Would you like to have your own sauna installed in your house?  Put off by the high cost of hiring a contractor?  You can save more than half the cost by installing a kit or prebuilt sauna yourself. Installing a sauna kit or a prebuilt sauna in your home is easier than you may think.  If you have basic tool skills you should be able to handle this job without difficulty.  Prebuilt saunas are much easier than kits - they fit together in a few minutes using just a simple Allen key.

What's the Difference? A sauna kit is a package containing all the precut pieces necessary to build a sauna.  Assembling a kit is usually straightforward and can be accomplished with a few simple tools.  A prebuilt sauna is even easier -- it has already been assembled into two or three large pieces that simply need to be connected together.

One of the nice things to having your own sauna is the relatively little maintenance involved.  It's true that people are sweating heavily in a sauna, and this can cause discoloration over time.  But the high heat of the sauna pretty well guarantees that any moisture buildup will have evaporated by the time the sauna cools down.

Regular sauna maintenance is very similar to maintaining any other room in your house.  Sweeping or vacuuming every couple of days will keep it free from dust and hair, and gentle washing with soap and water will keep the seats and walls looking good.  The one thing to avoid in a sauna are harsh chemical cleaners.  The residues may be released when the sauna is heated causing unpleasant smells or even breathing difficulties.

Taking a sauna is a simple affair without many rules.  It's simply a matter of getting in the sauna and enjoying the sensation. That said, there are a few established procedures that are wise to follow - especially in a public sauna.  Respecting your fellow bathers is always important, and there are basic things you must observe to get the most out of your sauna experience.

If you are using a public sauna you must abide by their regulations.  Some prohibit the use of bathing suits while others require them.  If bathing suits are not allowed and you don't feel comfortable being nude, you can wrap a towel around yourself.  In any case, you should bring a towel into the sauna to sit on.

Nothing could be simpler than a sauna.  After all, it's only heat and water.  No special equipment, no extra gear, and no clothes!  Despite the simplicity, though, there are a few sauna accessories that can make your sauna experience even more enjoyable.

One of the appealing things about saunas is their natural beauty.  The wood lined walls, ceilings and floor are as attractive as they are functional.  When choosing accessories for your sauna try to find objects that will complement this natural beauty.  Wooden accessories fit in very well, as well as other natural materials like copper and cotton.

Saunas On-The-Go  - Taking a Look at Portable Saunas. There is no doubt about the health benefits of saunas.  They are good for the circulation, keep the skin soft and supple, and promote relaxation.  Are there any drawbacks?  Yes!  They are not accessible enough!  To use a sauna you either have to go to a health club or have one installed in your home. There's an alternative, though.  Portable saunas allow you to take a sauna almost anywhere in your home, on business trips, on vacations, even in your office!

Portable saunas come in two basic styles.  The first, which is truly portable, is a folding box-like structure that one person can sit in.  There are also portable saunas that look like traditional saunas they are wood-lined and have doors and benches.  This second type is portable in the sense that a bed is portable you can take it with you when you move, but you wouldn't want to take it on a weekend excursion.

The heart of any sauna is the sauna heater.  Sauna heaters must be specially designed to be able to produce a consistent high temperature.  There are several types of heaters available, but the most common are electric heaters.  Wood-burning heaters are popular in rural areas, and oil and gas heaters are also sometimes used but don't use sauna imediately after eye surgery. The sauna heater has two basic functions -- creating heat and creating steam.  There are stones piled on the heater which retain the heat and also produce steam when water is poured over them.

There is sometimes confusion between the terms 'steam bath' and 'sauna.'  Many people think they refer to the same thing. Not so.  Even though they both are hot baths, a sauna uses dry heat while a steam bath uses moist heat. The sauna has very low humidity. This means it can be much hotter than a steam bath. Saunas are usually between 80°C and 100°C while a steam bath is usually about 40°C.  If the steam bath was any hotter than this it could scald the skin, but the dry heat of the sauna is safe.

Saunas are heated with stones placed on some kind of heater -- usually electric or wood-burning.  From time to time, water is poured on the stones which produce a thick cloud of steam.  This has the effect of raising the temperature in the sauna by several degrees, but the steam quickly dissipates. Steam baths, on the other hand, are heated by a steam generator.  The steam is fed into the almost airtight room where it builds up to create a humidity level of around 100%.