Anybody on Here Own a Home Sauna?

[ReadySetMillionaire]

I am in the market for a home sauna. Basically, I've used them on several trips this year (including this past weekend), and I love using them. I did not even know you could buy these for home use until a friend told me, and I'm pretty surprised at the price points (around $3-4k for a good one).

I don't really intend to come on a forum like MMM and debate the merits of buying said sauna, as I know how that will end. I'm just looking for information.

One that note, the biggest impediment is that I am absolutely blown away by how poor the public information is about these. I don't think I've ever researched something that is so blatantly overwhelmed by unhelpful SEO nonsense (TVs are a close second). Every blog seems to relate to the two or three same brands, but after reading, it comes off strongly as "these are my affiliate partners," not "here are the best saunas."

I was wondering if anybody on here purchased a home sauna. Any brands you would recommend? Any technology you would stay away from?

Right now I lean towards the Sunlighten Signature II or Amplify II, but I'm not dead set on it.

All info appreciated.

[sailinlight]

I have no experience with a home sauna, I never knew they existed before. Seems really cool though! One thing to note is that their website indicates it requires a dedicated 20A circuit, so your should increase your expected costs to add this.

[ReadySetMillionaire]

I have no experience with a home sauna, I never knew they existed before. Seems really cool though! One thing to note is that their website indicates it requires a dedicated 20A circuit, so your should increase your expected costs to add this.

Same. The idea that you could buy your own never even occurred to me, because I had only been in huge commercial saunas that probably cost $20-25k.

Relatively the same thing for home for $3-4k? To say I'm interested is an understatement.

And thanks for the tips on the electrical. That is why I am leaning towards putting this in the basement pretty close to the electric box.

[PMG]

I’m just posting to follow. My spouse dreams of a home sauna one day, likely not soon.

I imagine insurance rates would increase.

I’m curious to see what people have to say.

[MayDay]

My understanding is that traditional ones are a shed in your yard and powered by a fire. I've stayed at cabins in northern MN that had this option. You make a wood fire to heat it. It was quite lovely and I felt morally superior for having created my own heat! I also enjoy the electric one at the gym (pre-covid).

I have nothing helpful to add other than to consider a yard option if you have a wood source.

[ReadySetMillionaire]

My understanding is that traditional ones are a shed in your yard and powered by a fire. I've stayed at cabins in northern MN that had this option. You make a wood fire to heat it. It was quite lovely and I felt morally superior for having created my own heat! I also enjoy the electric one at the gym (pre-covid).

I have nothing helpful to add other than to consider a yard option if you have a wood source.

I think I would be going the infrared sauna route. Sauna purists would argue that this is blasphemy, as it is not a real sauna experience. But I just used an infrared sauna this past weekend and it was excellent.

Also, traditional saunas take a ton more time to heat up and get ready.

Based on my research you really need one that gets hot. The Sunlighten Amplify gets up to 165. That’s very solid.

My wife is putting on the brakes a bit but I think this will happen eventually.  Hopefully at least.

[mountain mustache]

my mom has one, and she loves it. I think it's ridiculous, but it makes her happy so that's what matters! I'll have to ask her the brand...it's very nice, all wood and fairly small. I think she got it second hand from a friend who is always buying expensive things and "selling" them to her for extremely cheap when he doesn't have use for them anymore(she usually just gets them for free, but I think this was an exception haha)

[slappy]

I’m just posting to follow. My spouse dreams of a home sauna one day, likely not soon.

I imagine insurance rates would increase.

I’m curious to see what people have to say.

Why would insurance rates increase?

OP, I have no advice. If I had a home sauna, I would never leave it!

[Freedom2016]

Make some Scandanavian friends and find out what they have. It's quite a tradition in the Nordic countries and we have two different Finnish friends who have saunas in their homes.

[LovinPSDs]

My folks have a steam room.. its not exactly a sauna, but a steamer built into the master shower.  I gotta admit, it's amazing.  Especially when your sick.  Fire that guy up and get in there for about 10-15 mins and then take a cool shower to clean off.  I loved it when I was younger.  It was nice because it didn't require a dedicated space.

