Field Notes
Sauna maintenance: the 20-minute routine to run each season
A sauna needs little upkeep if you do a handful of small things on schedule. Our quarterly routine keeps the wood pale and the heater out of the repair queue.
By Adam Bognar, Editor
A well-built sauna needs little care, and a short seasonal routine keeps the room from graying and souring. We've split that routine by how often each job comes due. Finnish family saunas run for generations on airflow and occasional attention alone.
Dry the room fully after every session
Daily care comes down to drying the room. Leave the door and vents open until it's fully dry, and let the heater's residual warmth run out through them. Towels on the benches during use keep sweat out of the wood, and sweat decides more than anything else how benches age.
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Each quarter, scrub the benches and restack the stones
Scrub benches and backrests with water and a stiff brush, adding mild soap if needed. Never varnish or paint the benches, because a coating traps moisture in the wood and gets hot enough to burn skin. Unstack the heater stones and discard any cracked or crumbling ones. Re-stack the rest loosely so air moves between them, since choked stones overheat elements and flatten löyly.
Check your thermometer against a known reference. A gauge that reads 10 degrees generous cuts every session short, and you won't notice.
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Give the structure a once-over every year
Tighten the barrel bands if you have them, and check the door hinges and glass gaskets. Vacuum the heater's intake grills, and inspect a wood-fired stove's chimney and clearances before the heavy season. Replace the ladle or bucket liner if it's furring. An hour with a screwdriver and a shop vacuum covers all of it, and you won't need a professional.
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SaunaLife Accessories
SaunaLife Accessory Package 6: Aluminum 1-Gallon Bucket Set with Wood Ladle and Thermometer (Black)
Common questions
- Should I oil or seal the wood inside a sauna?
- No. Interior sauna wood should stay raw so it can breathe and dry. Paints and varnishes trap moisture and get dangerously hot on skin contact, and so do most oils. For extra stain resistance, you can use purpose-made paraffin-based sauna wax on the benches only.
- How do I get stains or gray discoloration off sauna benches?
- Sand the benches lightly. A fine grit and ten minutes usually erase a season. To stop the gray coming back, use towels during sessions and dry the room fully afterward, which keeps sauna benches bright for years.
Sources
- 1.Cardiovascular and Other Health Benefits of Sauna Bathing: A Review of the Evidence. Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 2018.
- 2.Benefits and risks of sauna bathing. The American Journal of Medicine, 2001.
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