Treadmill With a Squeak

We have a three bedroom home. It is a perfect fit for our family at this point in our life. The girls love sharing a room. It was their choice and it is large enough to share. That leaves us the third room to store their toys, our office, my treadmill and even enough floor space for an air mattress when we have guests. It is a great room. The girls can spend hours in there playing. I can get lost in my own little world on my treadmill for a great workout knowing my girls are safe playing next to me or watching a movie in the room right outside the door. A great home for our family now.

However, a few months back my treadmill developed a squeak. The kind that could be heard even when I had my iPod turned all the way up. It was obnoxious. The squeak lead to the belt sticking. Mr. Handyman (aka: Chad) came to the rescue and was able to tighten the belt and the squeak improved. However, it seemed that we had to tighten the belt almost weekly. We didn't think much of it since I was putting 25-30 miles a week on the poor machine.

Then last week happened. I have been banned to only walking. GRRRR... these broken ribs (from the coughing during my pneumonia) have me on a steady walk and no jogging for 6-8 weeks. That does not stop me from getting in my time on the treadmill. Anywho, the treadmill started to stick once again. The squeak was not so bad, but it annoyed me. Chad to the rescue, but this time something snapped. Not good! Thanks to the internet we could order some part for $16.97 and it was here by Tuesday afternoon!

Tuesday night Chad got home late from work. It had been one of those days at work. The last thing I wanted to do was ask him to do something from the "honey do" list, but a girl NEEDS her treadmill. At 9pm we headed to the "everything room" and began to fix the one little piece that had been broken. Well, that one little piece led to over an hour fix.

Remember that squeak? While we had the belt off we decided to vacuum out the motor. We found a book. YES! A board book. A very large one in fact in the motor. Now I know why the screen flashed at me for a few minutes each time I turned it on. Then we found a few Barbie shoes in the motor cavity as well. Then on to the belt. Chad lifted it up to make sure it was clear of any gunk before he oiled it. HA! This is where we found the reason for the squeak. Somehow, someway, someone got a crayon on the treadmill and then under the belt that then got it smooshed (yes that is a mommy word I like to use) and it was all melted and nasty all over the underside of the belt and roller on the front and back. NICE! No wonder there was a squeak. No wonder there was a hesitation ever third or fourth step for the first quarter mile. It all started to make sense.

Chad and I spent over an hour in that room. Cleaning, oiling, vacuuming, putting back together the treadmill and just laughing. What did we expect when we decided to put a treadmill in the same room as our kiddos' play room? Yes, they know the rules. Yes, they know better. But really, so do we! So we just laughed. We did have a little "talk" with the girls about it all this morning and they said they would be more careful and they were sorry. It was all very sweet.

For now the treadmill is "fixed." The crayon is removed from the moving parts and does not squeak. It does hesitate at times, but nothing I can not handle. Thank you, Mr. Handyman!