Pools of Sweat

[cbrunny]

Wife and I just moved in December into a new home. I've got a very specific "problem" and unsure of the best solution.

I do a lot of indoor cycling (Canada, winter, etc.). My indoor cycling setup is in the unfinished half of our basement (separated by a wall & door from finished side). Unfinished half is concrete floor & concrete walls, no insulation and no heating going to the area. It's cold. I have interlocking foam tiles as a base to provide a bit of comfort in the area where I cycle.

When I ride, I sweat a lot. So much so that the sweat is covering the tiles, falling inbetween the interlock, and pooling underneath and flowing out the sides. I have actual pools of sweat that are sitting on the concrete floor.

Dehumidifier is running but because there's no heat the temp in the area is low & so doesn't dry out the sweat. It's gross.

I'm worried about mold, primarily, growing in the areas where the pools are and underneath the tiles.

So the question is about flooring. Any cost-effective options? Is mold-resistant carpet a thing? I can go straight onto the concrete but that also doesn't help the sweat drying because of temp. Am I just doomed, and should find another room to indoor cycle in?

TLDR - how to dry sweat in a cold room and flooring option for gym area to prevent mold growth.

 

[NetWareHead]

Id forgo the interlocking tile and sweat right on to the concrete floor. It wont mold and will eventually dry. Or use your sweat towel to mop up the concrete floor after a workout, the rest will evaporate.

One option to dry standing water on a floor is to get one of those floor blowers that companies like ServPro use to remediate after floods etc... Its a blower that keeps the airflow close to the floor. They work very well.

 

[highland145]

Run a box fan,drop some towels, whatever. I think the de-humid needs a certain temp to run right, just like a refigerator. Too cold and no go.

 

[cbrunny]

Well I took both of your advice. Pulled up the tiles. That was beyond disgusting. They were way worse than I thought underneath. No mold yet but the sweat had soaked right into them and they were basically sponges. Extremely disgusting.

Since it is such a cold room I wasn't using a fan, though my setup before we moved did have them. So I rearranged and set it back up. Yesterday's workout was relatively sweat free, and what I did sweat hit the floor. I haven't been down today to see yet but after the workout it was in much better shape.

I'd really like something down there on the floor to try to get rid of the chill. Being cold and hot simultaneously while working out is not great. Thankfully I have the fan on a remote outlet, so I can turn it on and off as I'm too hot or cold. Will give this a shot for a while but certainly open to any suggestions to cozy up this unfinished space, relatively cheaply ideally.