How to Clean and Maintain a Home Sauna
Most home sauna care is simple: wipe down benches after use, keep the room dry and ventilated, and follow your manufacturer's manual for cleaning products, wood treatment and heater care.
Every step below is quoted from a sauna maker. Your own manual comes first.
After every session
- Finnleo, for traditional saunas: "Lightly scrub your sauna after each use. The simplest method of sauna maintenance is to keep a hand brush in the sauna. The last person out dips the brush in the water bucket (plain water), and does a quick scrubbing of the benches, walls, backrests, etc."
- Clearlight, for infrared saunas, after every use: "Wipe down the interior with a damp cloth" and "Leave the door slightly open to air out."
Weekly or monthly checklist
Intervals differ by maker, so go by your manual. The makers we checked give these:
| How often | What the maker says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Every two weeks (infrared) | "Perform a more thorough cleaning using a sauna-specific cleaning solution" | Clearlight |
| About once a year (benches) | "you can lightly sand your benches about once per year" | Finnleo |
| Every year (stones) | "You should re-stack your sauna stones every year." | Harvia |
Sources checked 2026-10-17.
Benches, floors and wood
- Finnleo: "If you get any dirt or sweat stains developing, use a hand brush and warm water with a mild detergent in it."
- Finnleo: "Do not paint, varnish, or stain the interior surfaces of your sauna. The wood needs to breathe (absorb and slowly release heat and humidity)."
- Harvia: "Carefully dry the sauna by heating it for at least 30 minutes. Once the benches are clean and dry, they should be treated with a protective coat of paraffin oil."
- Finnleo, on mold: "If you have mold develop anywhere (on duckboards, for example), you can clean with warm water and bleach."
Finnleo says not to varnish or stain, and Harvia suggests paraffin oil on benches. These are different products, so follow the manual for your own sauna.
Infrared panels and controls
Clearlight: "Mahogany and basswood can be lightly sanded inside the sauna to remove stubborn perspiration stains." For the panels and controls themselves, follow your cabin's manual. We found no maker cleaning steps for panels to quote.
Heater and stones
- Harvia: "Check the condition of the stones by tapping two stones against each other, if the stones crumble or are yellowed, it's time to replace them with new ones."
- Harvia says limescale on the heater "can be easily removed with a mixture of water and vinegar or citric acid powder."
- For wood-burning heaters, Harvia says: "If the sauna doesn't heat up properly, it often means that the heat is escaping from some part of the wood burning heater. This poses a safety risk, so we recommend replacing it with a new one."
Need new stones or a bucket? See sauna stones and accessories.
Portable tents and steamers
Follow the tent and steamer manual for draining, drying and cleaning. We found no maker cleaning steps for tents to quote, so we don't give our own.
FAQ
How often should you clean a home sauna?
Follow your manual. Finnleo suggests a light scrub after each use, and Clearlight suggests a wipe-down after every use with a more thorough clean every two weeks.
How do you clean an infrared sauna?
Clearlight says to wipe the interior with a damp cloth after every use, leave the door slightly open to air out, and do a more thorough clean every two weeks with a sauna-specific cleaning solution. Follow your own manual.
How do you clean sauna benches?
Finnleo suggests a hand brush and plain water after each use, and warm water with a mild detergent for stains. Harvia suggests treating clean, dry benches with paraffin oil. Follow your manual.
How often should sauna stones be replaced?
Follow your heater manual. Harvia says to re-stack stones every year and to replace them if they crumble or are yellowed.
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