[ReadySetMillionaire]

My folks have a steam room.. its not exactly a sauna, but a steamer built into the master shower.  I gotta admit, it's amazing.  Especially when your sick.  Fire that guy up and get in there for about 10-15 mins and then take a cool shower to clean off.  I loved it when I was younger.  It was nice because it didn't require a dedicated space.

My general understanding is that saunas/steam rooms basically give you a short term fever, which is why if you take one when you’re not feeling well, you feel great afterwards.

[ReadySetMillionaire]

I’m just posting to follow. My spouse dreams of a home sauna one day, likely not soon.

I imagine insurance rates would increase.

I’m curious to see what people have to say.

Why would insurance rates increase?

OP, I have no advice. If I had a home sauna, I would never leave it!

My general plan would be to read my Kindle books in there. Basically the air does not heat up, the technology used only heats up your body. So you can use tech products in there.

I have an extremely old and dumbed down iPad that I would love to sit in there for 45 minutes, peace and quiet, and read.

It’s the old Atomic Habits playbook — give yourself a reward/combine a behavior you like if you want to build a habit.

[LovinPSDs]

My folks have a steam room.. its not exactly a sauna, but a steamer built into the master shower.  I gotta admit, it's amazing.  Especially when your sick.  Fire that guy up and get in there for about 10-15 mins and then take a cool shower to clean off.  I loved it when I was younger.  It was nice because it didn't require a dedicated space.

My general understanding is that saunas/steam rooms basically give you a short term fever, which is why if you take one when you’re not feeling well, you feel great afterwards.

I'm telling you, it was great.  The benefit was breathing in all the steam... Felt so good when you are all congested.

Does a traditional "sauna" create that much steam, or is it more High Temp + add your own level of steam?  My folks was really a high temp steam generator... After about 5 mins you couldn't' see all the way across the shower, albeit a big shower.

[utaca]

My understanding is that traditional ones are a shed in your yard and powered by a fire. I've stayed at cabins in northern MN that had this option. You make a wood fire to heat it. It was quite lovely and I felt morally superior for having created my own heat! I also enjoy the electric one at the gym (pre-covid).

I have nothing helpful to add other than to consider a yard option if you have a wood source.

I think I would be going the infrared sauna route. Sauna purists would argue that this is blasphemy, as it is not a real sauna experience. But I just used an infrared sauna this past weekend and it was excellent.

Also, traditional saunas take a ton more time to heat up and get ready.

Based on my research you really need one that gets hot. The Sunlighten Amplify gets up to 165. That’s very solid.

My wife is putting on the brakes a bit but I think this will happen eventually.  Hopefully at least.

My folks have had an infrared sauna for years. It's held up with their semi-regular use and over-use/abuse by my brother and I whenever we come for a visit! I really like it and have been thinking about getting one for my home. Seems like you can sometimes find them for less than CAD $2000, which seems pretty reasonable to me.

[ReadySetMillionaire]

My understanding is that traditional ones are a shed in your yard and powered by a fire. I've stayed at cabins in northern MN that had this option. You make a wood fire to heat it. It was quite lovely and I felt morally superior for having created my own heat! I also enjoy the electric one at the gym (pre-covid).

I have nothing helpful to add other than to consider a yard option if you have a wood source.

I think I would be going the infrared sauna route. Sauna purists would argue that this is blasphemy, as it is not a real sauna experience. But I just used an infrared sauna this past weekend and it was excellent.

Also, traditional saunas take a ton more time to heat up and get ready.

Based on my research you really need one that gets hot. The Sunlighten Amplify gets up to 165. That’s very solid.

My wife is putting on the brakes a bit but I think this will happen eventually.  Hopefully at least.

My folks have had an infrared sauna for years. It's held up with their semi-regular use and over-use/abuse by my brother and I whenever we come for a visit! I really like it and have been thinking about getting one for my home. Seems like you can sometimes find them for less than CAD $2000, which seems pretty reasonable to me.

Not sure about USD/CAD conversion, but my general research leads me to believe a good, well constructed sauna costs more than $3,000. The one I am looking at is $4,200, and I’m willing to spend that much because it gets to 170 degrees, which is light years different from 150.

A local spa has an infrared sauna that costs $30 for a session. I think I want to try that one time before I buy mine.

[erutio]

I’m just posting to follow. My spouse dreams of a home sauna one day, likely not soon.

