Heating a Salt Room – What Is a Salt Room and What Is It For?

Author: Tóth Tamás · 4 min read

How can a salt room be heated so that the salt itself is warm? Heating film as underfloor heating under the salt, the thermostat protected from the salt vapour – with the experience and photos of a Budapest salt cabin owner.

A well-proven solution for heating a salt room is heating film built in under the salt as underfloor heating: this way not only the air of the room but the salt itself becomes warm, and the thermostat is placed outside the room, protected from the salt vapour. Below, using the example of a Budapest salt cabin, we show why the owner chose this after an air conditioner and an electric radiator did not work out.

What is a salt room?

A salt room is a room where the floor, and often the walls too, are covered with salt, and fine salt particles get into the air. Many people look in it for the experience of sea air: they come here to rest and relax, and the furnishing – comfortable chairs, subdued lighting – serves this too. Several salt rooms also have a children's corner, a salt sandpit and toys, so the family can spend time there together.

It is not for us to comment on the health effects attributed to salt therapy: if someone is looking for it because of a health complaint, it is worth consulting their doctor. We deal with the heating of the room – and in a salt room this is a special task.

Why is a salt room difficult to heat?

A salt room also needs a pleasant temperature, since visitors sit and rest in it for a longer time. Salt and salt vapour, however, strain equipment, and a thick layer of salt on the floor warms through slowly if the heat comes only from the air. It is therefore not enough to heat the air: it is best if the heat comes from below and warms the salt itself.

The solution: heating film as underfloor heating under the salt

With infrared heating a pleasant temperature of around 20–22 degrees Celsius can be held in a salt room too. In the salt room we installed, the heating film went under the salt as underfloor heating, so the warmth comes from the floor and the salt. Installation was relatively simple, and the thermostat was not placed in the room because of the salt vapour.

When the article was published in 2021 we built in 3rd-generation heating film; today we install 4th-generation heating film.

The owner's experience

Ildikó Barabás, owner of the Albertfalvi Sókunyhó (salt cabin), summarised how they arrived at heating film:

"We tried many kinds of heating. The first was an air conditioner, which broke down within 1 year. Then came an electric radiator. It heated the room well, but the salt stayed cold. The electricity bill was sky-high. We thought a lot about what the best solution would be. Then my ex-husband came and said that maybe we should heat the salt on the ground. I looked into the options, and that is how I found heating film. I enquired by phone whether this could work, because there is nothing like it anywhere.

The lady on the other end of the phone was very kind and said yes, this could work. There was a chance to try it. It really worked. The only task left to solve was that the thermostat should not be inside because of the salt vapour, so that it would not be ruined too. This could also be done. Since then it has been done, and I can say I have not regretted it. The salt is warm, and the room is warm too. The chance of failure is small, because the salt does not touch it."

What is worth remembering from this?

Where there is a thick layer on the floor (such as salt), heating under the floor warms the layer through, not just the air.
In a room exposed to moisture or salt load, it is worth putting the thermostat and the controls in a protected place, outside the room.
Heating film built under the covering is not touched by the salt, so it is not exposed to the salt vapour.
For an unusual room, it is worth trying the solution first – for this salt cabin there was also an opportunity for this.

If you are planning to heat a salt room or another special room, contact us: based on the characteristics of the site we will propose a layer structure and controls. We also wrote about a similar special design in our article on the infrared sauna. Installation is available in Hungary.