So, my sauna decided to just stop working. Real pain, you know? Middle of winter, and the one thing I look forward to just gives up on me. Wasn’t heating up at all. First thing, I’m thinking, “Great, this is gonna cost a fortune to fix.” You know how it is with these things; call someone out, and your wallet’s empty before they even open their toolbox.
Figuring It Out
I wasn’t about to let that happen without a fight. So, I put on my thinking cap. What’s usually the problem when things don’t heat up? Power, right? Checked the breaker. Flipped it off and on. Nothing. Still dead as a doornail. Okay, so it wasn’t the easy fix. Typical.
Then I thought, maybe it’s the thermostat or the heater itself. Had to get in there. First, safety first, turned off all the power at the main switch. Don’t want any shocking surprises, literally. I opened up the panel where the heater unit is. Looked like a bunch of wires and bits I didn’t recognize at first. But I took a deep breath and started looking closely.
I wiggled some wires, checked connections. Some looked a bit loose, to be honest. Tightened those up. Then I looked at the heating elements. They looked okay, no obvious breaks or burns. The thermostat was next. Gave its connections a once-over too.
The Dirty Work and a Bit of Cleaning
While I was in there, I noticed the whole thing was a bit grubby. Not just the mechanical parts, but the wood around it too. It reminded me of something I read ages ago, about keeping these things clean. You know, you gotta scrub and remove dirt or sweat stains. So, I figured, while I’m at it, might as well do some of that.
I grabbed a damp cloth, not too wet, mind you. Don’t want to soak the wood. Wiped down the inside of the heater compartment best I could. Then I decided to give the benches a quick clean too. It’s important, they say, to start cleaning the wood and the sauna areas properly. Using a damp cloth or a sponge, get all that grime off. It just makes the whole experience better, and probably helps the sauna last longer too, I guess.
- Checked power supply (breaker).
- Opened heater panel (power OFF!).
- Inspected wiring – found some loose ones.
- Checked heating elements.
- Looked at the thermostat.
- Cleaned around the heater and the benches.
The Moment of Truth
After tightening those wires and giving things a bit of a clean, I put the panel back on. Kind of holding my breath, you know? Went back to the main switch, flipped the power on. Then I went to the sauna controls and turned it on. Waited a few minutes. Nothing. My heart sank. Thought I’d have to call the pros after all.
But then, I remembered one more thing. Sometimes these things have an over-temperature reset button, hidden away. I’d seen a little red button earlier near the thermostat wiring but didn’t think much of it. So, power off again, panel off again. Found that little button and gave it a firm push. Click! It actually clicked!
Put everything back together, power on again, sauna controls on… and this time, I started to feel a bit of warmth! Waited a bit longer, and yes! It was heating up! Can you believe it? All that fuss, and it was probably just a loose wire or that reset button needing a poke. Maybe the cleaning helped too, who knows, made me feel better anyway.
All Better Now
So yeah, sauna’s back in action. Saved myself a repair bill, and honestly, feels good to fix something yourself. It wasn’t rocket science, just took a bit of patience and going step-by-step. And a bit of cleaning, which probably needed doing anyway. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I think a hot sauna session is well deserved.