COVID-19 pandemic has taught us how important it is to keep our bodies fit. So, as a gym owner, you can expect a wave of new members. However, if you have a musty locker room, gym-goers will want to skip your gym. So, how do you tackle the bad locker room smell? Here are four HVAC solutions to eliminate the unpleasant odor from the locker room.
4 HVAC Solutions for Eliminating Bad Locker Room Smell
1. Install An Air Purifier
By adding an air purifier to your gym, you can eliminate bad locker smells and improve the gym’s air quality.
An air purifier offers many benefits. It removes the smoky smell, destroys allergens, and eliminates microparticles, including bacteria. If you want to keep your gym safe from the Coronavirus, an air purification unit can be effective to an extent.
As several types of air purifiers are available on the market, you’ll have to buy an air purifier considering your needs and gym requirements. It’s recommended to use an air purifier that comes with oxidization and ionization technology. This type of air purifier can eliminate airborne contaminants, including a few viruses and bacteria.
While buying an air purification unit, you’ll have to consider things such as the size of your gym or locker room area. If you want to cover the entire gym, it’s obvious that you’ll have to buy a large air purification unit. Apart from this, you’ll have to consider the air purification system’s features, portability, and required maintenance.
Check our blog about 4 Things to Consider While Buying an Air Purifier in Dallas for more details.
2. HVAC Air Duct Cleaning
If you haven’t cleaned your gym’s HVAC air duct in years, chances are clogged HVAC air ducts are the main culprit behind the musty gym locker room problem.
HVAC air ducts carry the produced air from the cooling unit to every corner of your gym. But over time, air ducts get filled with dust and microparticles. Besides, when the air ducts aren’t cleaned for years, moisture starts to accumulate inside the air ducts. And when it happens, your gym air ducts become the breeding ground for molds, making the gym locker room situation even worse.
Again, when you ignore the air duct cleaning, it can result in AC system efficiency loss and higher energy bills. That’s why, as a gym owner, it’s crucial to clean the gym HVAC air ducts regularly to keep the air of your gym locker room fresh and clean.
Check Benefits of Air Duct Cleaning to know more about the other benefits of performing regular air duct cleaning.
3. Add a Humidifier
Usually, gym locker rooms are high humid areas because of sweaty fitness enthusiasts and showers. And when there is a high humid condition, molds and other microorganisms will grow exponentially, which will cause a foul odor in the locker room. To keep the humidity level in check, you can add a humidifier in the locker room area.
As there are different types of humidifiers available on the market, you’ll have to purchase according to your situation and gym demands. While buying a humidifier for your gym locker rooms, you’ll have to consider the water hardness, locker room size, required maintenance, etc. Again, if you have plans to increase the size of your gym, you should buy a larger humidification unit.
Don’t worry; a humidification unit doesn’t consume much electricity compared to an HVAC unit. To learn more about the humidification system, check Ultimate Guide to Air Humidifier.
4. Ensure Adequate Ventilation
HVAC ventilation is a crucial aspect of a gym. According to the International Building Code, moist air is required to be vented out instead of recirculating. Because of this rule, you’ll require a proper HVAC design for your gym.
When you have a proper HVAC design in place, your gym will have clean air and be free from foul smells. Besides, fitness centers or gyms are usually at risk of high Carbon Dioxide levels, especially in the cardio section, weight areas, and dance rooms. If these gym areas aren’t properly vented, your gym members will feel suffocated. Moreover, it’s unsafe to do the workout or any exercise in high CO2 conditions.
To avoid these issues, you must hire an HVAC professional and have an HVAC design for your fitness center.
See the summary in this infographic here – 4 HVAC Solutions for Locker Room Smell [Infographic]
