Changing Room Odour Control: Why Gyms Smell and What Actually Works

This guide is designed for gym owners, leisure centre operators, and facilities managers responsible for maintaining clean, professional changing rooms.

Persistent odours in changing rooms are one of the most common complaints in gyms, leisure centres, sports clubs, and workplace facilities. Even when a space looks clean, unpleasant smells can linger, quickly undermining perceptions of hygiene, professionalism, and care.

Understanding why changing rooms smell is the first step to eliminating the problem effectively and long term.

The Real Cause of Changing Room Odours

Changing room odours are not simply a sign of poor cleaning. They are caused by a chemical and biological interaction between sweat, bacteria, porous surfaces, moisture, and air quality.

Sweat itself is largely odourless. The smell develops when sweat comes into contact with naturally occurring skin bacteria and is absorbed into common changing-room materials such as benches, lockers, rubber flooring, mats, and fabrics. High humidity and inadequate airflow then trap these odour compounds, allowing them to build up and be re-released into the air day after day.

This is why odours often return quickly,  even after thorough cleaning.

Why Changing Room Odours Persist

Three key factors contribute to ongoing odour problems:

1. Sweat Chemistry and Bacteria

Bacteria break down sweat into volatile organic compounds (VOCs). These VOCs are responsible for the familiar “locker room” smell commonly associated with gyms and sports facilities.

2. Absorbent Surfaces and Materials

Many changing-room surfaces are porous. Benches, locker interiors, flooring, mats, and even wall finishes can absorb odour-causing compounds. Once embedded, these smells are difficult to remove with surface cleaning alone and are slowly released back into the air over time.

3. High Humidity and Poor Airflow

Moist environments allow bacteria to thrive and encourage odours to bond more strongly to surfaces. High humidity also prevents odour molecules from dispersing, making smells feel heavier, stronger, and more persistent.

Improving stale airflow helps reduce bacterial build-up and airborne odours. This can often be achieved without expensive building renovations by using air circulation and purification solutions that continuously clean and refresh the air, such as Ecobreeze.

4. Poor Drainage

Poor drainage allows organic waste such as hair, skin cells, and soap residue to build up in floor drains and shower traps. As this material breaks down, bacteria release strong-smelling gases that travel back into the changing room. These odours persist and are often difficult to manage, as surface cleaning does little to combat drainage-related smells.

What Actually Works to Eliminate Changing Room Odours

A lasting solution requires addressing surfaces, air, and moisture together. Cleaning alone acts as a short-term cure; a holistic approach that combines both treatment and prevention delivers lasting results.

Cure: Increase Targeted Cleaning

Focused cleaning is essential, particularly in high-touch and high-moisture areas such as:

• Benches and seating

• Locker handles and interiors

• Floors, drains, and wet areas

• Shower areas and towel drop zones

Crucially, cleaning methods should neutralise odour-causing compounds, not simply mask them with fragrance.

Prevention: Treat the Air, Not Just the Surfaces

Even after cleaning, odour molecules can remain embedded in walls, furniture, and other porous surfaces, while also lingering in the air. Standard ventilation systems often recirculate these compounds rather than removing them completely.

Advanced air treatment solutions, such as gas-phase filtration, are designed to remove airborne odour-causing compounds that conventional ventilation systems often recirculate. Systems in this category, including products such as Ecobreeze, have been independently tested and shown to reduce bacterial growth, contributing to improved odour control and indoor air quality.

Prevention: Control Humidity Levels

Managing indoor humidity plays a critical role in odour prevention. Lower humidity:

• Inhibits bacterial growth

• Reduces odour absorption into surfaces

• Makes existing odours easier to remove

Dehumidification and improved ventilation help keep changing rooms fresher for longer.

Why Effective Odour Control Matters

Unpleasant changing-room odours directly impact:

• Member satisfaction and retention

• Perceived cleanliness and professionalism

• Staff comfort, wellbeing, and morale

A fresh-smelling environment reinforces trust in hygiene standards and improves the overall user experience.

The Takeaway

Changing room odours are not just a cleaning issue, they are an air quality and moisture management problem.

The most effective strategy combines:

• Targeted surface cleaning

• Active air treatment for lingering odours

• Proper humidity control

Address all three, and changing rooms remain fresher throughout the day, not just immediately after cleaning.

When your ready to stop using a cleaner and a mop to clean the air,

we can help!

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Evidence-Based References & Industry Standards

The guidance in this article is informed by current indoor air quality research and industry standards from recognised regulatory, scientific, and professional bodies. These organisations consistently highlight that effective odour control in gyms and changing rooms requires a combined approach to surface hygiene, air treatment, ventilation, and humidity control.

• ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers)ASHRAE position documents and technical guidance confirm that indoor air quality management should combine source control, adequate ventilation, and air cleaning technologies. This includes the use of gas-phase filtration to address odour-causing gases and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that standard ventilation systems may recirculate.

• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)EPA guidance on air cleaners recognises activated carbon and gas-phase filtration as effective methods for reducing gaseous pollutants and persistent indoor odours, particularly where ventilation alone is insufficient.

• National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI)Peer-reviewed research published via the NCBI highlights that indoor air contaminants are most effectively controlled through integrated strategies combining ventilation, filtration, and sorptive air cleaning, rather than relying solely on surface cleaning.

• MDPI – Buildings Journal (2024–2025)Recent reviews of indoor air quality in sports and fitness facilities identify elevated VOCs, humidity, and microbial activity as common challenges, reinforcing the need for targeted air treatment and humidity management in changing rooms.

• Peer-Reviewed Health Club IAQ Studies (PubMed Central)Studies examining gyms and health clubs demonstrate that poor airflow and high humidity significantly increase odour persistence and microbial growth, supporting the use of supplementary air treatment and humidity control alongside routine cleaning.

References

1. American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers. (2023). ASHRAE position document on indoor air quality.https://www.ashrae.org/about/position-documents

2. American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers. (2024). Filtration and air cleaning – Technical resources.https://www.ashrae.org/technical-resources/filtration-disinfection

3. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2023). Guide to air cleaners in the home.https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/air-cleaners-and-air-filters-home

4. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2022). Indoor air quality and odors.https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq

5. National Center for Biotechnology Information. (2023). Indoor air contaminants and air cleaning technologies. In PubMed Bookshelf. National Institutes of Health.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK585376/

6. MDPI. (2024). Indoor air quality in sports and fitness facilities: Challenges and solutions. Buildings.https://www.mdpi.com/journal/buildings

7. U.S. National Library of Medicine. (2023). Indoor air quality studies in health clubs and gyms. In PubMed Central.https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/

8. World Health Organization. (2021). WHO guidelines for indoor air quality: Dampness and mould.https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789289041683

9. European Commission, Joint Research Centre. (2022). Guidance on indoor air quality and ventilation.https://joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu