# Steam room etiquette - nudity acceptable? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 12, 2011, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steam-room-etiquette-nudity-acceptable/574399 "2011-03-12T10:12:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Cyberhwk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7993a0/32.png) [@Cyberhwk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyberhwk)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steam-room-etiquette-nudity-acceptable/574399/21 "2011-03-13T00:06:26Z")
> [@barbitu8](#): > > I now belong to Gold’s Gym, and they have the same requirement. There’s always someone who believes he is above the rules and sits in the sauna naked. Where’s the sauna? We have one at mine but it’s co-ed and out in the pool area. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steam-room-etiquette-nudity-acceptable/574399/22 "2011-03-13T00:30:27Z")
I just don’t understand what the point of putting a steam room/sauna/whirlpool in the lockerroom if a swimsuit is required. Why not just put in a shared area make it coed then? Anyway wearing a swimsuit in any of those isn’t very hygienic. I also don’t understand why anyone would be offended by nudity in a single-sex lockerroom; if it bothers them that much then those people just should just not go into one. ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 9:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steam-room-etiquette-nudity-acceptable/574399/23 "2011-03-13T09:38:36Z")
> [@Cyberhwk](#): > > Where’s the sauna? We have one at mine but it’s co-ed and out in the pool area. Since you live about 3,000 miles from me, I doubt if you would want to join my Gold’s Gym in James Island, SC. It used to be a small facility, but a few years ago, it moved into a former K-Mart and is quite huge now. It has four different circuits, with different types of equipment, but each targeting all the muscle groups. It also has a free weight room and a good selection of aerobic equipment (treadmills, exercise bikes, ellipses, etc.). The Wellness Center, where I used to belong, cost twice as much. It also has a swimming pool, racket/hand ball courts, outside tennis courts with a running track on the roof, and a steam room. The aerobic equiment also has individual TV sets. I do miss some of those features. But it had only one circuit, so you had to jump around if you didn’t want to wait. My Gold’s Gym also has a room where movies are shown, but it is dark so you cannot read what you are doing on the bike. The bikes also make a lot of noise, so you have to read the sub-titles on the movies. As I said, the Gold’s Gym cost only half the price (with my senior citizen discount) and is only two miles from where I live. ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steam-room-etiquette-nudity-acceptable/574399/24 "2011-03-13T13:21:55Z")
Thanks for all the responses. I believe all of the rule ignorers like myself would sit on and pretty much cover with a towel. Now I just need to decide whether it makes more sense to let things blow over and go back to ignoring it… or to start squeeking and risk having it be enforced longer and even more strictly. ---
**Author:** ![manila](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e5b9ba/32.png) [@manila](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manila)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steam-room-etiquette-nudity-acceptable/574399/25 "2011-03-13T14:25:05Z")
yap, sit on your towel to avoid the hot rivets or screws and flick it over your lap if you think someone is checking out your junk. Wearing a swimsuit in a steam room or sauna seems ridiculous to me. Anyway sitting in temperatures that high pretty much kills any libido whether its a mixed sauna or single sex gig ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steam-room-etiquette-nudity-acceptable/574399/26 "2011-03-13T19:09:28Z")
> [@manila](#): > > yap, sit on your towel to avoid the hot rivets or screws and flick it over your lap if you think someone is checking out your junk. > > Wearing a swimsuit in a steam room or sauna seems ridiculous to me. Anyway sitting in temperatures that high pretty much kills any libido whether its a mixed sauna or single sex gig I think many still can get hot while hot. But I think it’s primarily a matter of politeness. Most men do not want to look at other men’s private parts, but if someone is parading around in the nude, it is hard to avoid looking at them. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steam-room-etiquette-nudity-acceptable/574399/27 "2011-03-13T19:12:52Z")
> [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](#): > > I thought were are only talking about steam rooms, not saunas. I’ve never seen a steam room that wasn’t all tile. That’s what I’m thinking about in my posts above. > > In a sauna, I’d sit on a towel to catch my own sweat and avoid any nails that might be poking up. But I still wouldn’t wear a swim suit. > > I’ve only ever seen wooden benches in a dry sauna. Sure, people like to dump water on the heating element, but the resulting steam evaporates almost instantly. > > A dry steam room? Is that anything like a jumbo shrimp? 🙂 You don’t add water to it. it is verboten. Dry hot air. ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steam-room-etiquette-nudity-acceptable/574399/28 "2011-03-13T19:31:56Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > You don’t add water to it. it is verboten. Dry hot air. You’re warned against throwing water on the rocks, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t done. I’ll add, while I’m here, that sitting in the sauna with your trunks on doesn’t do them any good. I have several old trunks I wear for the occasion. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steam-room-etiquette-nudity-acceptable/574399/29 "2011-03-13T19:33:52Z")