I imagine insurance rates would increase.

I’m curious to see what people have to say.

Why would insurance rates increase?

OP, I have no advice. If I had a home sauna, I would never leave it!

... Basically the air does not heat up, the technology used only heats up your body. So you can use tech products in there.
...

I was unfamiliar with infrared saunas before this thread.  Since it's not heating the air, is it  cooking just you? How does the technology know it's your body?  Also, would there be cancer risks? 

[ReadySetMillionaire]

I was unfamiliar with infrared saunas before this thread.  Since it's not heating the air, is it  cooking just you? How does the technology know it's your body?  Also, would there be cancer risks?

This Atlantic article is good: https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2017/06/infrared-saunas-will-not-detoxify-you-toxins-sweat/528813/

This NYT one as well: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/25/fashion/infrared-saunas-shape-house-higher-dose-sweat-wellness.html?_r=0

Basically, like all of these types of purchases, the health claims are somewhat dubious. It's all about how you feel.

My choice of infrared over the traditional "dry" sauna (hot air and you pour steam over) is for the following reasons

1. Dry saunas take longer to heat up;
2. Dry saunas get really hot, which means you can't use any technology in there;
3. Dry saunas require a ton more power (need both a 20V and 30V hookup compared to just a 20V); and
4. Dry saunas are generally bigger and much more difficult to install.

Again, I'm going to a local spa this week to try out an infrared sauna. If I feel good and get hot enough then I think I'm going to pull the trigger. If not this year then probably within the next 6-12 months.

[Secret Stache]

I've never shopped for these before but I know Laird Hamilton (big wave surfer and fitness enthusiast) uses Nordic Saunas that are of the infra-red barrel type (https://sauna.com/). 

If it can stand up to his standards it might be worth looking at. 

[BabyShark]

I was unfamiliar with infrared saunas before this thread.  Since it's not heating the air, is it  cooking just you? How does the technology know it's your body?  Also, would there be cancer risks?

This Atlantic article is good: https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2017/06/infrared-saunas-will-not-detoxify-you-toxins-sweat/528813/

This NYT one as well: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/25/fashion/infrared-saunas-shape-house-higher-dose-sweat-wellness.html?_r=0

Basically, like all of these types of purchases, the health claims are somewhat dubious. It's all about how you feel.

My choice of infrared over the traditional "dry" sauna (hot air and you pour steam over) is for the following reasons

1. Dry saunas take longer to heat up;
2. Dry saunas get really hot, which means you can't use any technology in there;
3. Dry saunas require a ton more power (need both a 20V and 30V hookup compared to just a 20V); and
4. Dry saunas are generally bigger and much more difficult to install.

Again, I'm going to a local spa this week to try out an infrared sauna. If I feel good and get hot enough then I think I'm going to pull the trigger. If not this year then probably within the next 6-12 months.

we have an infrared sauna place here and I love it. I haven't been able to go since I got pregnant and I'm now nursing (and they're not 100% sure on it being safe for nursing moms so I'm just avoiding it) but when I'm able to, I'm going to go back.  I's just like you said, it's a forced 45 minutes of relaxation that I really enjoy.

I'd looked into getting one for my house but my husband wasn't too keen on the idea, so we agreed I'll just get a membership to the local place.

[Fishindude]

If you are a do it yourselfer you could build a neat one pretty affordably.   Recently used one on an Alaskan vacation that was simply a small wooden building with interior benches and a small wood stove.   The woodstove was wrapped in rocks and a pot of water sat on top.   You would ladle spoons fulls of water over the rocks to get steam, worked very well.   Only downside was that you needed to get the fire going ahead of time, but once going that small room warmed up quick.

[Lady SA]

My family regularly sauna's. We have a self-built one with a little wood stove that we built up the fire ahead of time and gets up to almost 200 degrees, real nice in the winter!

The best sauna I have ever been in was when visiting the Upper Peninsula in michigan, the family we visited had a self-built sauna in their backyard. It was a large room with a wood stove, plus a built in shower! This was where the family took their showers, and they had shampoo and stuff there. It was fantastic to sauna and then immediately rinse the sweat off and wash my hair.

