Looking into buying your first home sauna? If so, then you might be a bit overwhelmed with your whole buying process. There’s just so much information out there on the many different types of saunas available.
Luckily for you we are obsessed with saunas and have dedicated this whole website to helping people like you. Specifically, we are going to help you with purchasing your own home sauna. Down below are the top sauna buying tips. Read each and ultimately decide which sauna is best suited for you.
Questions You Need To First Ask Yourself
1) What location do you plan on placing your sauna?
By far the most important question to first ask when buying a sauna is where in the household will the sauna be placed? Are you dedicating a whole room to build a traditional sauna or are you planning on using a sauna kit in the corner of your room? This question is essential because the size of the room available will dictate which sauna you can purchase.
If you have a full room to spare than building a traditional sauna might be best for you. If you have a small area to work with then purchasing a sauna kit will be the best option for you (they tend to be small). If you need something extremely small and portable then purchasing a portable sauna will the best option for you (these saunas literally fit anywhere and can be stored away easily.)
2) What type of sauna is best suited for your needs?
There are many types of saunas out on the market. Deciphering which one is best suited for you is pivotal to a successful purchase. Would you rather have a traditional sauna that uses rocks and convection to heat the room? This is the type of sauna that most people are used too as they are mainly used in gyms and spas. (They are the saunas in which you can pour water on to create steam.)
Would you rather have a infrared sauna kit that’s easy to put together? These types of saunas come in a kit that takes very little time or tools to build. These saunas are typically smaller than traditional saunas as you don’t have to build a whole room. A big difference with these types of saunas is that they use infrared light to produce their heat. This is very different from the ways traditional sauna produce their heat. Another advantage to this type of sauna is that they come with tons of features like radios, speakers, cd-players, and etc.
The last option you have is portable infrared saunas. These are the cheapest saunas available and provide excellent portability. But, with this extra portability and small price comes a cheaper products. These portable saunas don’t offer the same accessories that infrared saunas offer and aren’t as powerful.
3) What type of wood do you want used in your sauna?
Another important question that you must ask yourself is what type of wood you would like to use? There are many different types of woods that are used in saunas. All of which have their own positives and negatives. From our experience Hemlock, Cedar, Aspen, Poplar, and Basswood are the best.
The most important aspect of the wood you choose is the way it looks. After this you should consider the smell of the wood. If you are allergic to wood with natural oils then look for ones that don’t contain natural oils/smells.
4) Do you want a DYI sauna or do you want to purchase a sauna kit?
The last important question you need to ask yourself is whether or not you want to build your own sauna or if you want to purchase a sauna kit? For some, building a sauna from scratch is impossible as they have no construction knowledge. For these people buying a sauna kit is the best option as they are easy to build and include all the parts you need.
If you are very handy then doing your own DYI sauna might be a good challenge. There are many resources on the internet that guide you through the whole process. Some of our favorites include: Finnish Sauna – Design and Construction & The Sauna: A Complete Guide to the Construction, Use, and Benefits of the Finnish Bath
Sauna Buying Tips
* Cost: Since saunas are relatively expensive, it’s a good idea to know which ones fit in your price range. If you plan on building a traditional sauna than it’s most likely going to cost you around $4,000. If you want a simple infrared sauna kit than they cost you around $1,000 – $4,000 (There’s a big price difference depending on how large the sauna kit is and what features it contains). The lowest price sauna is portable saunas. They cost anywhere from $100 – $400.
* Steam: When comparing different sauna models it’s a good idea to contemplate on whether or not you need steam. If a large portion of why your purchasing a sauna in the first place is because you also want to produce steam then buying a traditional sauna is the way to go. Other saunas such as infrared saunas don’t produce steam since they don’t use a heating element or sauna stones.
* Heat: Heat is another important factor when purchasing a sauna. If you want the highest amount of heat possible then a traditional sauna is best for you. Their top temperature is 194 degrees F. in the United States. Infrared saunas provide less heat because they use a different avenue of heating. They usually reach a top temperature of around 160 degrees F.
So if you want some extremely powerful than traditional saunas are the way to go. Just keep in mind that even though infrared saunas promote less heat, they’re still very effective at making you sweat.
* Heating Times: The time it takes to heat up the sauna is different for each sauna type. Traditional saunas usually take around 30 – 45 minutes to heat up (it all depends on how big the sauna is and how powerful the heating element is). Infrared saunas typically take around 10 – 15 minutes to heat up completely. Portable saunas take around the same amount of time.
* Power: Power usage differs for each sauna type and model. Traditional saunas are more powerful and require a lot of energy. Infrared saunas are in the middle as they require much less energy than traditional saunas, but use more energy than portable saunas. The least energy-consuming sauna type is portable saunas. This is because they’re so small and use infrared heating panels to produce their heat.
You should keep in mind that most traditional sauna don’t use traditional wall outlets. Instead they use 220V power line which will add to the cost of your sauna purchase. Some larger infrared saunas use the same 220V power line as well.
* Portability: Portability is a big factor for some people. If you want the most portable sauna type than portable infrared saunas are the best solution for you. If portability isn’t a big factor, but you want something you can eventually move than infrared saunas are the best solution for you. The last option is traditional saunas as they aren’t portable at all. They’re usually built within a single room in a household.
* Maintenance: Maintenance for each sauna differs. Traditional saunas are much more reliable and will most likely never break down. But, traditional sauna rooms tend to be much bigger and you must wipe down all surfaces of the sauna with soap and water a couple of times a year. Infrared saunas tend to be reliable too, but are usually much smaller so wiping down surfaces will be quicker. Portable saunas are reliable as well and are extremely easy to clean since they are so small.
* Extra Features: If you want extra features within your sauna than infrared sauna kits are the way to go. These kits usually contain lights, control panels, radio/CD player, speakers, amplifiers, back rests, towels racks, and etc. Infrared sauna kits come packed with features that other saunas don’t. So if you want features then infrared saunas are best for you.
* Glass Windows/Doors: If you plan on purchasing a sauna kit then glass windows/doors are good features to have. Reason for is because they make the sauna seem much larger than it really is. So people who get claustrophobic easily should purchase one with these options. If you’re building a traditional sauna then this might be something you want to include in your plans.
* Control Panels: Every sauna that your purchase will contain some type of control panel. These panels are used to set the temperature and the duration of the sauna session. Since this is so then you might want to look for saunas that contain these panels inside and outside of the sauna.
* Carbon-Fiber Panels: If you plan on purchasing an infrared sauna then you should focus on how many carbon-fiber heating panels it contains. Saunas with more panels will be much more powerful and will provide a more effective sauna experience. So look for infrared sauna kits with more sauna panels available.
* Where To Buy Your Sauna?: In our opinion the best place to buy a sauna is Amazon. Reason for is because they have so many different saunas available and have wonderful deals. Some saunas are included in Amazon Prime so they’ll be delivered to your house in just 2 days. Along with this you won’t be scammed from a weird sauna website that says they sell saunas. So go visit Amazon and see which saunas they have available for you.
Other Resources:
Books:
* The Holistic Handbook of Sauna Therapy
* Sauna Therapy for Detoxification and Healing
* The Sauna: A Complete Guide to the Construction, Use, and Benefits of the Finnish Bath
