Bringing Your Saunas and Steam Rooms Back to Life

By Larry Einbinder / Published July 2017

“We don’t use them anymore.” “They smell!” “It’s never working.” “Only a couple people use them.” “We use them for storage.” “Everything is dark and sweat-stained.” “Floors, walls, and benches are cracked and look terrible.” “It’s never been kept up.”

These are just a few of the comments we hear from management and users when we visit customers seeking our help. The rooms have been allowed to decline to the point where they do not function as intended or are unpleasant to be in. This can all be eliminated with proper attention and maintenance. For saunas, frequently monitor the electrical functionality of the controls, heaters, lighting, and sensors. The rooms should be examined for the structural integrity of the wood and sanded and cleaned frequently. Steam rooms should be monitored for calcium and other irregularities in the rooms. The

boiler/generators should be descaled quarterly, and all the electric equipment, filtration, drainage, and clock settings should be maintained. The rooms should be treated like an air conditioner and treated regularly or they will fail, malfunction, and shorten their useful life. The Sauna & Steam Center offers preventative maintenance agreements to help.

Sauna and Steam Benefits

There has not been enough education on the benefits of regular therapeutic sessions. These sessions lead to better health, lifestyle, and a host of other positive benefits. These benefits include muscle rejuvenation, detoxification, improved skin quality, better blood circulation to the heart and brain, improved sleep, weight loss, relaxation, etc. Many Europeans understand that multiple shorter sessions—around 20 minutes (called innings)—are more effective for cleaning your system of free radicals and toxins. These participants are healthier and have fewer colds. Many cancer doctors have their patients adopt a sauna program (infrared or traditional) to help combat their diseases. The doctors recommend using a sauna to purge toxins in the body before replenishing the cells with a healthy liquid. As recently as December 2016, an article was released by the North American Sauna Society showing a huge reduction in alzheimer’s disease and dementia for frequent sauna users. This article is available by contacting info@flhottub.com.

Safety and Health

Management should recognize the importance of keeping the common areas safe and healthy for their users. Bacteria form in these rooms, and there are many stories of fires and other issues that can be avoided in advance. Potential problem areas to focus on are dirty benches, bacteria, protruding staples and nails, broken or cracked floor boards, splintering wood, exposed electrical wires, loose wood ceilings and walls, odors, outdated or jerry-rigged equipment, incompatible controls, temperature sensors mounted in the wrong place causing over-heating, lack of venting and circulation, filthy grout, lack of waterproofing, excess calcium deposited for people to breathe, loose tiles that can fall, and more.

Preventive Maintenance Agreements (PMA) and Budgeting

As previously stated, just like an air conditioning contract, saunas and steam rooms should be accompanied by PMAs (preventive maintenance agreements) to reduce liability, keep everyone safe, limit downtime, and optimize the investment made in equipment. We also want to be proactive to prevent potential leaks due to missing or incorrect waterproofing. Frequently units can fail in as few as three years or have useful lives as long as 15 years. Managers want to prevent the issues of downtime. The water quality is terrible in Florida and creates problems that must be addressed, from clogged pipes and drains to, in the worst case, having to break down walls to fix lines. The Sauna & Steam Center has programs to meet all your needs, and there are a large number of services we perform on the equipment to help. We help with design and provide turnkey builds of sauna and steam rooms from raw studs. Our complimentary review will help us evaluate the current situation and create a path to “bringing your saunas and steam rooms back to life!”

Damage by Users

As a manager, you should be aware of the things people do that is harmful to the equipment. This is frequently done by people who want to manipulate the equipment into doing something it wasn’t designed to do or by having the wrong equipment in place. Wrapping temp sensors with cold water to influence the heater, pouring excessive amounts of water (a ladle or two is recommended), introducing liquids other than water on the rocks, and breaking controls are just some of the things to be watchful of.

New Technology

The sauna and steam industries have evolved and continue to improve technology. This includes custom infrared-only rooms, infrared and traditional (rocks) combinations, new designer heaters—some with water reservoirs for more heat, heaters with

cascading vertical rocks, special lighting (including chroma), aromatherapy, and new controls. We can help you choose the right equipment that is appropriate for your use.

Practical Solutions

The Sauna & Steam Center offers consultation and design services to outline a solution including all features and ADA compliance. We also do complimentary assessments and work with you to develop a solution for you that meets your needs.

Increasing Utilization

Introducing a new sauna and steam room or refurbishing an existing facility will increase the use of these amenities. In today’s world of health and fitness, educating the users on the benefits will certainly bring them in for their daily sessions. For some institutions, having a sauna and steam room is part of the corporate documents. It is there for the benefit of the community, to enhance the user’s home experience and increase his property value. If you have an amenity that provides you with a great-smelling environment and looks good, works when you go, and gives you tremendous benefit, you will be enhancing everyone’s experience and gaining praise for making it happen.

Larry Einbinder

President of the Sauna and Steam Center

The Sauna and Steam Center (D/B/A Florida Hot Tub & Sauna Center Inc has been servicing the Florida and extended marketplace since 2005. We are widely known for our quality materials and workmanship, service, support, and professionalism. We are rated A+ by the Better Business Bureau and have been since Inception. The Sauna and Steam Center was founded by Larry Einbinder who had an extensive business career in public accounting, executive corporate sales, and management. For more information, visit saunasteamcenter.com or call (954) 744-5395.