My future house will have a custom sauna with a shower in it. *drools*

I know of a few people who have installed FinnLeo saunas as well, so that's another brand you can look into. Their website is very informative!

[Paul der Krake]

They’re everywhere in Sweden, so my family had one. Novelty wears off pretty quick. It got used maybe once a month past the honeymoon phase. Since moving I’ve literally never heard anyone express regret for no longer having one.

[John Galt incarnate!]

I have no experience with a home sauna, I never knew they existed before. Seems really cool though! One thing to note is that their website indicates it requires a dedicated 20A circuit, so your should increase your expected costs to add this.

Beloved SO had one in one of her houses.

It was completely custom made.

I used it  a few time when visiting her but I prefer the dry heat of my wood stove.

 A  sauna's steaminess doesn't do anything for me.

[GuitarStv]

Mustachian option.

I don't use the A/C and often ride around in my car in the summer with the windows up.  (Long story - basically I believe that getting used to hot temperatures makes it easier while riding my bike in warm weather.)

It definitely gets up to sauna levels of heat, and is completely free!

[ReadySetMillionaire]

Went to a local spa and used one today. It was a Clearlight that I believe would cost about $4,000.  It was great.  The sauna got warm incredibly fast.  I was sweating within 5 minutes. Got a great sweat just like a real sauna. Also used my phone in there to make a to-do list for tomorrow (which is very relaxing for me).

I'm pretty much all in, but...my wife and I are trying to have our second kiddo. So sauna use isn't great. Need to get the second little minion here and then I think I'm pulling the trigger.

They’re everywhere in Sweden, so my family had one. Novelty wears off pretty quick. It got used maybe once a month past the honeymoon phase. Since moving I’ve literally never heard anyone express regret for no longer having one.

I have read a lot of books about habits, and my goal is to make this a habit. It's a great reward that I can tie to other habits. That's at least the plan.

[Linea_Norway]

They’re everywhere in Sweden, so my family had one. Novelty wears off pretty quick. It got used maybe once a month past the honeymoon phase. Since moving I’ve literally never heard anyone express regret for no longer having one.

Our first house had a sauna, built by the an earlier owner. It was a very small cupboard-like room in the basement with a big electric oven. We used it regularly during the first years, like in the weekend after a skiing trip. I don't think it was so very unmustachian, as it was only a very small and insulated space to heat up and we would only put it on an hour or so before using it.
But after we moved out, I haven't missed it. DH would prefer to have a bathtub though, which we don't have in our current rental.

[Paul der Krake]

They’re everywhere in Sweden, so my family had one. Novelty wears off pretty quick. It got used maybe once a month past the honeymoon phase. Since moving I’ve literally never heard anyone express regret for no longer having one.

Our first house had a sauna, built by the an earlier owner. It was a very small cupboard-like room in the basement with a big electric oven. We used it regularly during the first years, like in the weekend after a skiing trip. I don't think it was so very unmustachian, as it was only a very small and insulated space to heat up and we would only put it on an hour or so before using it.
But after we moved out, I haven't missed it. DH would prefer to have a bathtub though, which we don't have in our current rental.

Yup, exact same setup. Essentially a small shed in the basement, an electric stone to pour water on, and tada, sauna.

I didn’t think it was wasteful either. You heat it up and then the heat just moves up from the basement, it goes right into the rest of the house. No different than a space heater. Different story if it’s a standalone structure outside, of course.

[havregryn]

They’re everywhere in Sweden, so my family had one. Novelty wears off pretty quick. It got used maybe once a month past the honeymoon phase. Since moving I’ve literally never heard anyone express regret for no longer having one.

Me! I miss them so much. In general I miss the cosiness of Swedish housing compared to what you get down here but I miss the sauna a lot! It's high up on my list for must haves for when we move back.

[socalteacher]

I bought an infrared about 5 years ago from Costco (1-2 person sauna $999). It says it should get up to 152 but the hottest I have had it was 144. In the winter, in my garage I can get it to 136. Those temps are great for me. I did have to add some weather stripping around the door to make it more efficient. I use my phone and electronics in the sauna all the time. I put a small ice pack next to the device and it keeps it cool and doesn't impact the heat for me. It also does not heat well by the feet so if I am just listening to something I put my phone down by my feet.

