A good treadmill is really not going to stay that way unless you take care of it. This is why it is very important that from time to time you purchase some treadmill lubricant and give some life to the machinery.
Most treadmills seem to have a will of their own. Those who own one and exercise in the comfort of their own home will surely agree. Sometimes the treadmill will function flawlessly months on end than suddenly begin to experience hiccups, the belt will begin to lag and some awful squeaking will be heard. These are all signs that you need to clean and lubricate your treadmill.
If you want to save some headaches, you can always pull the unsatisfied customer scenario with great success and make the manufacturer do the work for you. On the other hand, if you are the type that visits often DYI shops this can prove to be one of those rare chances to prove your wife that you really can fix stuff.
Now treadmill lubricant shouldn't be bought just like that. It is slightly more complicated. What you should search for is a lubricant kit. Why? Well you see these kits will avoid getting you dirty like in an Ariel publicity video and will actually help you get rid of that effort to bring the treadmill to pieces and of course to later on, assemble them. And besides walking with a canister of lube around won't make you very popular with your neighbors unless they are the real kinky type… Never mind the last sentence.
The most important part of a treadmill lubricant kit is actually a stick. It is strange how many inventions patents involve sticks. This one is actually very helpful because it allows to easily remove the dirt beneath the belt and at the same time lubricate those areas. Now of course we wouldn't have much of a kit with some lubricant and a stick. Here is where marketing comes through because the stick is not actually a stick… it is a wand. Get ready for some magic lubricating. Also, most of these kits also supply some additional wand extensions to suit different treadmill types and of course no kit would be complete without some very detailed instructions on how to use this delicate piece of equipment.
In the unfortunate case in which the instruction manual is written in Chinese here is a very detailed guide: pick the wand, lube it, with the wand facing down scrub like crazy in the space beneath the belt, take the wand and put it safely where it belongs. That about covers it.
Come to think of it, screw the kit, screw the neighbors and go buy yourself some treadmill lubricant.