Your own sauna offers enormous benefits, especially during a pandemic. You can use it whenever and however you like, choose the scent for your infusion yourself, and don’t have to worry about catching an infection in crowded public saunas.
However, anyone lucky enough to enjoy their own sauna also has to take care of cleaning and maintaining the sauna cabin themselves. After the cold winter months, when the sauna has often been used, it’s the perfect time to make it shine and give it a more thorough clean.
To help you enjoy your sauna for years to come, here are a few tips on how to protect and clean it.
Before each sauna session
- Before each sauna session, check your sauna for objects on the floor or heater. Sauna towels left out to dry or other items quickly stashed in the sauna can cause significant damage and contamination.
- Before sauna bathing, take a shower to rinse off cream, perfume, and body oils and moisten your skin so your pores open and sweating can get underway more easily.
During each sauna session
- They come in all kinds of colors and styles − the sauna towel. It’s essential for a sauna session because it prevents sweat and infusion water from dirtying the sauna benches and leaving unsightly stains. It’s also more comfortable to sit or lie on a sauna towel, since the benches can get very hot.
- Take special care when using body scrubs. Make sure your sauna towel covers the entire seating area and that no liquid containing essential oils gets onto the wooden sauna bench. This can leave unsightly stains that are difficult to remove.
- Even during lively “beer infusions” with a large group, make sure not to get too much water on the benches or sauna walls. Otherwise, your sauna can quickly start to look stained and worn.
After each sauna session
Both Finnish saunas with multiple infusions and bio saunas create moisture that settles on the walls, benches, and floor. Ventilating the sauna after each session is therefore essential to prevent mold from forming on wooden surfaces. Bacteria and germs thrive particularly well in warm, humid air.
- To ventilate, open the sauna door and, if possible, a window in the room so the accumulated moisture can escape. You can wipe up any excess moisture that has settled on the floor or glass wall with a cloth. Some sauna brands have a special drying program that switches on automatically after a session and dries the sauna after a bio sauna session.
- After your sauna session, don’t leave the infusion bucket with any leftover water in the sauna. Even this small amount of liquid will evaporate and delay the sauna cabin’s drying.
Sauna care and cleaning
When and how often you should clean your sauna naturally depends on how often you use it. However, an annual spring clean is recommended for both aesthetic and hygienic reasons.
- Only clean your sauna once it has cooled down.
- Because the wood in a sauna is extremely dry, never use a pressure washer or hose to clean it. These could do more harm than good to the wood.
- You should also avoid harsh chemical cleaners, as their residue can evaporate into the air during the next sauna infusion and enter your respiratory tract.
- It’s best to wipe sauna benches with only water or a special sauna cleaner using a lint-free cloth.
- You can easily remove dust and dirt from corners, gaps, and the sauna floor with a vacuum cleaner.
- The wood of the benches and walls in older saunas can darken and become unsightly over time due to constant heat. You can treat, lighten, and disinfect the wood surfaces with special sauna bleaching products. Be sure to follow the manufacturer’s instructions!
- Only untreated wood can be treated with very fine sandpaper to remove stubborn stains and deeply embedded dirt.
Cleaning the sauna heater and sauna stones
Since the sauna heater and stones are subject to constant stress, they should also be given a more thorough clean about once a year.
- Check the sauna stones for damage, as infusions containing essential oils put them under particular strain. You can remove any residue with a brush.
- Depending on how often you use the sauna, replace the stones after about 3-8 years.
- Clean the heater with a damp cloth. The best way to remove limescale is with vinegar or citric acid diluted in water and a soft brush. For more stubborn limescale stains, let the solution sit briefly, then rinse with water.
Cleaning the shower and relaxation area
For your own well-being, the adjoining relaxation room and shower area should also be cleaned from time to time.
Vacuum up dust and dirt, and wipe stained surfaces and floors with a wet mop.
Sauna loungers stay clean longer if you lie on them with a sauna towel. Replace sauna towels, kilts, and shower towels after each use.
Conclusion
If you want to enjoy a clean, attractive sauna for years to come, it’s a good idea to clean and maintain it regularly.
A more thorough spring clean makes the most sense after winter, since the sauna is used more often during the cold months.
After occasional sauna sessions during the summer months, you can start the new sauna season in autumn in a pleasantly clean wellness area!