You’re Probably Not Washing Your Exercise Gear Often Enough

For something that’s meant to make us healthier, the gym comes with a surprisingly unhygienic side. A hot, sweaty run or serious workout can leave you feeling great, but if your gear goes straight into the hamper (or back into your bag), you might end up making yourself unwell.

Many of us don’t think twice about the gym towel we throw in our bag, the yoga mat we roll up after a class, the leggings we pull on for a second (or third) session, or the bottle we keep topping up without washing properly, but with each use and contact, bacteria, fungi, and grime can build up. 

Our survey of 1,000 Americans who are regularly active or participate in fitness classes has revealed that many of our gym and exercise habits could pose risks to our health and others' due to the cleanliness of the environments and hygiene practices.

Key Findings

• Almost one in four have skipped a workout because the environment was too filthy.
• Nine out of 10 say they feel grossed out when they see someone not wipe down equipment after use.
• A third have never cleaned the headphones or earbuds they use while exercising.
• Two-fifths believe they may have picked up a skin irritation or infection due to gym hygiene.
• Over two-fifths admit they wear workout clothes more than once before washing.

Clothing and body post-workout hygiene

45% wear gym clothes multiple times before washing

After finishing a workout, taking off sweat-heavy clothes can be a huge relief; however, more than two-fifths (44.6%) of people admit they wear their workout clothes more than once before washing.

More than one in five (22.4%) admit they wear workout wear 2 to 3 times before washing, while 19% will wear their active wear for a week before washing, and one in every 33 people (3.1%) only when their clothes smell or look dirty. 

Men (51%) are more likely than women (38%) to wear their active wear multiple times before washing, with over one in four (26%) admitting they will wash their sweaty active clothes once a week or less, compared to just 18% of women.

But it’s not just our clothes that people aren’t washing after a workout.

60% don't bathe within an hour of working out

Three in every five people (60%) confessed that they don’t shower or bathe soon enough after working out, instead putting off showering for an hour or more after a workout.

With showering after a workout generally recommended within 30 minutes or up to an hour, results showed that as many as 20% of people leave it until later in the day (17%) or don't shower or bathe at all (3%). This delay in showering creates opportunities for bacteria, skin secretions, and other post-workout grime to clog pores and lead to skin breakouts or even infections.

Despite this, and with 81% of people agreeing that poor gym or gym wear hygiene can cause skin infections or illness, nearly a quarter of men (23%) and over one in four women (16%) delay washing their bodies until later in the day, or skip it entirely.

41% blame the gym for a skin irritation or infection

This lack of clothing and personal hygiene may explain why more than two-fifths (41%) report having possibly picked up a skin irritation or infection - such as ringworm, athlete’s foot, or body acne - from working out or gym hygiene.

Among those results, nearly half of men (48%) said they have or may have picked up an infection or irritation that could be related to their hygiene while working out, compared with just over a third (34%) of women. 

Responses showed that nearly one in five (17%) admit they have “definitely” picked up an irritation or infection that could be linked to their working out and gym hygiene, with a further 24% suggesting they might have but aren’t entirely sure.

What the expert says

Sara Aparacio, our resident cleaning expert, comments:

“Much of the sportswear clothing we wear while working out is made to help improve performance and manage body temperatures, moisture, and odors. However, while synthetic materials can help delay bacterial and other nasty growths, repeated wear or a lack of cleaning can still turn what we wear into breeding grounds for potential skin irritants and infection-causing bacteria and fungi.

Add a lack of washing soon after a workout, and many people create the perfect storm of soiled clothing and poor post-workout hygiene. As a rule of thumb, you should wash your gym wear after every workout, not wear it more than once, and bathe or shower within 30 minutes to up to an hour. However, the sooner the better to prevent acne breakouts and potential bacterial or fungal infections.”

Personal gym equipment hygiene

What we wear to the gym isn’t the only thing that needs cleaning after workouts or fitness sessions. The accessories we take with us, such as gym towels, yoga mats, water bottles, protein shakers, and headphones, all come into contact with either our own bodily fluids or the grime and debris left on equipment.

Two in five use a gym towel multiple days without washing

The majority (84%) of those surveyed reported using or having used a gym towel while working out; among those who use a gym towel, nearly two-fifths (39%) use it for more than one session.

Nearly a quarter (24%) of gym towel users will use their towel 2 or 3 times before washing, with an additional 14% saying they only wash their gym towel once per week, and one in every one hundred (1%) saying they rarely “if ever” wash their gym towel.

In response to these findings, Sara comments: 

“Given gym towels are used to help wipe away sweat, and in a lot of instances, equipment, they come into contact with a lot of surfaces and different kinds of grime and bacteria, which, if left unwashed for multiple sessions, can start to build up and spread both to your skin or to equipment and on to others.”

