In short
- Recommendation
Contact points on machines daily and between users, barefoot areas and toilets daily, studio mats after every class, a deep clean twice a year.
- Guidance
Cleaning should remove contamination without adding slip hazards: clean in quiet hours or in sections, keep people off wet floors, remove warning signs once the floor is dry.1
- Guidance
Identify harmful substances from product labels and safety data sheets – and remember that a safety data sheet is not a risk assessment.2,3
- Guidance
Staff who clean need the right information, instruction and training.1
- Recommendation
Sign off with a timestamp, a name and a photo where it matters – showers and toilets.
The schedule by area
Suggested frequencies for a gym that is open every day. Always follow the manufacturer's instructions for products, dilution and contact time.
| Area – what | When | How | Who |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gym floor: grips, pads, displays, seats | daily, plus members wipe after use | wipe with disinfectant; paper and spray at every station | staff, members |
| Gym floor: floor | daily | vacuum, damp mop in sections | cleaners |
| Free weights: dumbbells, plates, racks | weekly; handles daily with the floor | clean, disinfect handles | staff |
| Studio: mats, small equipment | after every class | wipe with disinfectant | instructors, members |
| Studio: fabric mat covers | monthly or as needed | wash per manufacturer | cleaners |
| Locker rooms, showers: barefoot floors | daily | disinfectant cleaner, wiped or scrubbed rather than only sprayed | cleaners |
| Locker rooms: benches, locker fronts, handles | daily | clean | cleaners |
| Showers: fittings, walls | daily; wall tiles weekly | clean, descale as needed | cleaners |
| Showers: heads and aerators | as needed | descale | maintenance |
| Toilets: floor, basins, toilets, urinals, handles | daily, after the other areas | disinfectant cleaner; separate cloths for surfaces and floor | cleaners |
| Sauna: benches, duckboards, bucket and ladle | daily | products approved by the sauna manufacturer | staff |
| Reception: counter, card readers, door handles | daily | clean | staff |
| Entrance, corridors, stairs | daily | damp mop | cleaners |
| Bins | daily or as needed | empty | cleaners |
| Window sills, doors, cupboards | monthly | wipe | cleaners |
| Deep clean: lights, windows, radiators, equipment frames | twice a year or as needed | thorough clean | cleaners, contractor |
| Cloths and mop heads | after use | machine wash hot, then dry | cleaners |
| Blood, vomit | immediately | disposable gloves, disposable cloth with disinfectant, clean again, dispose of separately | whoever finds it |
These are suggested frequencies, not legal minimums. Busy sites need more, quiet sites may need less – adjust by watching where your checklists keep finding problems.
Cleaning safely
HSE points out that cleaning is meant to remove contamination that would otherwise cause slips – but the cleaning process often introduces slip or trip hazards itself, such as wet floors and trailing cables.1 Its suggestions:
- Clean during quiet hours, or in sections so there is a dry path through the area.1
- Keep people off smooth floors until they are dry; use warning signs and remove them once the floor is clean and dry.1
- Use the right amount of the right product, and keep cleaning equipment well maintained.1
- Remove spillages promptly.1
Chemicals
Identify harmful substances by reading product labels and safety data sheets, and ask your supplier if in doubt. Think about who could be exposed and how – including members of the public.2 Suppliers must provide an up-to-date safety data sheet for dangerous chemicals, but a safety data sheet is not a risk assessment: use it to make your own.3
Leave disinfectants on for the contact time the manufacturer states – wiped off at once, they may not work as intended (Recommendation).
CHECKLIST
Checklist: weekly cleaning
Recommendation: weekly, e.g. Mondays
The daily items are covered by the app template “Hygiene & cleaning”. This list collects what is due once a week.
| No. | Check item | Photo | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Dumbbells, plates and racks cleaned, handles disinfected | ||
| 02 | Studio: mats and small equipment cleaned thoroughly | ||
| 03 | Wall tiles and partitions in toilets and showers cleaned | ||
| 04 | Extractor grilles in washrooms and showers cleaned | ||
| 05 | Shower heads and aerators checked for limescale, descaled as needed | ||
| 06 | Empty lockers cleaned inside | ||
| 07 | Pads checked for tears, damaged ones logged as an issueTorn pads are hard to clean | Photo required | |
| 08 | Cleaning equipment cleaned, cloths and mop heads washed hot | ||
| 09 | Stock of disinfectant and paper refilled | ||
| 10 | Safety data sheets available where products are stored |
Gym Cleaning Checklist: Daily, Weekly & Monthly Schedule · As of 30 September 2026 · Template from ImpulsCheck · frigew.ski/impulscheck · Tick off digitally instead of printing: try 14 days for free.
IN THE APP
How ImpulsCheck helps – and where it doesn't
What the app covers
- The “Hygiene & cleaning” template runs daily: locker rooms, showers and toilets (photo required), sauna, equipment pads and grips, studio, dispensers, towels and sunbed.
- The “Daily check” at 2 pm catches what builds up during the day: pads, wipes, sanitary areas, bins, wet floors at the entrance.
- Set up the weekly cleaning as your own checklist: Repeat “Weekly (on specific days)”, e.g. Mondays, with “Allow catch-up” on – if it is missed, it stays visible until the next Monday.
- The “Deep cleaning” template runs every 2 weeks as a catch-up list: floors under machines, tiles, grout and drains, vents, doors and glass, lockers, bins, the drinks area.
- For the monthly items in the schedule – fabric mat covers, window sills, doors, cupboards – create a checklist with Repeat: Monthly, and one with “Half-yearly” for the twice-yearly deep clean of lights, windows and radiators. Under “Responsible” you assign them to whoever checks the cleaning.
- Empty dispenser, blocked shower: a “not OK” automatically becomes an issue with a photo.
- Reports show per location which checklists were done or missed and which items fail most often – also when contractors clean and your team checks.
ImpulsCheck does not replace …
- choosing suitable products, safety data sheets and your COSHH assessment,
- the cleaning itself – when a contractor cleans, the checklist records what your team checked.
Matching templates in the app
Common questions
How often should a gym be cleaned?
It depends on how busy each area is. A good starting point: contact points on machines daily and between users; locker rooms, showers and toilets daily; studio mats after every class; a deep clean twice a year (Recommendation).
How do I stop cleaning from causing slips?
HSE suggests cleaning in quiet hours or in sections, keeping people off wet floors until they are dry and removing warning signs once the floor is dry.1
Is a safety data sheet enough for chemical safety?
No. HSE is explicit that a safety data sheet is not a risk assessment – use its information to make your own assessment.3
Read on
Guide
Equipment inspection
Pre-use checks, weekly function tests and periodic inspection by a competent person – with a printable checklist and log fields.
Read the guide→Sources
- Slips and trips: CleaningHealth and Safety Executive (HSE), Great Britain, updated 13 Jan 2026
- COSHH basics: How to carry out a COSHH risk assessmentHealth and Safety Executive (HSE), Great Britain
- COSHH basics: Chemical safety data sheetsHealth and Safety Executive (HSE), Great Britain, updated 22 Aug 2025
As of 30 September 2026. Not legal advice – the legislation, HSE and your local authority are authoritative. All sources checked on 30 September 2026; legal duties and recommendations are labelled separately.