It flat-out ruins your swimsuit if you have to wear it in a steam room or sauna, or even a hot tub. (At least, the ones I buy. Perhaps they are unreasonably delicate. They say things like: Hand wash, mild soap, NO BLEACH EVER, particularly not CHLORINE BLEACH blah blah blah–what do they think I swim in? Essentially, diluted chlorine bleach, that’s what.) However, at the Y I go to the steam room & sauna are in a communal area. For a long time there were no signs spelling out what you could or couldn’t wear, but only that you couldn’t shave in the steam room (good!). But a couple of years ago, apparently somebody pushed it, so now swimwear is required. So I have an old baggy swimsuit I would have thrown out, and that’s what I wear. I’d rather be nude. I consider it a steam BATH and I wouldn’t wear anything else to take a bath. I’ve been to other Ys, though, where the facilities are inside the dressing rooms, and in those, lots of people go au naturel. ---
**Author:** ![manila](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e5b9ba/32.png) [@manila](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manila)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steam-room-etiquette-nudity-acceptable/574399/30 "2011-03-13T20:06:52Z")
> [@barbitu8](#): > > I think many still can get hot while hot. But I think it’s primarily a matter of politeness. Most men do not want to look at other men’s private parts, but if someone is parading around in the nude, it is hard to avoid looking at them. Actually, I was gonna come back with a quick negative retort… but then again I just thought if Beyonce Knowles was butt nekkid in the same sauna as me… err yes I would have to leave for politeness sake. But as far as single sex saunas It wouldn’t bother me in the slightest if some dude got up and walked butt naked to the coals to put more water on to generate steam. (apart from the sudden heat shock I don’t think it presents a problem) ---
**Author:** ![eenerms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steam-room-etiquette-nudity-acceptable/574399/31 "2011-03-14T07:07:52Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > \ > A couple of years ago I was skiing in Austria, and the hotel had a fancy sauna/steam room/spa in the basement. Swimming costumes were totally _forbidden_. The locals happily wandered around the whole spa area naked, not just in the steam rooms and saunas themselves, but in my prudish British way I wrapped myself as best I could in the teeny-tiny towel they provided. > > So I was sat in the steam room, on the towel, with the end of the towel covering my lap. One of the spa attendents peered in, opened the door, looked straight at me and said: “English?” I nodded, and he barked “No towel!” then leant forward and used the handle of his mop to lift my towel off my lap. > \ Same thing happened to me in Slovenia! But they had buckets filled with seats, like stadium foam seats, that were soaking in antiseptic outside the steam room. ---
**Author:** ![constanze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@constanze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constanze)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steam-room-etiquette-nudity-acceptable/574399/32 "2011-03-14T09:29:26Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > Question… what is common? What is acceptable according to the health standards that a hospital should adhere to? > > If this whole thing is the result of a prudish squeeky wheel I’m going to start squeeking myself. Most has been answered already, but still: steam bath = tiled room with about 40-45 deg. C and 50-60 % humidity, right? Dry steam rooms, saunas with wood and similar are different. 1. Hygiene: the most hygienic method is to be naked in the tiled bath, then everything can be hosed down by the attendant afterwards. A swim suit or towel in a steam bath is just method to carry germs around, which otherwise have no foothold on the smooth tiles. 2. Health: the purpose of a steam bath (and a sauna) is to sweat. Blocking part of your skin with a swim suit is thus contraindicted to that purpose. 3. The only reason remains is prudishness. However, in a real steam bath, there’s so much steam around that you can barely see anything. If the problem is outside, in the shower/ rest area, then bring your own towel or bathrobe, hang up outside and wrap up the important bits once your 20 min. inside the steam bath proper are over and you head over to the showers. (That’s how we do it in Germany, too.) ---
**Author:** ![constanze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@constanze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constanze)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steam-room-etiquette-nudity-acceptable/574399/33 "2011-03-14T09:32:40Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > \ > A couple of years ago I was skiing in Austria, and the hotel had a fancy sauna/steam room/spa in the basement. Swimming costumes were totally _forbidden_. The locals happily wandered around the whole spa area naked, not just in