Can You Take Your Phone in The Sauna?

Nowadays, it seems people don’t go anywhere without their phones; whether it is bathrooms we’re talking about, or basically any other, appropriate or inappropriate place, phones are there with us. However, we’ve come to witness an even stranger occurrence lately; people bringing their phones to saunas. Sauna, a place known as one of the most relaxing ways to rejuvenate and destress has now become a place not so relaxing and destressing as it once was. Everybody seems to be incapable of sitting in silence, not doing anything for 15 to 20 minutes. Therefore, the question is, can you really take your phone in the sauna, or is that just something people do without even considering the consequences? Well, the short answer is; yes, you can bring your phone to the sauna, but you definitely shouldn’t. For the long answer, we’ve taken a closer look at this as of recently frequent question.

Yes, You Can!

Let’s start with the obvious answer; of course, you can take your phone with you in the sauna; after all, it is your phone. However, some saunas have a rule that people who are taking their phone with them are not allowed to record anything or anyone within the actual sauna. So, as long as you’re not taking pictures or filming, you should be fine. Other than this, you’re pretty much allowed to use your phone as much as you want. However, there is an underlying question of whether you should be using your phone in a sauna; especially a public one. Your time in the sauna should be the time to relax and let your body recover from the hectic, modern life and world. Should you be trading those 20 minutes of peace for 20 minutes of stress in a very hot room; probably not. Not to mention that you shouldn’t bring the phone in the sauna out of courtesy for those who are sharing the sauna with you. Even though you won’t be allowed to record or take pictures, people will still feel uncomfortable around you, which could make it difficult for them to relax and enjoy.

But, Your Phone Won’t Like It!

Before you decide to take your phone in the sauna, make sure you realize what is it that you’re exposing the phone to, and also look into other people’s experience and advice. First of all, the temperature in the sauna is really high, usually between 70°C and 100°C (150°F and 212°F). These temperatures can easily cause overheating of your phone, in the first 5 minutes even. Hot air and steam can easily find its way into your phone and in turn damage the phone’s electronics for good. The maximum operating temperature of phones is usually 95° Fahrenheit or 35° Celsius. Therefore, the extreme heat in the sauna can warp and/or melt the phone’s internal workings, not to mention that SIM and SD cards can also be destroyed. The heat will also reduce your battery life, or in the worst-case scenario, your battery could explode, or if something short circuits you could lose all of your data.

Some people might argue that the phone doesn’t handle wet saunas very well.  This might be a reasonable argument because dry saunas do have low humidity and lower temperatures. However, because the temperature in the dry sauna can lower, the levels of humidity increase, essentially reaching 100%. Furthermore, it is important to mention the IPX certification or certification regarding the phone’s water resistance. There is no official IPX certification that covers testing methods regarding humidity. Nonetheless, the IPX certification is a globally accepted water resistance standard that, in this case, does apply to the conditions implied by exposing the phone to humidity levels of a sauna. However, if the phone is not IPX certified, the exposure to a high percentage of humidity can be extremely damaging to the phone. Furthermore, no warranty covers the damage caused by such use of the phone, nor any type of damaged caused by exposure to water, even if the device is IPX certified. So, next time you decide to bring your phone to the sauna, make sure to remember this.

It’s Up to You!

If you’re willing to risk your phone, and other people’s comfort zone in the sauna so you could stay online for 20 minutes, then, feel free to bring the phone with you. There might be some ways you can try to protect your phone while in the sauna. For example, you could put it in a plastic bag or plastic covers, which might not work as good as one would expect. You could also try putting the phone on the floor of the sauna since there is a substantial difference in the temperature from the floor to the ceiling. By placing the phone at the door, you might also be reducing the damage risk to the lowest, as the door area is the coolest place in the sauna.

However, it is definitely not recommended to actually bring the phone to the sauna. As mentioned above, it can turn your phone into a piece of useless metal and plastic. Instead, what you can do is turn off your phone and leave it in the locker. For those 20 minutes in the sauna, you can simply try to relax and enjoy the time without a device in your hand. You can use this time to focus on your thoughts, or clear your mind; either way, a sauna is not the place to scroll down Instagram and Facebook, as this ruins completely the meditative and relaxing experience. Then again, it is entirely up to you; if your priorities are set in such a way that a phone is indispensable for your life, then feel free to also bring it to the sauna. But, be careful as you might have to buy a new one after the 20 minutes are up.