Which cleaners to use on your Pilates equipment and when
Cleaning your Pilates equipment is hugely important for the look of your studio, the feel of each exercise, and the safety of your clients. There are four different cleaning solutions I recommend for your equipment. I prefer using all of these in spray form with a microfiber cloth.
Water
Plain water from your tap is hugely beneficial for 90% of the cleaning you need to do. This is my go-to solution for cleaning the following places:
- – Reformer rails
- – Reformer frames (wood and metal)
- – Wood roll-down bars
- – Metal and wood push-through bars
- – Reformer wheels
- – Chair pedals and other dusty/dirty areas
The problem with cleaning with some solutions (not all) is that they can mix with skin oil, sweat, or body lotions to make a sticky buildup. Patience is critical here. Take a few extra seconds to scrub rather than jumping to a heavier duty solution right away.
Water + Dish Soap
For a little extra cleaning power, I recommend one teaspoon of dish soap with 16 ounces of water. (Yes, regular Dawn® dish soap!) This is great for these applications:
- – Cleaning vinyl after each client
- – Extra scrubbing power (remember, just a microfiber cloth!) for tough grime of both metal and wood surfaces
Note: for tough stains on reformer rails, use water and some aluminum foil from your kitchen folded into a small scrub pad for extra oomph. Check out this link for more info on this technique.
Silicone Spray
While the results you might get with Silicone spray seem magical, please be careful not to use this too liberally or on parts that aren’t listed below.
- – Trapeze Canopy tubes where the sliders move (Instagram link here)
- – Spray on springs to silence twang-like noises (youtube link here)
- – Spray on chair handle knobs to silence squeaking
- – Spray squeaky pulley axles (Instagram link here)
Note: It is a myth that silicone spray is suitable for your Reformer rails. Please avoid using this on your wheels and rails.
BB Clean
This excellent, natural disinfectant can be used in any of the situations that water or soapy water can be used for a little extra all-natural cleaning and disinfecting power.
Finally, my pro tip is to be patient. I prefer taking 10-15 wipes with water and a rag than using one wipe with a solution that has some heavy chemicals in it. Your equipment can last upwards of twenty years, but if you want the wood finish and the metal coatings to last that long as well, using excellent cleaning solutions for the sake of saving a few seconds of effort isn’t recommended.
