If you own a home sauna — or you're deciding whether one is worth the upkeep before you buy — a sauna takes about five minutes of care after each use, a deeper clean once a week, and a professional check once a year. Nothing about it is complicated, but skipping it is how cedar dulls, hardware corrodes, and heaters fail early.
How Often Should You Clean Your Sauna?
Sauna maintenance runs on three simple cycles: after every session, weekly, and monthly. After each use, wipe down benches and backrests with a towel and let the door stay open to air out and dry. Once a week, wash all wood surfaces with a mild, sauna-safe soap and rinse with a damp cloth — never soak the wood. Once a month, do a deeper inspection: check the floor, vents, door seal, and heater area for any buildup, moisture, or wear.
This routine matters more than any single deep clean. Sweat and moisture left sitting on cedar are what eventually cause discoloration and odor — not the sauna itself.
How to Clean Cedar Sauna Walls and Benches
Cedar is naturally resistant to moisture, mold, and odor, which is part of why Cielo builds with clear cedar — but "resistant" isn't "maintenance-free." To clean cedar surfaces:
Wipe down benches and walls with a soft cloth and warm water after each session.
For a deeper clean, use a pH-neutral, sauna-specific cleaner — never household detergent, which can leave residue that smokes when heated.
Sand any rough or discolored spots lightly with fine-grit sandpaper every 12–24 months to refresh the surface.
Avoid oiling or varnishing the interior wood — sealed wood traps moisture instead of releasing it, which works against how a sauna is designed to breathe.
How to Keep Your Sauna Smelling Fresh
A well-maintained sauna shouldn't smell musty. Most odor problems come down to trapped moisture: leave the door and vents open after each session so the space dries out completely, and run the heater briefly with the door open once a week to help evaporate any residual dampness. If you notice a persistent smell after a thorough clean, check the vents and the space beneath the benches — that's where moisture typically collects unnoticed.
Caring for Your Sauna Heater and Electrical Components
The heater is the one component genuinely worth a professional's attention. For traditional heaters, sauna rocks should be checked every few months and replaced roughly once a year, since cracked or worn rocks affect heat distribution. For infrared saunas, wipe panels with a dry or barely damp cloth only — never spray cleaner directly on the panels. Cielo recommends a professional electrical and heater inspection annually, the same way you'd service any major home system, to confirm connections, ventilation, and safety components are functioning correctly.
Seasonal Maintenance for Outdoor Saunas
Outdoor saunas carry a few extra considerations, especially with a glass roof or glass walls. Before winter, clear leaves and debris from the roof and drainage areas, and check that door seals are intact so heat isn't escaping. Clean glass panels with a standard glass cleaner and a soft cloth — avoid abrasive pads, which can scratch the surface over time. In spring, inspect any exterior wood or aluminum framing for wear after a full season of weather exposure. See the Glass Roof Sauna guide for more on caring for a glass-enclosed build.
What NOT to Use When Cleaning Your Sauna
A few materials do real damage:
These can be absorbed into the wood and release fumes when the sauna heats up.
Too much force on cedar joints and seals can loosen construction over time.
These scratch both wood and glass surfaces.
These seal the wood's surface, which works against a sauna's natural ability to dry out between uses.
Built to need less,
not more, upkeep
Cielo builds every sauna from clear cedar, insulated glass, and aluminum specifically because these materials hold up with minimal upkeep — that's a design decision, not an accident. A sauna that requires constant babying stops being a daily ritual and starts being a project, and that defeats the point.
For clients who'd rather not manage any of the above themselves, Cielo also offers a maintenance program that handles seasonal inspections, heater servicing, and deep cleaning on a set schedule. You can also explore custom builds designed around easier upkeep from the start.
See Cielo's Maintenance Plans
Frequently Asked Questions
You shouldn't reseal or oil the interior wood at all — sauna wood is left untreated on purpose so it can absorb and release moisture naturally. Light sanding every 12–24 months is the only surface refresh it needs.
No. Pressure washers can force water into joints and seals, leading to long-term damage. Stick to a soft cloth, mild soap, and a garden hose on a low setting for exterior surfaces.
It's uncommon if the sauna is dried out properly after each use. Leaving the door and vents open after a session is usually enough to prevent it entirely.
Yes, roughly once a year. Heaters involve electrical components and heat output that are worth a professional check, the same way you'd service a furnace or water heater.
About five minutes after each use, 15–20 minutes for a weekly clean, and an hour or so for a monthly inspection. It's a small, consistent habit rather than a large recurring task.