Your sauna door should ALWAYS open out
Sauna doors should always swing out — so you ONLY need a handle on the outside. It’s a safety measure to ensure sauna bathers could easily exit. If you overheat, you can quickly rush for the cold plunge too.
The door opening out also gives you more options when designing your sauna layout; ie, where to place your sauna heater and sauna benches. Also, if your sauna door opens out, it will protect sauna bathers already inside the sauna. Your sauna door can swing to the left or to the right depending on your sauna approach.
Typically, the only reasons to choose one swing over another is …
- If you’re left-handed or right-handed, then you have a clear preference
- You want your light switch or controls toward the open side
- How you approach the sauna or best line of traffic makes it more convenient
- When the sauna heater’s controls are built into the heater housing and especially in small saunas, you must stoop down to reach the controls, so you want the open side of the door toward the heater. Then you can easily keep the door open with your back side.