The Ultimate Infrared Sauna Buying Guide: What You Absolutely Must Know.

Holy Cow, there are a lot of infrared sauna companies out there.  How do you find a great deal?  All these pictures look the same, how am I supposed to tell the difference?  If they all look the same, can I just buy from anyone?  How do I know which companies are reputable?  There is soooo much information out there, what should I believe?

In the following article, I will attempt to cover the most important aspects of your sauna purchase and I will start with the one topic that every other online buying guide fails to cover.

Shipping

One of the most important parts of your purchase is often overlooked by most buyers.  How is your sauna shipped?  How are you going to receive it?

Does the company you are buying from provide Lift gate Service?  If they don’t, it is common that damage can occur during delivery.  The reason, if the truck is not equipped with a lift gate then the palletized sauna must be broken down and slid off the back of the truck.  Often these boxes can be dropped and damage will occur.

Does the company you are buying from palletize their sauna?  Newer companies that don’t sell many saunas don’t have much experience in palletizing the sauna so that your sauna is not damaged during freight shipping.  When done properly the pallet is designed to be picked up with a forklift in such a way that eliminates forklift holes in your sauna.  It’s a big deal to get a 500 lbs sauna returned once it has been damaged, then it must be replaced and it can take weeks with an inexperienced distributor.

Is the sauna stacked or standing on edge?  Stacked sauna boxes cause pressure damage to the sauna and without proper labeling, the freight carrier will often stack other shipments on top of your sauna when palletized in this manner.  Creating another opportunity for a damaged sauna to arrive.  When the sauna is properly palletized then all boxes are standing on edge side by side, shrink-wrapped together then strapped to a pallet with specific do not stack instructions.  The uneven surface from the positioning of the boxes on edge prevents stacking by freight carriers while in transit.  NOTATING the delivery receipt with any packaging damage or wear and tear prior to signing your delivery receipt protects your investment.

What happens when you open the boxes and find hidden damage?  Most Infrared sauna companies do not help their customers protect their investment from hidden freight damage.  Notating the condition of your sauna on the delivery receipt will give you 48 hours to inspect the contents of the boxes and report it back to your freight carrier.

What infrared sauna companies don’t tell you can cost you!  If you simply sign your delivery receipt and you find damage inside the boxes, without notes about the packaging the freight carrier can argue that you broke it.  Most people don’t realize that they are signing a contract when signing their delivery receipt.  That signature without notes on the packaging you are saying to the freight carrier that you have received your sauna in good working order and there is a possibility that the freight company won’t accept responsibility if you signed off on the delivery receipt.  Be sure to inspect the packaging thoroughly, remove the plastic wrap that can disguise damage, make the driver wait so you can properly describe the condition of your delivery on the delivery receipt before you sign. If the boxes or the pallet appears damaged.  Write “Broken Pallet”.  

If you know that your sauna is severely damaged “Refuse”  the sauna.  At CelebrationSaunas.com we will immediately issue a new shipment within 24 hours.  In many cases, we can ship it out the same day.  We want you to receive the new sauna you purchased as expected, Unharmed.

Well, let’s say you forgot to notate the condition of the sauna on the delivery receipt and you open the boxes and out pops a broken panel.  How will your sauna company handle the situation?  Are they willing or able to replace the pieces that are damaged?  Smaller companies will balk if you ask for a replacement panel.  It can take months to get that replacement and smaller companies will delay, delay, delay due to the cost of replacing sauna pieces.  If they would rather pay you to accept a broken sauna than replace the broken pieces, you know you aren’t dealing with a company able to deal with the cost of doing business.

Inventory: How do you know you are working with a reputable and experienced company?  Ask them about inventory.  There are approximately 40 saunas in a container.  If you are working with a dealer who only has 40-80 saunas in inventory you can bet they don’t have the means to replace a damaged sauna.  How are you protected?  If you must wait more than 21 days for your sauna, don’t walk, Run!  Many upstart home sauna companies often don’t have the capital to fill the demand for orders and will wait for enough orders to come in to purchase a container of saunas.  These companies will often have their customers waiting months for delivery and if the sauna were to be damaged, they have limited resources to protect you their customer.

At celebration saunas, we get 4-8 containers each week, every month of the year.  We have 3000 saunas in inventory at any one time, the largest sauna inventory in the USA.

Why is there such a wide range in pricing?   Price comes down to a number of things. Buying Power, He who buys the most saunas gets the best pricing.  Streamlined business plan-  if a company hasn’t planned to grow they will fail to keep up with the growing demand and as such, they will have to hire more people to service an inefficient business process.  We have fewer employees and in some cases 10 times the volume of our closest competitors. See for more of our infrared sauna benefits.

