Sorry ZipperJJ, but this is one of the attitudes in the gym that annoys me. It is a gym, people get sweaty, it is only water, you will be having a shower anyway.
I use a towel on gym gear and mats, because I do get really sweaty when I am really working out. But it isn’t going to hurt anyone.
The situation that really got to me was in one of the circuit classes - lots of mat-based stations. The two women following me would use 15 seconds of their 45 flipping the mats because a couple of sweaty blokes had been on it (and I was using a towel, always do). And they weren’t particularly fresh, themselves. Then a new sign popped up insisting that everyone in the classes (i.e. sweaty blokes) needed to have a towel. And I didn’t see the ladies in question using towels after the sign arrived - apparently they didn’t sweat, they just glowed.
Of course I towel off gym equipment after I use it, but in most cases I don’t bother with the spray cleaner. I figure if anyone is that sensitive about it, they’re going to use the cleaner themselves, in which case you’ve just wasted 2x the paper/cleaner.
Truth be told, I guess I wouldn’t care about a 30 second conversation. But I never see those. I always see the people who settle down to talk. (Or the nice people who never answer their cell phones at all.)
I am happy that I mainly go to the Y for swimming. Let’s see you bring your cell into the pool, bitches!
ETA: Don’t take me up on that offer, please.
It can hurt someone. Sweat is not distilled, purified water. It contains your bacteria. And even if it was purified water, the water would encourage bacteria growth. There are many nasty infections you can get at the gym. The longer the equipment remains moist, the more the bacteria can bloom.
And even if it was purified water free from bacteria, it’s still gross to come in contact with someone else’s bodily fluid.
By wiping down the equipment, you prevent bacterial growth and make the equipment more pleasant for the next person.
