Have Houston HVAC Technicians Take A Closer Look At Your Gyms’ Bad Locker Room Smells Part II

Deep Cleaning At Least Once Every Week

If regular cleaning is not helping with the situation with the locker room, then you should consider deep cleaning because it can help go to the root of the problem. Scrub and sanitize lockers and benches at least once a week so that you will be able to reach spots that you miss when cleaning daily.

Removing The Carpeting

Have you ever seen someone put a carpet in the bathroom or kitchen? People don’t do this because it ends up getting stained, damp, and gross very easily. This is the same case with a carpet at a fitness center.

Carpets absorb humidity and this can result in the room smell. A gym is a place that has a lot of traffic and this makes it hard to keep the carpet clean. You should consider replacing the carpet with less absorbent options like a tile. This will help in eliminating odors and making it easier to clean the floor.

3 Ways Of Controlling Humidity To Lose The locker room smell

Improving Ventilation

Keeping humidity low is important if you want to control odor. This is because moisture in the air will lead to the odor lingering, so ensure you have humidity levels in check, and more importantly the locker room. Locker rooms are the most humid part of gyms because of people sweating and showering. Other high humidity areas are pools and steam rooms.

According to the International Building Code, moist air needs to be vented out instead of being recirculated. This will mean having a proper ventilation system that will be able to keep the room healthy, odor-free, and up to code.

Fitness centers have a higher risk of air quality issues like increased CO2 levels. Exercising results in a number of changes in the body, and these include faster breathing and elevated heart rate. Breathing faster will lead to a higher production of CO2. Breathing too much CO2 is unhealthy, and it will leave a person feeling tired and foggy, which is not something anyone wants to feel when they are exercising. This is a common problem in dance studios, weight rooms, and an enclosed space where classes are taking place. This is why it is important to ensure ventilation is there.

If you are still using an old system (you have not updated your HVAC), you should get it checked by an HVAC professional so it can work how it is supposed to. There are a number of things that can be done to increase the effectiveness of the ventilation system. Some features that can help with these include HEPA filters, which traps mold, bacteria, and small particles.

Duct Cleaning

The HVAC ducts are responsible for moving air around the gym and through the HVAC system. With time, they can start clogging with dust and accumulate moisture. When the air is traveling through these ducts, it will end up picking the smell then carry it throughout the building. If you have to deal with nasty odors inside the gym, then it is a good idea to have the ducts checked and cleaned by a professional.

When the ducts are cleaned, the HVAC will circulate fresh air.

Regular HVAC Maintenance

When the ventilation is working well and the ducts are cleaned, it is still important to maintain the HVAC equipment. This is because things such as blocked condensation drains, clogged air filters, and water leaks can all lead to smelly gyms.

You should consider getting maintenance services twice a year. This ensures everything is working well and prevent the gym from smelling. Regular maintenance will prevent breakdowns that can sometimes affect your business because of the lack of AC or heat. The cost you are to spend on maintenance is less than what you could have spent or repairs.

Clean air is important for any clean gym. There is no need to lose your customers because of issues like odor. You can schedule regular HVAC maintenance so you don’t have to worry about it again.

Visit the first part of this article by visiting here. Call or contact AC Man of Houston today with any questions that you might have!

Have Houston HVAC Technicians Take A Closer Look At Your Gyms’ Bad Locker Room Smells Part I

The New Year has started and what this means is more people coming to use the gym. It is normal to see a high number of people showing up in the gym at the beginning of the year. There are many new and returning customers looking to accomplish their resolutions. You should ensure your gym is a place where people will want to come back to. Having a bad locker room smell is the fastest way of ruining your first impression.

The good thing is that it is not hard to fix this problem. Below are some tips you can use to deal with locker room odor and keeping the air clean and fresh.

Let’s start by looking at why the odor is more than just a nuisance; it is also bad for health. This is not something you want in a place where people are coming to improve their health.

The Smell Could Be A Sign That There Is Poor Air Quality Indoors

Poor indoor air quality could cause the gym locker to smell bad. When there is odor around, then there could be pollutants and bacteria too. Odors are usually carried around by humidity, and when there is moisture in the air, it provides the perfect condition for bacteria or mold to grow. Spreading of germs in the gym is easy because there are many people entering and coming in contact with equipment. When you improve the air quality in the room, you will make the place a little healthier.

There are other causes of odors in the room. There was a study done and it showed that the gym has a high level of indoor pollutants like carbon dioxide, dust, VOCs, formaldehyde, and dust. If you notice a chemical smell, then that could be VOCs from the paint, carpet, and other building materials. This is more common in old buildings that have an outdated HVAC system. When you breathe in these substances over time, they will start causing health problems such as breathing difficulties, infections, rashes, nose, eye, and throat irritations.