What kind of heaters are best?  Without a doubt, the best-infrared heater type is the biophoton nano-carbon technology. A common question about infrared sauna dangers and EMF. View our post on the topic to put that to rest. These are the flexible carbon heating panels used industry-wide (even by our more expensive competitors).  In production since 2010, these flexible carbon heating panels are the safest, most durable and long lasting heater available on the market.  With a lifespan of approximately 50 years, these heaters are developed to match the human body’s output of far infrared light in the form of body heat at 9.4 microns.  You are getting a quality product if the output of far infrared light emission is greater than 85%, narrowed to 9.4 microns.  We are manufacturing body heat, so it makes sense that your body will absorb as much as it needs when its own resonant frequency of 9.4 microns is matched precisely.  Want to know about sauna EMF levels?  Click Here

What kind of wood is the best in sauna construction?

The most commonly used wood in infrared sauna construction today is hemlock.  Hemlock is the preferred choice for reputable brands.  Not only a beautiful furniture wood that yields smooth contoured lines and edges.  Hemlock also naturally prevents mold, mildew, and bacteria. Hemlock t is a very stable wood with properties that accommodate expansion and contraction preventing cracking, bending, bowing, and splintering.  One of the reason Celebration Saunas has so many styles is the high-quality wood we use in construction.  Another important aspect of wood choice is the drying process used to cure the wood.  All Celebration corner saunas are kiln dried to not only protect the wood from bending bowing, cracking and, twisting but the detoxification that occurs from the kiln drying process prevents wood oils and resins from outgassing during sauna use.  As such, even our Cedar saunas do not have that Cedar Chest fragrance because we have burned away these resins in the drying process.

The main thing when purchasing a new infrared sauna is to confirm that the sauna wood is solid has been kiln dried and does not outgas.  There should never be any use of particle board or chemical products used in the curing of the wood or construction of the sauna.  The major dangers are the outgassing of toxic chemicals and the long-term effects of heating and cooling the wood will be less durable and susceptible to breakage, bowing and splintering.   Your safety is of the utmost importance, you are likely buying a sauna to improve your health, make sure you aren’t being exposed to harmful outgassing toxins, it defeats the purpose of getting a sauna in the first place.

Assembly systems.  There only a few different types of assemblies in the marketplace.  Buckles, locking system, magnetic systems and bolt and anchor systems.  Each of these assemblies will hold your sauna together, none will fall apart as many buyers guides will warn.  They each have their benefits and drawbacks.

Let’s start with the buckle assemblies, these assemblies are often chosen for their simplicity.  Buckles allow for a perfect assembly every time without tools.  Some critique the aesthetics of the buckles others like the character.  One thing is for sure the buckle assembly is the easiest to both build and breakdown.  The locking assembly system is similar to high-quality patio furniture that clicks into place leaving a seamless and perfectly aligned fit.    Locking assemblies also do not require tools and typically incorporate a buckle system at the rear of the sauna.  The locking assembly really offers the best alignment for a clean, sleek look.  Celebration Saunas uses both the buckle assembly or the locking assembly in all our sauna models.

Magnetic assembly systems.  Celebration Saunas does not use or recommend this assembly because the strong magnets can interfere with the output of Pacemakers and Defibrillators.  The risk is simply too high.  Many people who purchase a sauna are looking to improve their heart health.  If you are predisposed to a heart condition this style assembly makes it suitable for the short run.  In reality, your sauna should last a lifetime, so choose the sauna that you will be able to use, be comfortable in and love looking at for the rest of your life.

Bolt & Anchor Assembly Systems:  Well you better be pretty good with your tools and your alignment skills. This bolt system requires that each screw on each wall must have equal pressure in order for the sauna to align properly.  Although like most saunas, the assembly takes minutes whereas these screws take forever to be properly aligned.  My biggest pet peeve besides circling the sauna to loosen and tighten screws for a perfect fit.  On my trip to each individual screw, I ended up scratching the wood a bit on the outside of the screw.  Ahh, I scratched a brand new sauna.  How ya gonna fix that?

Warranty – Bottom line, does your sauna dealer stand behind their product?  Celebration Saunas offers a lifetime warranty on all the electronic components of the sauna by providing free replacement parts and free shipping on said parts for as LONG as you own the sauna.  The warranty is a reminder of the quality you get.  With more than 12,000 saunas shipped each year, we have perfected this technology. Our saunas don’t just break or go out of commission they are designed to last 50 years.  We would be crazy to offer a lifetime warranty if that weren’t the case.

If there is a question I failed to answer for you above, please give us a call 855-728-6248 x2 to speak with a sauna expert to address your specific concerns.

In Good Health,

Katie DeCicco
CEO

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