I’m not one who cares about touching other people’s sweat, but still, the basic social rule is to return shared property to a state at least as good, if not better, than what you found it in. Perhaps we were socialized differently, but that seems like common courtesy to me. Maybe not so common anymore.
If I NOTICED that I’d left sweat on a machine, yes, I’d wipe it down. Just as if I NOTICED that someone else had left sweat on a machine that I wanted to use, I’d wipe it down. My doctor had limited me to water exercises only, and allowed me to use a sit down machine only after I’d improved my general health. And she was happy that I’d found a home machine.
I rarely work up a sweat on the home machine, either, even though I use it for about half an hour five times a week. My main maintenance problems with it are the fact that my husband tried to use it as a hat and clothing rack, and one of the cats thinks that it’s a nifty scratching post. I solved the first problem by just dumping all clothes and hats right on the floor, and I had to resort to a squirt bottle for the second problem.
Why should the onus be on them? If you make a mess, you clean it up.
Oh really? As usual your stupidity is breathtaking. You must have at least a passing familiarity with germ theory, yes? A gym is a high-traffic communal area - your dank skank only adds to the risk. My keyboard isn’t a high-traffic communal area that strangers sweat all over, you fucking moron. Gyms provides antibacterial sprays to reduce exposure. I also forgot to mention those with sensitive skin, who pay for your inconsideration.
It’s not, but it should be. You really are amazing. Do you walk up to strangers and cough in their face? How about shoving their heads into your armpits so they can get a good sniff of your B.O.? Maybe when you fart you invite people to bask in the stench with you - although your head is already so far up your arse I’d imagine you’re quite used to the aroma.
If I had my way your repulsive ilk would be hounded out with pitchforks and torches like Frankenstein’s monster, where you find somewhere more your speed. Perhaps a gutter - you can have endless fun licking drain grates and playing with dog turds, wiping them on passers-by as befits your understanding of personal hygiene and social grace.
Cleaning up right after you dirty something is more effective. If the last person who used the machine was a half hour ago, all the salt, dead skin and dirt has dried up and won’t come off as easily with a simple wipe. So while you are being sarcastic, their hygienic superiority is real.
Because they are the ones who want it to be sanitized.
Oh, come on…
Is littering in the park OK because there are park workers there to pick it up for you?
You’re seriously equating sweating with littering?
Personally, I get squicked out by door handles in bathrooms because I know that a good percentage of people don’t wash their hands after using the restroom. So I frequently use a paper towel to turn the knob, or push the door open with my shoulder. Now, I COULD get my panties in a twist and lecture people who don’t wash their hands, but it’s just not that big of a deal to me. I want a clean door handle, so I use a paper towel.
You seriously missed the point by that much?
You said that the employees that work there should be responsible for cleaning up the sweat, as they are the ones that care about it. It’s their rule, right?
Carry that attitude to other aspects of life and you’ll have one giant tragedy of the commons. IMHO, people going the extra nanometer and cleaning up after themselves is generally preferable to everyone adopting the stance that their mess is someone else’s problem.
Except some people don’t view their mild sweating as a “mess.”
If you work up a sweat like Andy Roddick, with sweat literally dripping off the bill of your ball cap, then that’s one thing. Wipe up after yourself. But most people don’t sweat that profusely, maybe just a little under the pits or on their forehead. So it probably doesn’t dawn on them to wipe down the machine.
BTW, I sweated walking between buildings at my work place yesterday. It was 98 degrees outside and a .3 mile walk (it’s a walking trail, so it’s marked). I got to the door and opened it with my mildly sweaty hand, and didn’t bother to wipe it off afterward. Do you think that that was rude? Seriously.
Actually, I never said that. I said that if you’re working out, and you to be sure that your machine is clean of sweat, then wipe it down.
Then this has me confused:
Can’t we agree that sweaty fat people are gross, and skinny workout-aholics are narcissistic assholes?
That’s plumbkrazy.
Ah, another thread derailed by fat apologists and lazy self-entitled assholes who think it should be the job of every one else in the world to clean up their messes.
I think it’s time MENSA started putting some common-sense questions on their entry tests, like, “Should you fucking put communal shit back where you found it when you’re done using it?”
I hope you’re just playing devil’s advocate.
Do you really not understand the differing social expectations involved in leaving a little palm sweat on a door handle and leaving a slippery, sweaty workout bench?
Which is why I work out, but take special care to slack off, drink beer, and eat pizza often enough that I don’t get in really good shape. But not so frequently that I become a sweaty gross fat person, either.
It’s actually a very difficult balancing act, and I deserve more credit than those lame-ass bodybuilders who just take the easy road by working out all the time.
If you’re 65 years old, first time at a gym, do you think you’re gong to work out enough to leave a machine sopping wet? She may notice that back is a bit damp, but surely it’s vinyl so it must be designed that way to dry off, right? And I never said she told anyone to fuck off just because the instructor didn’t tell her what to do. So don’t give me any of that bullshit. She simply had no clue what basic procedures were, and when she tried to ask other patrons, she got attitude like yours.
She’s not a fucking idiot! Of course when she came across a spray bottle, she figured out what is was for. But she still wondered if you were supposed to do it every time anyone used a machine or if it was only for those big guys who practically left puddles around when they pumped iron? Does the towel lying next to the bottle belong to another patron or is it for anyone to use wipe the machines? Do you spray and wipe down the handles too or just the seat? Won’t that make the handles slippery? Do you spray free weights too? Does the treadmill get damaged if you spray the screen? If the towel is disgustingly saturated, where does it go and where can I get a new one?
Any normal person can figure out “you should clean up after yourself”, but if you’re a total noob, it helps to actually get a little guidance, particularly when you’re in a really foreign environment. And it can be intimidating to ask assholes easy questions.
FWIW in general the YMCA is really good and taking their time with members, newbies and experienced alike. Between staff and volunteers, someone will help you out with the general stuff, and if you need more expertise, they’ll find someone who can help you out. You might not be able to get an answer right away, if your question is an unusual one, but I’ve had staff call me at home to follow up when I left a message with an odd question.
Huh. I’ll have to see if there’s a Y within half an hour of me. I know that there are several commercial chains, but in the old house the Y wasn’t readily accessible. My home machine is good, but I do enjoy water exercises, and it would help get me out of the house.
No, that’s plumber’scrakrazy!