Two-fifths don’t clean their water bottle often enough

Water bottles are another workout accessory that needs washing more often than people typically realise. A BBC study found that bacteria in a water bottle can increase from 75,000 per millilitre in the mid-morning to 1-2 million per millilitre over 24 hours.

Our survey found that 93% of people take or use a water bottle when working out; however, more than two-in-five (43%) don’t clean their water bottles or protein shakers after each use. In fact, over one in six (17%) admit they clean their water bottle or shaker once a week or less, with one in 20 (5%) saying they wash their drink container less than once a week!

“When you’re using your water bottle or protein shaker in a gym or public space, it’s not just your own bacteria and microbes that you’re coming into contact with, and applying to your drink container. 

Germs and bacteria we pick up at the gym can easily transfer to a water bottle. Something as subtle as a light wipe of your upper lip could let nasty bacteria get into your water bottle, which, if not cleaned away soon after, could quickly multiply and become a health hazard.

In an ideal world, you should clean your water bottle after every session, or once a day, with soap and warm water.” Sara comments.

A Third Have Never Cleaned Their Headphones Or Earphones

Many people wear headphones and earphones while working out or exercising to boost motivation, and they use BMP to help them stay motivated. However, results showed that a third (33%) of people who often wear them while exercising have never cleaned their headphones or earphones. 

Sara comments: “Despite the intimate nature of wearing headphones and earphones, many people admit that they have never cleaned theirs, despite some studies suggesting that they can carry as much as 10 times the bacteria as a toilet seat. 

Repeated wear and a lack of cleaning can create a problematic mix, increasing the risk of ear infections and compacted earwax that can need treatment. It’s best to wipe headphones and earphones down with a microfiber cloth and mild soap, or use antibacterial wipes, at least weekly.” 

One In Five Have Never Cleaned Their Yoga Mat

Our survey found that yoga mats are viewed by gym-goers as the second most “grimey” place in the gym (19%), after the locker room floor (30%). However, among those who use a yoga mat (either at the gym or their own personal mat), over a fifth (22%) admit they have never cleaned it.

“Yoga mats, even gym-supplied mats, require regular cleaning. Generally, it is best to wipe your mat down after every session to help reduce moisture and clear surface grime that might have built up during a class. Also, follow up weekly or biweekly with a deep cleaning using a cleanser.

For shared mats, it’s best to treat them like every other part of the gym - wipe them down with gym-supplied cleaning solution before and after every session.” Advises Sara.

Shared gym equipment hygiene

Of equal importance to our own hygiene is that of our fellow gym-goers.

It was found that nearly two-thirds (63%) of gym-goers clean the equipment they use before AND after use, suggesting strong awareness of the potential for grime to be transferred during use. 

That said, over a third (37%) of people admit they only clean equipment before or after using it, or not at all.

Figures showed that 21% of respondents only clean the equipment they’ve used after using it, helping to reduce the spread of grime, but only after they’ve come into contact with what was already there. Further, 7% of people say they only clean equipment before using it, suggesting awareness of the importance of cleaning, but not that they will leave their own grime for the next person.

This leaves almost one in ten (9%) people admitting they never wipe down the gym equipment they use before or after use, potentially spreading bacteria and other debris from one part of the gym to another, while also contaminating the equipment they are using with the grime already on it. Not only do they add to a dirty environment for other gym-goers, but they also miss out on an extra cleaning workout. 

When it comes to seeing people not clean or wipe down the equipment they’ve used, nine out of 10 (91%) gym-goers say they feel “grossed out,” with more than a third (36%) of respondents saying they feel “very” grossed out by it.

This repulsion and gross feeling are likely to add to the sentiment that led nearly one in four (24%) people to skip a gym session because they believed the gym and/or its equipment were too filthy. 

In response, Sara shares: “With dozens, if not hundreds, in some cases, of users per day handling gym equipment and surfaces, where we work out can be teeming with bacteria, fungi, and other grime. So, people must clean up after themselves.

In an ideal world, people should be wiping down the gym equipment they use before and after they’ve used it, helping to remove or deplete any grime already there, and eliminating or depleting any grime that you might transfer onto the surface while using it.”

Methodology

Using the PollFish survey platform, we surveyed 1,000 U.S. residents about their gym hygiene habits. Respondents all indicated, via a filter question, that they were active and engaged in regular exercise either through public gyms, outdoor activities, fitness classes, or home workouts.

Respondents were aged between 18 and 64, with a gender split of men (49.5%) to women (51.5%). Responses were gathered on 12/11/2025.