the steam rooms and saunas themselves, but in my prudish British way I wrapped myself as best I could in the teeny-tiny towel they provided. > > So I was sat in the steam room, on the towel, with the end of the towel covering my lap. One of the spa attendents peered in, opened the door, looked straight at me and said: “English?” I nodded, and he barked “No towel!” then leant forward and used the handle of his mop to lift my towel off my lap. > \ Were the towels provided for? Because otherwise I wonder if the attendant was just fucking with you. Swim suits are forbidden, yes, for hygiene and health reasons - but covering your lap with your own towel? Sauna attendants in Germany occasionally get British/ American tourists who try to wear swim suits; depending on the temperament of the attendants, this is either a source of amusement (look at how backwards prudish the Yanks/Brits still are! Look at how ignorant of healthy and proper Sauna method they are!) or frustration (I explained to them three times why swim suits are forbidden, and they still don’t listen; if they don’t overcome their hang-ups, I’m going to have to throw them out). ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steam-room-etiquette-nudity-acceptable/574399/34 "2011-03-14T10:30:59Z")
> [@constanze](#): > > Were the towels provided for? Because otherwise I wonder if the attendant was just fucking with you. Swim suits are forbidden, yes, for hygiene and health reasons - but covering your lap with your own towel? The towels were provided by the hotel. Sitting on them was fine, covering up apparently not. Of course, after a short while it seemed quite natural and within a couple of days I was happily letting it all hang out with the rest of them. 🙂 Still didn’t know quite where to look when large middle-aged German guys hauled themselves into a standing position in the hot tub and stepped past me to get out though… ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steam-room-etiquette-nudity-acceptable/574399/35 "2011-03-14T10:59:20Z")
I was confused I admit. Requiring swim suits in a single-sex steam room? huh? Seems ridiculous to me. As has been mentioned above, the culture in Europe (particularly Germany/Austria) is for nudity without exception and most areas are mixed-gender. We ski in Austria often and really quickly it becomes normal to hold naked conversations with total strangers. (My wife and I discussed the difficulty of negotiating the Munich ring-road with a physically stunning young lady from Holland whilst all naked, hot and soapy in the showers - yeah, that’s how hot and sordid it becomes) Why people always equate nudity with sex is beyond me. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steam-room-etiquette-nudity-acceptable/574399/36 "2011-03-14T11:11:11Z")
In Japan, the rule is to cover your genitals with a small hand-towel. No clothes other than that. To wear clothes is pretty rude I think, or at least strange. Sadly, mixed-sex bathes are hard to come by these days. ---
**Author:** ![roxyhung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/439d5e/32.png) [@roxyhung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roxyhung)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steam-room-etiquette-nudity-acceptable/574399/37 "2011-06-06T10:16:40Z")
If steam and sauna rooms are located in men’s locker rooms, what is the point of discussion on nudity. it is to be used/enjoyed or used the way they are designed for. Steam or sauna to be taken full nude with no hesitation. Afterall, it is your personal interest to be clothed or nude unless there is a regulation. But I do not suggest pubes shaving and under-arms shaving in locker rooms ---
**Author:** ![Khaki\_Campbell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de053/32.png) [@Khaki\_Campbell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khaki_Campbell)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steam-room-etiquette-nudity-acceptable/574399/38 "2011-06-06T10:38:56Z")
What about pool sandals like [this](http://www.nabaiji.com/products-pictures/120/mh-asset_17053716.jpg) ? Are they forbidden inside a sauna ? ---
**Author:** ![Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Living_Well_Is_Best_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steam-room-etiquette-nudity-acceptable/574399/39 "2011-06-06T13:45:40Z")
In my experiences, the older guys are always naked, and the younger ones, if they even go in, are wearing bathing suits. My practice has been to wear a towel so I can sit on it. I don’t like the idea of bare skin touching the tile. ---
**Author:** ![Hokkaido\_Brit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/d26b3c/32.png) [@Hokkaido\_Brit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hokkaido_Brit)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steam-room-etiquette-nudity-acceptable/574399/40 "2011-06-06T14:40:54Z")
> [@Autolycus](#): > > In Japan, the rule is to cover your genitals with a small hand-towel. No clothes other than that. To wear clothes is pretty rude I think, or at least strange. > > Sadly, mixed-sex bathes are hard to come by these days. Ah yes, “The Genital Clutch” I call it! Where they use the towel to cup their jewels so that they are entirely covered, no more and no less. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steam-room-etiquette-nudity-acceptable/574399.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steam-room-etiquette-nudity-acceptable/574399.md?page=3)