Gyms & Fitness Centers
Health and wellness is a rapidly expanding industry that has taken off in the United States, with many businesses centering their marketing platforms on providing Customers a health solution such as prepared healthy meal kits, protein shakes and powders, and even facilities that allow individuals a platform to exercise and achieve an active lifestyle, known as gyms. Indoor gym facilities are becoming dynamic environments that offer a wide array of services and activities within their walls such as shake and protein cafes, rock walls, free weight equipment, ellipticals and treadmills, pools, and even childcare areas in many gyms throughout the country.
According to IBISWorld, the gym, health & fitness club industry in the United States has a total revenue of 36 billion dollars in 2019, with 111,055 of these types of businesses in the country. This booming industry, however, has faced challenges, especially major problems with odor control within these indoor gym facilities. Therefore, many of these industries facilities are looking to integrate air quality and ventilation solutions in their indoor spaces to improve the air quality and odors in the environment in hopes to appeal to Customers and create a healthier space for their clientele-base.
Odor Problems in the Gym Industry
The gym industry was created to design an environment for individuals to build strength, agility, and to overall improve health. However, because of the nature of the activities that occur in this environment, these indoor facilities’ can promote and harbor excessive amounts of odors within their indoor airspace. Odors that are produced from athletic performance in a gym are caused by the composition of the sweat, which is composed of acids, aldehydes, sulfur compounds, ketones, and amines.
Although the natural human process of sweat secretion is a norm in gym facilities due to the activities performed in this environment, gym owners still have to constantly combat these odors in their business to increase clientele appeal and to demonstrate the cleanliness of the gym – which is a major factor analyzed by most gym-goers. The production of sweat from the clientele can spread throughout the environment onto gym equipment, door handles, floor mats, showers and locker rooms and anywhere that an individual makes contact with when inside the gym facility, which demonstrates the significance of maintaining cleanliness and proper air filtration/ventilation in the indoor space.
Indoor Air Quality in Gyms
The safe, healthy environment of an indoor gym facility is a space that promotes health and living a cleaner lifestyle, but did you know that these ‘healthy’ environments may be a source of air pollution that can be anything but healthy to human health? Along with the odorous airborne compounds in a gym, there may also be elevated levels of chemical compounds in the airspace that are emitted from new equipment, mold growth from bacteria growth of sweat, and even the emission of chemicals from the high number of humans in the environment. According to a study conducted by the journal Building and Environment found that abnormally high levels of carbon dioxide, formaldehyde and other volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were found in European fitness centers that were comparable to the average United States gym facility.
In addition, mold growth and pollution has also become a contributing issue to indoor air quality in gym facilities’, as some have found that is can be one of the largest causes of indoor pollution in these environments. Mold growth and presence in gyms is common due to the excessive moisture found in the environment such as swimming pools, saunas, and showers that are utilized all day in these businesses. When an indoor environment deals with excessive moisture levels and humidity it can promote the growth of mold, therefore the need for proper ventilation and air quality measures in the facility are critical to the reduction of air pollution in the environment(s).
Gym Ventilation Requirements
Gym facilities can range in size from smaller to large-scale buildings that require a well-designed HVAC system to expertly handle the overall gym ventilation needs and air quality control measures throughout the indoor space. One of the least costly ways to help alleviate ventilation and air quality problems is to ensure that the gym has the proper ventilation and air quality solutions placed in the facility. This will be centered around the HVAC system(s) in the facility, which are designed to increase both ventilation and airflow in the indoor space.
HVAC Systems for Gyms
A properly designed and effective gym ventilation system is essential to the gym’s customers comfort and health, as it provides the right balance of gases to ensure the indoor air quality in the facility is clean for Customers to breathe during their workouts. The ventilation and HVAC system works to control odors, in addition extract airborne contaminants from the indoor space and control moisture levels in the air. The HVAC filter(s) that are used in these industries indoor spaces is vital, since there are an amalgam of airborne pollutants and noxious odors that are contained in the airspace that need to properly be mitigated from the indoor air of the gym(s). Often times, this industry will utilize HEPA filters in their HVAC systems to trap the smaller particles like bacteria, mold, and other smaller allergens from the air of the environment, which is a great solution to indoor air quality control. However, these HEPA filters are ineffective at odor control measures in the air of the gyms, and thus there can still be a looming industry issue within the facility.
OdorKlenz® Engineered Gym Odor Control Commercial Air Filters
The OdorKlenz® engineered odor control product offering for commercial industries like the gym industry, can be effectively utilized in the ventilation and HVAC systems run throughout the entire facility for odor control and pollutant mitigation in the airspace. The proprietary OdorKlenz® materials consist of safe, earth minerals that allow for containment and neutralization of a broad spectrum of noxious and toxic chemicals and odors from an indoor environment. These proven and tested OdorKlenz® materials are highly efficient “adsorptive neutralizers” for chemicals making them not only competitively advantageous, but very commercially attract.
The patented OdorKlenz® odor neutralization technology has been incorporated into a wide product offering for air quality including HVAC filters and air purification systems that are easily integrated into a commercial gym facility(s). The OdorKlenz-Air for HVAC Filter can be easily installed into any commercial HVAC system, with custom sizes and depths available for the commercial facility – these filters will last for up to 4 to 6 months in these buildings.
Additionally, the OdorKlenz Mobile Air System is a rapid solution to removing a variety of odors and airborne contaminants from the air of a fitness center or facility. The eradication of odors is easily accomplished through the implementation of these systems throughout the space of the facility including the neutralization of sweat and body odors, wet or mildew smells from showers and locker rooms, musty smells in spin classes and yoga studios, and other miscellaneous odors. The portable air units can be moved throughout the space with ease to assist in the mitigation of hazardous and noxious odors and chemicals in the air of a gym using a two-stage filtration process that includes the proprietary odor neutralizing OdorKlenz® technology and a hospital-grade HEPA filter for particulate removal.
OdorKlenz has been third-party tested by some of the leading laboratories around the world including Battelle Memorial Institute, Edgewood Chemical Biological Center (ECBC), Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, and others. In addition, the OdorKlenz technology has undergone extensive in-house testing against a broad spectrum of noxious and toxic chemicals and odors, including the OdorKlenz materials effectiveness in commercial industries for odor control.
The testing graphs below represent the OdorKlenz engineered technology’s effectiveness in comparison to other commercial grade air quality solutions.
Machines/Chemical Processes
Mobile Air System
The OdorKlenz Mobile Air System utilizes hospital-grade technology to provide maximum air cleaning efficiency for your home and office. It combines certified HEPA filtration along with our patented EnviroKlenz Air Cartridge to remove airborne pollen, dust, odors, mold, gasses, fragrance, VOCs, allergens, bacteria, and more.
✓ Patented Earth Mineral Technology works to attack the VOC and break down on a compound level.
✓ Powder coated metal housing – Made in the USA
✓ No chemicals or masking agents
✓ Will not release any chemicals back into your environment
✓ Safer and faster at removing VOC’s than traditional carbon filters and Peco air purifier
