Woman uses the tanning beds at Planet Fitness for her entire membership. Then finds out what she’s actually been laying on: ‘think I’m diseased’

A woman who said she is a Planet Fitness member shared a video on TikTok describing the moment she realized she had reportedly been using unsanitized tanning beds throughout her entire membership, without knowing it.

The video was posted by Tiffany Jeffcoat, who goes by @tiff.jeffcoat on TikTok, and quickly drew attention online. In the caption, she wrote, “When i tell you i was UNWELLLLLLLLLLL,” suggesting she was deeply disturbed by what she had discovered.

Jeffcoat said in the video that she had been going to Planet Fitness regularly and would occasionally use the tanning beds. She described herself as a clean person who wipes down gym equipment before and after every use. “Okay, so I really contemplated sharing this with you guys because A, TMI, and B, you guys might think I’m diseased,” she said at the beginning of her video. 

Planet Fitness members are reportedly responsible for cleaning tanning beds themselves, not staff

According to Jeffcoat, the incident that triggered her realization happened when she was waiting to use a tanning bed. She said the staff told her that bed number 4 would be available shortly. When the previous user walked out, she said the staff handed her the access card directly and told her she was good to go.

“I just assumed that like they were clean,” Jeffcoat said in the video. “Like I assumed that the employees like sprayed down their things and wiped them down in between every use.”

It was at that point, she said, that she realized she had apparently been laying in unclean tanning beds the entire time she had been a member. “It was at that moment that I realized the entire time I’ve had my membership at Planet Fitness that I’ve been laying in stinky, dirty tanning beds,” she said.

Jeffcoat went on to describe what she believed that meant. “All the dirty, sweaty individuals at Planet Fitness laid their bare booty cheeks onto the tanning bed,” she said. “And you know what? I laid my bare sweaty booty cheeks on top of it as well.”

She also acknowledged that, because she had not known, she had left the bed uncleaned after her own sessions. “Not only am I laying in someone else’s dirty sweaty booty cheek tanning bed, but I left my sweaty dirty booty cheek tanning bed for the next person,” she said. She added, “I might be diseased,” jokingly referencing what others might think after watching the video.

Jeffcoat ended the video with a message to other gym-goers. “Wipe down your beds, guys,” she said. She noted that she would have cleaned the beds from the start had she known it was the member’s responsibility to do so.

The video drew a lot of comments, with many viewers weighing in on the cleaning policy. A TikTok user named Sami, who claimed to have worked at Planet Fitness during college, said staff were expected to clean the beds regardless of whether members had already done so. 

“AS SOMEONE WHO WORKED AT PF IN COLLEGE, WE HAD TO CLEAN THEM!! EVEN IF MEMBERS SAID THEY DID – WE CANT CLEAR IT WITHOUT CLEANING,” Sami wrote, suggesting the cleaning responsibility may not be as straightforward as some locations make it appear.

However, in a thread on the r/PlanetFitnessMembers subreddit, multiple members said that at their locations, cleaning the tanning beds is the responsibility of the members, not the staff. One commenter said, “Members are responsible for cleaning the tanning beds at my PF.” Another user added, “Mine too. There are signs posted. I always clean before I lay down and then again once I get up.”

Several commenters in the thread said they do not rely on other members to have cleaned before them and wipe the beds down themselves as a precaution. The OP said, “I don’t trust others so I wipe everything down before I use it.” Unexpected experiences at Planet Fitness facilities are not uncommon, as one Missouri woman found out when she tried to use the showers before a holiday.

Some members in the thread suggested using stand-up tanning booths as an alternative. One commenter said the stand-up booths use stronger lights, which makes sessions faster, and noted that users do not have to come into contact with surfaces in the same way. Other Planet Fitness members have also shared frustrating run-ins with staff, including one woman who said she was told to wear more clothes by a manager during her workout. Planet Fitness has not publicly commented on Jeffcoat’s video.