Lubrication of a treadmill is a key part of regular maintenance. If you have a treadmill in your home or office, you should know how to do it yourself. In this article, we’re going to tell you how to oil a treadmill.
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The Importance of Belt Lubrication
Applying silicone underneath the belt puts a slick layer on there. The spinning belt that pulls your body weight can cause a lot of heat. And it can cause your treadmill’s motor to fail by overheating. That silicone slick layer underneath the belt is going to provide a nice smooth surface on there for the belt to keep moving. So, proper lubrication will help the treadmill work smoothly prolonging the life of the machine.
When buying your treadmill, it probably comes with lubrication when your installers put it in. They lubricate your belt initially. And then it’s going to be your job to do this maintenance time to time in the future.
How Often to Lubricate Treadmill Belt
Depending on your treadmill model and the number of uses you put on it, you could be lubricating every 3 or 6 months. At a minimum, you should be doing it once a year. If you don’t use your machine for a long time, put your hand under it and make sure it is oily.
Some treadmills will ever give you an error message and let you know when it’s time to lubricate the belt. But you can put a reminder in your phone to start doing it every 3-6 months. Also, refer to your owner’s treadmill manual for how often you should be doing it. Popular treadmill manufacturers provide you with the best information concerning it.
How To Lubricate a Treadmill in 4 Steps
It’s quite straightforward. You need a bottle of treadmill belt lubricant. Generally, it is going to give you 2-3 applications. There are two ways of oiling a treadmill:
- you can use a liquid silicone which is a little bit easier to see what you’re dosing but a little trickier to get it underneath. It’s a more common solution;
- or you can use a silicone spray for treadmills. It is a lot easier to apply and needs to be a 100% pure silicone.
Step 1: Unplug the treadmill and loosen the belt
With the treadmill off, the first thing you want to do is you want to loosen the belt.
Step 2: Apply lubricant to the treadmill deck surface
To lubricate a workout equipment, you need to oil the walking surface where you stand on your treadmill constantly. Grab your bottle if using a bottle. First, lift up your belt and squirt a line of oil all the way down the center of it. Squeeze your bottle, and do all the way up and back if you need to. Oil from both sides, make sure you lubricate it well.
The same deal to squirt with your spray. Lift up your belt, and give it a squirt all the way in.
Step 3: Tighten the belt back
Make sure that the belt doesn’t shoot way off one side or the other. Keep the hidden edges of the belt tucked underneath. As soon as you turn on the belt, it is going to provide the silicone to move down the length of the training equipment.
Step 4: Walk on the treadmill at slow speed for 3 minutes
Plug in treadmill for 3 miles an hour for 3-5 minutes. When walking, focus your feet on the area you lubricated. Move side to side at an easy pace so all the lubricate can work in. That is going to help disperse the silicone down.
After Applying Treadmill Lubricants
When it’s on after lubricating you can check and see how it feels. If your belt is feeling sticky or sluggish, it would be a good spot to oil. But once your silicone is underneath the belt, you should be ready to use it and start doing your workout right after your walk-in period on the belt.
It’s quick, simple, and easy maintenance to do at home. It’s going to prolong the life of your treadmill and prevent issues with your drive motor overheating.
How Much Lube for Treadmills Should You Use?
There should never be so much silicone that’s dripping off the treadmill that means you’ve used way too much. So less is more in the beginning, and you can keep doing multiple applications until you’ve reached the right level.
If you make a mistake and get some silicone on your clothes or a little bit on your belt, you could use warm soapy water to clean that up nicely and easily.
Do treadmills need to be oiled?
If you do not lubricate your machine, you put a lot of load on your belt. As a result, your treadmill’s deck and belt rub and create a lot of friction. So, it is very important to lubricate the machine.
Can I use WD-40 on my treadmill?
You can damage your treadmill machine if you use the wrong treadmill lube. WD-40 isn’t silicone oil. It is intended for cleaning. WD-40 dries up and leaves no lubrication. So use fitness equipment silicone lubricants. It’s the best product for treadmill lubrication.
How often should you oil your treadmill?
You do need to lubricate your machine every 30 hours of use or every 2-3 months. Also, it is recommended to oil a treadmill more often if you use it intensely. If your machine was in the garage for a year, and you didn’t use it, lubricate your treadmill before you start using it again.
What oil do you use to oil a treadmill?
Always use a lubricant that is made specifically for treadmills. It’s silicone based and is sold for a reasonable price of $6-20 at Amazon.