I also put the sauna on a board with caster wheels so I can roll it around may garage easily.

It was a great purchase and I would buy it again if it broke. I use it monthly for sure and in the fall and winter, weekly. If you have a cold or sinus infection, I swear it knocks it out in no time with some peppermint oil to open things up.

[Roots&Wings]

Since it hasn't been mentioned, I had one of those portable infrared saunas (cost around $99) that I used regularly for about 5 years until the heating element died. Loved that thing, and have thought about getting another. Works for one person only though.

Edit: looks like they're about $189 currently, https://www.amazon.com/SereneLife-Portable-Infrared-Person-Heating/dp/B0711XW4P3, but go on sale for less periodically.

[Dave1442397]

Costco sell them - https://www.costco.com/saunas.html

[BTDretire]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned reported benefits of spending time in a sauna.
 Heat stress is similar to excercise stress.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NChyDtupmkk  (5 minutes)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUnDkqjncSM  (45 Minutes)
So far I have only scanned this to notice he references a lot of scientific articles.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRR8aSCY3yw   (1:25)

[BTDretire]

Golly!
Sorry for telling you all that the sauna is healthful, and killing this thread. :-)

[wbranch]

My family had Finnish heritage and we had a wood fired sauna in our basement. Usually used a couple times a week in the winter, and maybe a couple times a month in the summer. Friends and family visiting for sauna night was a fairly normal thing. With the wood stove we pushed it to 200+ degrees several times.

Always wanted my own and bought one last year when Costco had a sale, went with an outdoor barrel sauna. Gets nice and hot, around 190 at head level the bench is around 115-120 so a lot of variation in heat. Used 3+ times a week during the winter and maybe once a week during the hottest months this past summer. We did make a homemade outdoor shower to hookup the garden hose for warmer times of year. When nighttime lows were 15 degrees or so with 3-4 uses a week it added around $25 to the electricity bill.

[Daisy]

Does living in Florida and stepping outside on a summer day count as having a home sauna?

[herbgeek]

I have an infrared sauna in my basement.  Because its in the basement, I can get away with something that isn't aesthetically pleasing.  Its basically a big box covered with reflectix (the mylar bubble wrap often used for exterior insulation) and 6 heat lamps inside.   A clever DIYer could make one of these fairly cheaply.

[BTDretire]

I'm still on the fence about Infrared vs regular heat regarding efficacy.
 Also I wonder about heat evenly distributed over the body vs only where the light hits.
 I do understand the light do create heat, I don't think they get as hot though.
 Good for you though, you have one, I don't, yet.

[BTDretire]

Dr. Peter Attia just posted a podcast about hot and cold therapy. Unfortunately it is one of the teasers he has named AMA (ask me anything), that is used to get you to signup and you only get to hear part of it unless you are a subscriber. This tipped me over the edge and I signed up. I have listen to all of his podcasts and, I figured I owe it to him to help with continued research.
The information below is only related to life extension.
 The gist of the literature on cold therapy, ( cryogenics, ice bath) is not useful for life extension, it is useful for delayed onset muscle soreness, after 24 to 72 hours.
  There are many papers with evidence that sauna use is a life extender.
The term used is "reduction of all caused mortality" The data says at least 177* for 20 minutes, 4 times a week. It is compared to exercise in it's efficacy.
Here's the hot/cold podcast.
https://peterattiamd.com/ama16/
Dr. Attia quote, "It's hard to look at these data and not think there is something going on here, not withstanding all of the limitations you have eloquently described. I'm struggling to see a scenario now that robust* use of sauna... it really seems that there are benefits of doing that."
 For all of Dr, Attia's podcasts, page down to  recent podcasts.
https://peterattiamd.com/podcast/

* robust, meaning 4 days a week, 177*F for 20 minutes.

