SaunaCentral is an independent UK authority on saunas. We don’t sell saunas. The way we make money is published openly on this page. The way we work editorially is published openly too.
Who we are
SaunaCentral.co.uk is owned and operated in the United Kingdom. Our editorial team is led by Matt Tomkin, a UK-based content director with twelve years of experience publishing independent buyer-focused content across the home and garden category. Our writers are briefed against the standards on this page and edited against the same standards before publication.
How we make money
SaunaCentral has three revenue streams. We disclose all three so you can read every recommendation with the right context.
- Builder directory tier upgrades. The UK builder directory is free to list on. Builders can pay for a featured or premium tier that raises their visibility within the directory. Paying for a tier upgrade does not influence whether a builder appears at all — every published builder has been reviewed against our basic standards — and no tier upgrade influences any article on the site.
- Affiliate commissions. Some product links on this site are tracked affiliate links — if you click and buy, we earn a small commission at no cost to you. We never link to a product solely because the commission is higher. See our Affiliate Disclosure for the detail.
- Sponsored content. We don’t currently accept sponsored articles. If that ever changes, sponsored content will be clearly labelled at the top of the article and excluded from category and roundup recommendations.
How we research and write
Every article is produced against a brief that names the primary audience, the question being answered, and the standards of evidence we’ll use. Articles are drafted by our editorial team with the assistance of AI tools to speed up research synthesis and first-draft writing. Every published article is read and edited by a named human editor before it goes live, and we don’t publish an article we wouldn’t be willing to defend in conversation with the reader.
Health claims
For any claim about the effects of sauna use on health, we cite at least one of: the NHS, a peer-reviewed paper indexed on PubMed, or a position statement from a recognised UK or international medical body. Where evidence is mixed or limited, we say so plainly. Where a claim is common in marketing but unsupported (detox claims, weight loss as a primary benefit), we say so. We are confident on the cardiovascular evidence, properly cautious on most of the rest.
Product recommendations
Our reviews and buying guides recommend products on the basis of: published technical specifications, warranty terms, the reputation of the manufacturer and the UK importer, hands-on testing where we have access to the unit, and feedback from named UK builders and owners. We declare any affiliate relationship inline on every product recommendation.
Installation and planning advice
UK-specific advice — planning permission, electrical regulations, building control — is reviewed against the current published guidance from the relevant authority (Planning Portal, IET, local authority). When regulations change, we update the article and note the date of the latest review at the foot of the page.
Independence from builders and brands
No builder, manufacturer, or affiliate partner sees an article before publication. We do not let brands pay for placement in roundup articles, and we don’t accept “exclusive deals” in exchange for top placement. If a builder we list in the directory is mentioned in an article, that’s because of editorial judgement, not their tier.
Corrections and updates
If you spot a factual error, please tell us. We correct errors prominently and openly: substantive corrections include a dated correction notice at the foot of the article. Material updates (changed regulations, replaced product recommendations) are noted with a “last reviewed” date.
Use of AI tools
We use AI tools (including large language models) to assist with research synthesis, outlining, first-draft writing, and copy-editing. Every published article is reviewed and edited by a named human before it goes live. No article on this site is published purely from AI output without human review. We don’t think this is unusual practice for a modern publisher — we just think it’s worth being open about.
Reader feedback
If you disagree with a recommendation, think we’ve missed an angle, or have a question we should answer in a future article, please get in touch. We read everything and we update articles in response to good challenges.