Sauna Bath

Now that you have your own at home sauna, what about sauna care? Before you jump right in and enjoy your first sauna, you need to cure the room. It's a fairly easy process, but considered to be essential sauna care to make sure all things are operating normally. All you need to do is clean the sauna completely, fire up the heater and let it break in the woodwork.

For the clean up, you will need to remove all the materials you may have leftover from your building spree, vacuum the floor, benches and walls. Next, wipe the wood down with warm water and a damp cloth. You also need to make sure to wash the sauna rocks before you put them into the heater.

Speaking of rocks, take care to place them properly. More than anything else, rock placement is an essential part of sauna care. Your sauna heater works this way - cool air comes in the bottom, gets heated and rises out the top. So, logically, you would not put sauna rocks in the basket too densely. Bridge the second layer of rocks over the first so lots of air can pass through. If you don't do this, chances are you will trip the high limit temperature switch. If you do, just let it cool down and reset the switch. The click you hear and the snap you feel is the heater reset process.

Another sauna care tip includes checking all your electrical connections and turning the heater on for about 20 minutes to burn residue coating off the elements. Yes, it smells awful, but it won't last for long. Along with testing your heater, you will want to operate your sauna at full temperature with the door shut for an hour. Don't use it until you have done this.

This will test your rocks as well. There have been times when one or more have cracked along the fault line, so best you know this right up front rather than later. That's why sauna care is so critical - it will let you identify any problems you may have.

After all electrical connections have been completed (make sure the connections are tight) operate the heater for about twenty minutes to burn off any residue coating on the elements. The smoke and smell will last for a few minutes during this period and is normal. Now you can get your rocks off - so to speak - by slowly pouring about one liter of water on them to steam clean them. If you get water on the floor, you're pouring way too fast. What you ideally want is the water turning into steam without reaching the floor. Practice will make perfect.

And, you're all set now to start enjoying your sauna. Over the years you will need to likely adjust the door due to shrinking and swelling, maintain the heater, and replace your granite rocks - although they are noted to last for up to 15 years. Once you get the hang of sauna care, it's a snap!

Sauna Bath |