Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are harmful chemicals that are given off by many products through off-gassing. Products such as paint, stains, glues, and plastics can emit VOCs at room temperature, let alone when heated in a sauna! Most saunas are built with plywood, and the pieces of the sauna are glued together. Plywood itself contains glue, and then they use more glue to attach the advertised wood to the plywood! Plastic covers are often used on the ceiling lights in the sauna. The top of the sauna gets hotter than anywhere else, so the ceiling is the last place you would want to have plastic. That is why we only use glass light coverings in our saunas. Other saunas will also use wood stains in the sauna. Stains can off-gas. Even if the stain says ‘Non-VOC’ is it rated to not emit VOCs in a sauna? Those companies also don’t care to perform and publish a VOC test. We only use Non-Resinous Hemlock or Poplar wood. Other types of wood can be cheaper, but can trigger allergies for some people. From top to bottom we strive to make the cleanest saunas on the market.