How to Use a Sauna Room: A First-Timer's Guide

Before you go in

Switch the heater on and give the room 20 to 40 minutes, depending on size and whether it is a stove or infrared room. Most infrared rooms are ready sooner. Shower first, so you sit down clean, and drink a glass of water. Take off jewellery and glasses, which get hot. Take in a towel to sit on and a second to dry with.

The first round

Sit on the lower bench if you are new to it; the top bench can be 15 °C hotter. Stay 10 to 15 minutes, or less the first few times. You should feel warm through, sweating freely and relaxed. If you feel dizzy or your heart is racing, step out. That is the room telling you it has done its job.

Löyly: water on the stones

On a Harvia, Sawo or SIPENTK stove, a ladle of water on the hot stones gives a short wave of steam that makes the room feel much hotter for a minute. Start with half a ladle. More water does not mean a longer burst, only a sharper one. Never pour water on an infrared panel; those rooms are dry by design.

Cool down, rest, repeat

Step out and cool down: a cool shower, a few minutes outside, or a dip in an ice bath or cold plunge if you have one. The cold is the second half of the ritual, and it is what most owners say they look forward to by the second week.

Rest for five or ten minutes, drink water, then go back in for a second round if you want it. Two or three rounds is a full session. There is no prize for staying in longest.

Setting the temperature

A stove-heated room is usually run between 70 and 90 °C; most new owners settle around 75 °C and move up over a month. An infrared room runs far lower, around 45 to 60 °C, because the panels warm you directly rather than the air. The thermo-hygrometer on the wall shows both temperature and humidity, so you can see what a ladle of water does to the room.

What to wear

At home, whatever you are comfortable in: a towel, swimwear or a loose cotton wrap. Avoid anything synthetic or tight, which gets hot and holds sweat. Sit on a towel always; it keeps the benches clean and the timber dry.

After the session: the care that matters

A sauna room looks after itself if you do three small things each time:

• Leave the door open after the last round so the room airs and the timber dries completely.
• Wipe the benches with a damp cloth now and then, and never varnish, oil or paint anything inside the hot room.
• Keep the stones in the heater and have them checked once a year; cracked stones go in the bin and get replaced.

Common first-month mistakes

Sitting too high too soon, pouring a full bucket on the stones, and skipping the water before and after. All three make the first week feel harder than it needs to. Go low, go short, drink, and let the ritual build. If you want the reasoning behind the heat, read why a sauna room earns its place at home, and if you are still choosing between dry and wet heat, steam room vs sauna settles it.

Questions people ask