Treadmill Maintenance Tips


A lot of people don't find the time to visit a gym for their daily workout sessions and hence prefer to workout at home. This is the reason they use treadmills as it is the easiest way to get your daily exercise without paying extra on joining as well as traveling. But when you are investing so much money in saving time as well as energy, you can't ignore the fact that a treadmill does need maintenance. If you take care of the appliance on a regular basis, only then will it have a longer life. But if you don't maintain your treadmill manually in the right amount which it needs, you might have to get rid of it before you know it. It doesn't need very expensive maintenance and you can do it on your own also by just keeping it clean. But replacing the parts when they wear out is necessary for any electric appliance.

Treadmill Maintenance Guide

Treadmill maintenance doesn't need a lot of effort daily, cleaning it twice in a week is also very useful. To keep a regular check on the various parts of the treadmill would help in elongating the shelf life of the appliance and give you a better service throughout. Many times, it so happens that due to the rough and unmaintained usage of the treadmills, the parts start wearing off beforehand and lose its shelf life much earlier than told. Hence it is very important to keep your treadmill clean and maintained, for your own health purposes. Find out what are the necessary things you should keep in mind and use these treadmill maintenance tips to do so.

Clean

  • The first thing you should keep in mind when you purchase a treadmill is to keep it away from dust and dirt.
  • One of the major causes of premature wearing of belt and the deck is the dirt and debris that gets collected on the parts.
  • Make sure you clean the deck as well as the belt once or twice per week. Clean in between them as dirt tends to get accumulated in the small exposed areas of the deck and belt.
  • Also wipe down the entire treadmill once in a week with a wet or a dry cloth, so the accumulated dust is cleaned away.
  • You can even vacuum or wipe up the area around the treadmill as that also needs to be clean and tidy.
  • The motor area needs to be cleaned twice to thrice per year and unplug the treadmill before you remove the cover.
Lubricate
  • For lubrication of the various treadmill parts, first read the owner's manual and then remove the cover for exposing them.
  • Many times, treadmills don't require lubrication and unnecessary lubrication can cause damage. Since many decks are made of materials which are already galvanized and pre-impregnated with wax.
  • Thus lubrication of such parts will increase the friction between the belt and the deck causing the motor to damage.
  • And if the treadmill requires lubrication, read the manual for all the directions and information about the maintenance.
Belt Care
  • The treadmill belts run directly down the center of the deck and if your belt is not in the center, something is wrong.
  • It needs alignment, thus adjust the bolts on either side of the machine in such a way that the belt is in the center. But read the manual for proper directions.
  • Manual treadmill maintenance also involves the tightness and looseness of the belt. The tension of the belt that has been adjusted from the factory can be changed either by yourself or by a person who repairs treadmill.
  • This should be kept in mind as you may slip while running if the belt is loose, while the belt can wear faster if it is too tightly held.
  • The treadmill belt and the deck also require regular replacements periodically, i.e., after every three months. If you don't replace it in time and keep running on the worn out belt it might wear out the deck and the motor may get spoiled.
Electrical Needs
  • Almost all the treadmills today are operated by a computer controlled electronic console.
  • It controls the speed of the belt and your movement respectively. Thus make sure you have it plugged to a properly ground AC outlet.
  • Also connect the treadmill to a dedicated circuit to avoid electrical problems and shots.
With these maintenance tips, you must have found out the need to keep your treadmill clean and well oiled. Unless your treadmills aren't healthy, they can't promise to keep you healthy so maintain them and stay fit yourself!

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