I have a pretty basic treadmill (it doesn’t have adjustable incline, and only goes up to 12kph in speed) and the other day it developed bubbles in the plastic (acrylic?) film sheet thats stuck to the deck (I guess to make it nice and smooth for the belt to slide over).
Should I leave it as is – I can feel the bubbles when I’m using the treadmill and they make a bit of noise as you run on them.
Should I peel the plastic sheet off?
Is it normal?
2 Answers
The surface between the running deck and the treadmill mat should be lubricated occasionally with either silicone spray, or a silicone based lubricant. You can buy this from fitness stores. It is possible that the bubbles might indicate that the acrylic film sheet may be damaged, but not sure. The deck on my treadmill is still smooth after 5 years use. I would speak to the place where you bought it from, and get their opinion on what to do next.
You may have friction problems if you remove the plastic sheeting below – though take a look in the user manual or contact the manufacturer, they’ll be happy to help 🙂