How to Maintain Your Home Sauna

One of the many good things about having your personal home sauna is the comparatively limited upkeep involved. Routine sauna maintenance is very much like cleaning any other room in your home.

Sweeping or vacuuming 2 or 3 times a week will keep it free from dust and hair. A gentle soap and water washing keeps the seats and walls looking spiffy. Be sure to avoid using harsh chemical cleansers. When the sauna is heated, residues are released that produce unpleasant odors and may even cause breathing difficulties.

While it's true that perspiration can lead to discoloration over time, the high temperatures essentially guarantee that any moisture excess will evaporate by the time the sauna has cooled down.

Caring For The Heater

Electric sauna heaters require virtually no maintenance. The only care these heaters require is wiping the stainless steel surfaces clean with a soft cloth and mild detergent. Don't use steel wool, as it can scratch the finish and cause rusting from the steel particles left behind. If the heater stops working, call in an electrician. It's dangerous to do your own electrical repairs.

Wood burning heaters, on the other hand, requires a bit more upkeep. The ashes must be regularly removed and the exhaust pipe kept free of any obstructions. Creosote build up in the exhaust pipe can be a dangerous fire hazard, so routine inspections are necessary to ensure safe conditions. When this becomes a problem, hire a professional chimney cleaner to remove the excess creosote.

Caring For The Wood

Sauna benches are exposed to a lot of perspiration. It's a good idea to provide towels for people to sit on. This will help keep the wood in fairly good condition, but they will still need to be cleaned about every 2 months, depending on the amount of use. Wash the wood with a mild detergent followed by a clear water rinse. Never use ammonia-based cleansers. They can cause the wood to gray.

Humidity may swell the sauna's wooden door. Should this happen, try adjusting the hinges to stop the rubbing. If the door still doesn't fit properly, try sanding or planing the door for a better fit. Mark the location where the door is sticking with a pencil and remove the entire door from the frame. When a lot of wood requires removal, a wood plane is more efficient than a sander.

If the wood becomes really discolored, a light sanding will remove the stains. Another method for removing stains is to wash the wood with a mixture of oxalic acid and trisodium phosphate. These poisonous chemicals must be handled carefully. Mix a solution with water using a non-metallic spoon. Wash the entire coverage of every wall and bench, then rinse completely with clear water. Always wear rubber gloves and goggles when working with poisonous chemicals.

Caring For The Sauna Stones

Sauna stones require periodic inspection to make certain they're not cracking. Since sauna stones are under high stress from the continual heating and cooling, they should be replaced once in awhile. Just about any type of stone can be used in a sauna, but stones with rough surfaces work best because they release steam faster. Peridotite and olivine stones, available from sauna supply stores, are most popular.

You only need to replace sauna stones when they start giving off a bad smell. You might notice an odor from new stones for a while, but it shouldn't happen with stones you have been using for some time.

Don't let your concerns for potentially complicated maintenance keep you from having the sauna of your dreams. Saunas are 1 of the easiest parts of your home to care for. The truth is that saunas take less effort to keep up than most bathrooms.