When people are searching for a gym, they will look for a place that has a pleasant environment. You can easily lose a lot of customers because of the smell in the locker room of the gym and poor quality of air. This is why it is important to ensure there ventilation and quality air inside the room, or else you end up losing a lot of money. People going to the gym want to improve their health, and the last thing they need is the poor quality of air as they exercise.

There is a good chance you have tried different products to get rid of the odor but they don’t work. They will succeed in covering up the odors, and some will even absorb them. But they are not able to deal with the source of the problem. How can you get rid of this problem once and for all?

The Basics For Odor Control

Removing Used Towels Regularly

One of the biggest contributors to the nasty smell in the locker room is used towels. In order to contain the odors and humidity, consider using laundry baskets that have lids. The laundry baskets should also be emptied on a regular basis. You should also look out for any towels left on the stalls, hooks, and benches too.

Stepping Up Dialing Cleaning

You already have a system you follow when it comes to cleaning, but if you have not gone through the routine for some time, then the routine might not be working the way it should be. There are some areas that you will need to clean more regularly. Some of these areas include bathrooms, drains, showerheads, and saunas.

Emptying The Lockers On A Daily Basis

You should not wait for your customers to properly clean the lockers. If you don’t know what has been left inside, it could be contributing to the smell in the locker room. It is a good idea to empty them every day. You should tell the customers that anything they leave behind will be put in the lost and found or thrown out.

Find out more. Give us a call or contact AC Man of Houston today with any inquiries!

Addressing The Musty Smell Of Your Home Or Business With An Experienced HVAC Technician In Houston

Have you been plagued with a musty smell that continues to stick around your business or your home? This is why you’ll need to act on it, and quickly:

Living with a bad smell isn’t just unpleasant, it can actually cause ongoing physical symptoms such as headaches.

Bad smells can also be embarrassing if you have visitors to your office or your home.

If you’re talking about a business space like a restaurant or store, it may hurt your profit margin by driving away employees and customers.

Worse, what you may observe to be a very slight odor could seem much worse to others entering the building. This is because individuals can become used to odors over time. You may have become “nose blind” and stopped noticing the musty smell, but new visitors to the property may be aware of it from the second they enter the building.

We’re sure that you’ve already tried all the simple things like air fresheners for your home and office. You’ve likely already tried using an odor eliminator for mildew, as well as completely cleaning the space. You may have also tried office or home air purifiers.

However, if the smell of mildew or must continue, there’s a good chance that it’s closely related to your HVAC system and how well it’s working.

There are numerous ways that the HVAC system can contribute to a musty smell:

Layers of grime and built up dust and dirt in your HVAC system’s ducts may cause an overall musty odor that spreads through the building along with the air that has been heated and cooled.

Additional moisture can cause mildew and mold, and along with them, bad smells.

Poor HVAC system design may also cause bad airflow conditions, which can spread unpleasant odors from one area of the building to another.

Clean Your Entire Houston HVAC System To Get Rid Of The Musty Smell Completely

If you think that your HVAC system could be playing a part in the musty smell that you’re experiencing, one of the first things you should do is to set up a complete inspection of your HVAC ductwork and equipment.

A skilled HVAC professional should look for the following:

• Clogged Air Filters
• Dirty Ducts – It’s amazing what can lurk here, from mold to pest infestations.
• Clogged Drains – Along with other issues leading to excess moisture and mildew buildup
• Inadequate Ventilation – This and other system design issues can spread odors around

If it’s been a while since you had your HVAC system serviced, it’s likely that one fairly inexpensive maintenance visit and a duct cleaning may be all you need to eliminate the musty smell that you’re experiencing.

You’ll also want to keep up with ongoing regular service, to keep the smells from coming back. This will also help prevent system breakdowns, help you save energy, and provide you with many other benefits. The least expensive way to do this is to sign up for an ongoing service contract with a reliable HVAC service professional.

It could also be possible that ongoing issues with your HVAC system’s design are contributing to the overall odor problem.

Improve HVAC Airflow to Eliminate Unpleasant Odors

Your HVAC system was designed to regulate the airflow through your commercial space and your home. Properly controlled flow of air is important for both comforts and for controlling odor.

Here’s an example:

Areas of your home like bathrooms and kitchens may have odors that you don’t want to linger. Your HVAC and your ventilation equipment, such as fans, ducts, and vent hoods, should be installed with the goal of getting rid of these odors and not spreading them throughout your space.

This means that the system needs to balance the air that is mechanically removed from the home and circulate it around the building correctly while adding air from outside.

If the balance is off, it’s far too easy for odors to travel where they aren’t wanted.

The solution may be to change the location of vent fans, add an additional air unit, or reroute the ductwork.

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