patrons will be looking for a new place pretty quickly.
How do you control your gym’s odor?
It’s pretty obvious, then, that if you run a gym, odor is an inevitable problem that really will have to be dealt with. But how?
Well, one of the most obvious is proper ventilation. And we’re not just talking about keeping the windows open. You ought to set aside some cash to invest in some expert examination, to ensure that the gym’s air-shafts and other ventilation features are clean, open, and properly functioning.
But this, sadly, is not quite enough on its own, unless your gym is an unusually open-air variety. No, for many gyms, the only way to really be sure that the odor throughout the facility is kept agreeable is the implementation of cold-air diffusion scent delivery. Since no operator has the time to walk through their gym every hour spraying the place through with aerosol cans or refilling water in oil diffusers, it’s generally worth it to invest in devices that’ll automatically keep the scents flowing – scent delivery systems like our OW-5000 that connects directly into your HVAC system. You can even use them as stand-alone devices in various rooms should you not need it directly in your central heating and air.
And while we’re on the subject, proper scent control in your gym might be an ideal means not just of preventing the decline of your gym’s membership levels, but of actively increasing it. If you’re not familiar with the concept of “scent marketing”, it’s, well, pretty much just what it sounds like: the act of growing and promoting your brand via the use of scents.
Of course, this is all a bit more nuanced than simply sticking “this gym smells nice” on your flyers. Olfactory senses play a major role in our everyday perceptions of the world, with different scents evoking profoundly different neurological reactions. In other words, one ought to pick which scents they use carefully – used properly, they could become a major part of one’s brand.
So which aromas are right for your gym? Really, we can’t tell you that for certain – it’s largely for you to decide, as you’re the only one who really knows what kind of brand you’re looking to build for your gym. Really, whatever scent you feel evokes your brand is best. You’re choosing a scent that you wish to ensure will bring your gym to mind whenever your patrons smell it; and thus, opting for one that your target demographic is likely to come into frequent contact with, and to find appealing, is pretty important.
Heck, you might even want to get especially creative with the concept and place different scents in different regions. For instance, a scent that is more “sporty” and “active” might be best for the main gym room, while a more relaxation-friendly scent might be a better option for the locker room, shower area, or wherever else your patrons will head after a lengthy bout of sweating and working out.
Either way, the point is that, while gym odor is an unavoidable issue, finding an effective solution to it can, in many ways, prove to be a serious boost to your gym business and the growth of your brand.
Below are scent delivery systems that are commonly used inside of gym and fitness centers.
