A new book underway: Finnish Sauna Maintenance and Upgrade Manual
I am happy to announce that I am currently working on a new book project for 2026! The working title is ”Finnish Sauna Maintenance and Upgrade Manual”. This upcoming volume turns the spotlight on a part of sauna ownership that is often overlooked. Once a sauna has been designed and built, the long-term challenge begins: how do you keep it safe, clean, functional, and enjoyable year after year?
For those who have followed my previous book projects: thank you! The response to the first two volumes has been genuinely humbling, and it has made writing the third related-volume feel both exciting and a little intimidating.
I feel that the ”Finnish Sauna Maintenance and Upgrade Manual 2026” is the next book in the series, and it takes things in a slightly different direction. Where the earlier volumes focused on the design and building of a sauna, this one picks up at the point where the previous ones concluded: after the sauna is built and the real ownership begins.
My goal is to create a short and sweet hands-on manual that helps sauna owners and operators take better care of what they already have, make informed maintenance decisions, and extend the useful life of their saunas in a sensible way.
This is going to be a clearly shorter and more hands-on than my previous volumes. This means in practice around 100 pages and around a $20 price tag for the paper back print.
One part of the book I’m especially looking forward to sharing is the material drawn from interviews with numerous Finnish sauna professionals. There is a lot of practical knowledge in Finland that simply hasn’t made it into print in any language, and this feels like the right place to share it.
Gettings your hands dirty to keep the sauna clean
The book is planned as a practical guide to the full lifecycle of sauna upkeep. It will cover the basics of what a Finnish sauna is from a maintenance point of view, explaining which parts require regular attention. It will also introduce different cycles of upkeep, from daily care and post-use drying to routine checks, and larger repair or renewal tasks, as well as considerations for when it makes sense to do the work yourself versus calling in a professional.
A substantial part of the book focuses on cleaning and inspection. This includes daily and periodic cleaning procedures, detergents and tools, and the different requirements of private and public saunas. There will also be guidance on inspecting numerous items that need attention at the time.
To make the material more relevant in practice, I will create example maintenance schedules for both home saunas and professional facilities.
Special sauna care items
One major topic in the book is the sauna heater. The manual will cover heater inspection, stone replacement for both electric and wood-burning heaters, and heater renewal considerations. In addition, the book will examine common performance problems, such as saunas that heat too slowly, cool down under heavy use, or fail to produce consistent löyly (steam).
I also plan to cover bench preservation, paraffin oil treatment and sanding, as well as considering the final stages of a sauna’s life. One chapter will explore current heater options and replacement choices, including notable models (electric and wood-burning) available on the North American market!
The project is still in development, but the work is already underway. If you have questions, experiences, or topics you think deserve a place in the book, I’m always glad to hear them. Send me an email or comment on this post.
The featured image was created using several AI tools and Photoshop, AI still doesn’t really get saunas…
My intention is to get the book available for purchase during the latter part of 2026;
with a bit of luck, this might just happen!
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