[slappy]

Dr. Peter Attia just posted a podcast about hot and cold therapy. Unfortunately it is one of the teasers he has named AMA (ask me anything), that is used to get you to signup and you only get to hear part of it unless you are a subscriber. This tipped me over the edge and I signed up. I have listen to all of his podcasts and, I figured I owe it to him to help with continued research.
The information below is only related to life extension.
 The gist of the literature on cold therapy, ( cryogenics, ice bath) is not useful for life extension, it is useful for delayed onset muscle soreness, after 24 to 72 hours.
  There are many papers with evidence that sauna use is a life extender.
The term used is "reduction of all caused mortality" The data says at least 177* for 20 minutes, 4 times a week. It is compared to exercise in it's efficacy.
Here's the hot/cold podcast.
https://peterattiamd.com/ama16/
Dr. Attia quote, "It's hard to look at these data and not think there is something going on here, not withstanding all of the limitations you have eloquently described. I'm struggling to see a scenario now that robust* use of sauna... it really seems that there are benefits of doing that."
 For all of Dr, Attia's podcasts, page down to  recent podcasts.
https://peterattiamd.com/podcast/

* robust, meaning 4 days a week, 177*F for 20 minutes.

4 days a week seems like so much!

[BTDretire]

The study was of  of 2327 men in Finland. The reference group was, those men that used the sauna 1 day a week. The group were followed for 20+ years.
  It is possible that 1 day a week sauna use has benefits over not using a sauna at all, but they did not have that control group in the study.

[Roots&Wings]

Picked up a portable FAR infrared sauna on sale for $160 that's supposed to be low-EMF. This'll be great to have this winter, especially if Covid cases increase again and usual outdoor activities become difficult. Looking forward to sweating buckets!

[lutorm]

They’re everywhere in Sweden, so my family had one. Novelty wears off pretty quick. It got used maybe once a month past the honeymoon phase. Since moving I’ve literally never heard anyone express regret for no longer having one.

Our first house had a sauna, built by the an earlier owner. It was a very small cupboard-like room in the basement with a big electric oven. We used it regularly during the first years, like in the weekend after a skiing trip. I don't think it was so very unmustachian, as it was only a very small and insulated space to heat up and we would only put it on an hour or so before using it.
But after we moved out, I haven't missed it. DH would prefer to have a bathtub though, which we don't have in our current rental.

Yup, exact same setup. Essentially a small shed in the basement, an electric stone to pour water on, and tada, sauna.

I didn’t think it was wasteful either. You heat it up and then the heat just moves up from the basement, it goes right into the rest of the house. No different than a space heater. Different story if it’s a standalone structure outside, of course.

I was going to say the same thing. You just have to make sure you have some ventilation to the outside so all the moisture doesn't go somewhere you don't want it.

My Dad built one in when he built their house. It saw some use but now 50 years later it's used for storage. ;-)

[norajean]

We have a medium sized one in our basement. I guess the wood is teak. Electric oven on a timer. I have yet to fire it up but will this winter. I see the ovens are only about $800. The rest is just a room with some wood paneling and benches.

[Sugaree]

I've thought about it.  But I live in a hot climate and really don't need one.  I did see one on FB Marketplace this morning for $1000.

[TrMama]

Huh, I'm having one of those moments where I realize I grew up in a bubble. Saunas were really common where I grew up. Almost all the cabins at the ski hill had one and lots of homes in town too. They were all of the built in place variety though.

Anyway, if you really want one I bet there's a used market. Sauna use sounds like hot tub use. People buy them new, use the for a while and then get tired of them. I bet at least some of these people sell them.* The spa place may even take used saunas on consignment.

*Source: We sold the hot tub our house came with because it turned out we weren't really hot tub people and I was tired of arguing with DH over whose turn it was to maintain it. We sold it back to the spa shop it came from.

[clarkfan1979]

I bought a foreclosure house and there is a home sauna on the deck. It doesn't work. I have owned the house for 2 years and it's still there. I originally thought I might try to fix it. However, I am going to try to sell it on craigslist for $100.

[partgypsy]

When the y was open and I had a membership the routine my daughter and I would have would be: work out on the machines for 15-20 minutes, then swim for 30-40 min, and then after washing off in the shower sit in our towels in the steam room for 5-10 minutes. Daughter would like to stay in longer but while I enjoyed it I don't like feeling overheated. Since I am going through menopause I have my own "sauna" every hour or so (hot flashes). Which has been interesting to me as I have always run "cold".

My ideal would be a hot tub. I love on vacation going swimming (esp if water is cool/cold) and then getting into a hot tub. But not enough to get a hot tub (no room for it anyways).