How To Sauna At Home - Health Benefits Of Sauna

Looking to install a sauna in your home or recently installed one and want some tips on the proper way to enjoy it? Take a look at this quick video (1:34) with some entry level tips and then dive into the rest of this article!

Before using your new sauna, you should understand how to sauna. Also, there are a few steps on how to cure your home sauna. Curing is a matter of cleaning and heating the wood to break it in – indoor or outdoor sauna. Here are the steps:

How To Start Up Your Homemade Sauna

Clean the sauna – Remove any packing debris, vacuum dust and dirt, and wipe down all wood surfaces with a damp cloth.
Prepare the sauna rocks – Wash the rocks off by running clean water over them in a bucket. Continue until the water is running clear. Next place the rocks loosely in the heater. The heater rocks need to be loosely placed to allow air to circulate freely through them. If the air doesn’t flow, the heater could overheat and flip the limit switch on the sauna heater. 　If this happens, let the heater cool, reposition the rocks, and reset the switch. Best sauna heater.

Turn on the sauna – Make sure all electrical connections are made, then run the heater for 20 minutes. This initial heating will burn off coatings that are applied to the elements at manufacturing. You may notice a burning smell or smoke but this is normal.
Curing the wood – The final step is to operate the sauna for one hour at its highest temperature setting. Keep the door closed and do not let anyone in the sauna. After you run the unit for an hour, pour about a quart of water over the sauna rocks to steam clean them.

You’re pouring the water too fast if it drips on the floor before turning to steam. Also, you may get some broken heater rocks from the curing stage. Discard them after the sauna cools.

How To Take A Sauna Bath

Infrared Sauna Session Video

Here are guidelines to sauna at home. There is no single best way to learn how to sauna but follow these suggestions and you’ll have an enjoyable experience. Benefits of saunas are many.

Consult your physician to make sure the heat associated with sauna doesn’t pose a health risk to you. See the Sauna Safety Checklist to learn the safety concerns. Keep in mind, infrared saunas don’t produce steam, so some of these guidelines won’t pertain to them.

Allow Time – Saunas can take 30 minutes to heat up. So you should allow at least an hour to sauna.
Take A Shower – Wash off lotions, oils, deodorant, etc. from your body. These contaminants will affect your sauna.
Enter The Sauna – Proceed into the sauna and place a towel on the bench to absorb sweat. Traditional saunas are taken in the nude. You can wear a swimsuit or keep a towel wrapped around you.
Sit And Feel The Sensation – In the first minutes you should feel your pores open up from the heat. If the air is too dry for you, ladle water over the sauna rocks. This will make the room feel hotter, but much less dry. (NOTE: Do not put water on infrared sauna heaters!). Sauna and steam is meant for traditional saunas – See Sauna vs. steam bath. A starting temperature for your first sauna can be 176°F (80°C). You can raise the thermostat or move to a higher level bench, where the temperature is higher. If you feel too warm, you can move to a lower bench or open the door and let some heat out.
Leave The Sauna – After 15 to 20 minutes or if you get too hot, walk out of the sauna to cool off. Jump in a pool, take a shower, sit in cool air. You should also drink cold liquids to replenish the body fluids lost from sweating. Do not drink alcohol which will actually dehydrate you more. Be sure you check with your physician before subjecting yourself to any extreme cooling off methods.