Lubricating Your Treadmill: What You Should Know

Treadmills are staples of any gym or fitness center — however, outfitting your establishment with top-of-the-line units is undoubtedly an investment. To maximize the useful life of your treadmills, it’s imperative to periodically dedicate some TLC into their operation to not only keep your site frequenters happy but save a small fortune in the long run. One key maintenance task is lubricating your treadmill. Here, our treadmill repair specialists will go over the role of lubrication, how it impacts your equipment, and best practices to get the most out of your treadmills.

Why Does My Treadmill Need to Be Lubricated?

Before determining how often you lubricate your treadmills, let’s discuss why you need to keep them lubricated in the first place. Here are a few of the main reasons why lubing up your treadmills should be part of your maintenance routine

• Lubricant works to reduce friction between the tread belt and motor, extending track life.
• Lubricant preps the machine for storage. Without it, the belt may become brittle and break when the machine is restarted.
• Prevent a tread belt breakdown; it's less expensive than purchasing a new belt outright.

What Happens If I Don’t Lubricate My Treadmills?

If you wait too long to lubricate your exercise equipment, you can cause damage to several machine parts that are integral to its performance.

• Belt and deck: Without lubrication, these will become prematurely worn from excessive friction and possibly snap.
• Front and rear rollers: These help your machine keep spinning, and the increased friction will cause them to wear out quicker.
• Electrical components: Without lubrication, your machine runs harder to produce the same results. As a result, electrical parts can short out.

How Frequently Should I Lubricate My Treadmills?

Under normal use, you should lubricate your treadmills every three months or every 130 miles. If a treadmill is used more intensely, check more often to ascertain if maintenance is necessary. You don’t want to wait until you hear squeaking or some other noise that indicates unwanted friction! For further information on how frequently you should lubricate your treadmills, consult your owner’s manual. It’s worth noting that most treadmill lubricants are 100% silicone or are at least silicone-based.

Lubricating Your Treadmill: A Step-By-Step Guide

Here’s how you can lubricate your treadmill:

1. Power the unit off and unplug it from the power outlet.
2. Starting toward the motor end of your treadmill (the front), slide your hand under the belt, creating separation between it and the deck.
3. Slide the tube of lubricant as close to the center of the deck as possible.
4. Gently apply controlled pressure while slowly moving the applicator from the center towards the edge of the belt.
5. Repeat these steps on the opposite side of the treadmill belt.
6. Plug the treadmill back in, power it on, and run it for approximately 3-5 minutes to disperse the lubricant evenly.

Get in Touch With Our Treadmill Professionals

With extensive experience installing, maintaining, and repairing all makes and models of treadmills, Fitness Machine Technicians is well equipped to ensure your fitness establishment has the support it needs to keep moving forward. Whether you need specialists to periodically lubricate your treadmills or outfit your space with brand-new exercise equipment, we’re the team to trust! For more information on the most common reasons a treadmill breaks down or how to fix a treadmill, get in touch with our technicians today!