Cleanliness is far from what you will get at 24 Hour Fitness.
The gym is not even surface-level clean.
People pay approximately $30 per month for a membership, yet 24 Hour Fitness does not appear to invest in keeping its gyms truly clean.
The janitorial staff consists of one young man and one middle-aged woman who each work approximately four hours a day. Their cleaning typically begins around 6:00 a.m. They are responsible for cleaning the entire gym. Once they leave, the gym is no longer cleaned for the remainder of the day.
Cleaning a gym is not your typical cleaning. It is a high-traffic environment where hundreds of people touch the same equipment, locker rooms, restrooms, and shared spaces every day. Public health guidance recommends routine cleaning of high-touch surfaces because proper cleaning helps reduce the spread of germs in facilities used by large numbers of people.
Let’s begin with the locker room.
A frayed broom sits in the corner alongside a dirty Swiffer. The entire locker room, including the restrooms and showers, is cleaned using these same tools, both of which should have been replaced long ago. Nothing is ever truly scrubbed.
Cleaning the showers consists primarily of lightly sweeping away hair, Band-Aids, and trash. The floors are rarely mopped. Even when they are, it defeats the purpose because the same dirty mop and bucket are used throughout the gym, creating unnecessary cross-contamination. A scrub brush is never used, and the shower walls are not cleaned. They are simply wiped down or swept around.
For nearly three weeks, the showers had no hot water. The staff placed signs acknowledging the issue, yet whenever members asked about it, employees acted surprised that the showers still were not working.
The floors throughout the gym have dark stains and spots that have remained for months. No one appears to know what they are because they are never properly cleaned.
On two separate occasions, roaches were seen—one on the floor and another on top of the lockers before crawling inside one of the lockers. Staff insisted they were crickets.
The restroom stalls frequently have toilet paper scattered across the floor, blood on toilet seats, and, on occasion, individuals sleeping overnight in the stalls.
The pool area is no better. The bottom of the pool has visible black spots, and the jacuzzi area will occasionally have used Band-Aids left behind.
The shower and water fountain area has become a place where members regularly blow mucus from their noses directly into either the shower drains or the fountain area. That should be addressed immediately.
The sauna is never properly scrubbed or disinfected. It is simply wiped using the same dirty mop and water that has already been used throughout the facility. The water is consistently black.
The workout equipment is extremely dirty or covered in dust. The group fitness rooms are cleaned in the same manner as the rest of the gym. Dust collects on the ceiling fans, underneath cabinets, and throughout the rooms.
This is more than an appearance issue. Gyms are high-contact environments where members share benches, machines, dumbbells, mats, locker rooms, and showers. Without proper cleaning and disinfecting, bacteria, fungi, and viruses can spread more easily through shared surfaces. Proper sanitation is a basic health and safety expectation, not a luxury.
Gyms should be thoroughly cleaned throughout the day, not just for a few hours each morning. There should be cleaning staff available around the clock using professional-grade cleaning equipment and supplies. The people responsible for deep cleaning should be trained professionals whose trade is sanitation. The current cleaning staff could continue handling light maintenance, dusting, and making sure everything is in order, but deep cleaning requires a completely different level of knowledge, training, and effort.
Recently, the owner of this location walked through the gym. Before his arrival, staff hurried to clean the windows, sweep the floors, and mop. It was all surface-level cleaning.
During his visit, he asked the staff where improvements were needed.
The staff is not who he should be asking.
He should be asking the members who pay every month to use the facility.
It was clear that he was satisfied with what he saw. Meanwhile, members continue paying for a facility that is maintained at the bare minimum.
It is clear that the 24 Hour Fitness brand is not striving to provide a high-quality fitness experience. This is not an issue isolated to one location. Affordable membership fees should never be an excuse for poor cleanliness. People pay approximately $30 every month and deserve a clean, sanitary environment where they can exercise without questioning the cleanliness of the equipment, locker rooms, showers, or restrooms.
A clean gym is not a luxury. It is a basic expectation.
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