What the shower between stations is for
We ask you to rinse before you start and again between the sauna, the ice bath and the steam room. It is not only about hygiene.The rinse is the rule people skip, usually because a 20 second shower feels like an interruption rather than part of the session. It is worth 20 seconds.
What it does to the water
An ice bath is shared, still water. Everything that goes in with a body — sweat, sunscreen, moisturiser, deodorant, whatever is left on skin after a gym session — stays in it until the water is changed. Rinsing first is the single largest thing any member can do to keep the bath clear for the people after them.
The same applies in reverse. Going from the ice bath into the steam room without rinsing carries the bath's water onto a bench somebody else will sit on.
What it does to the facilities
Sauna benches and steam room seats are shared surfaces, and a rinse between stations is what keeps them from carrying the last person's session into the next one. Towel use is required throughout for the same reason.
Where to do it
Rinse before you start, and again each time you move between the sauna, the ice bath and the steam room. That is four or five short showers across a session, and none of them need to be long.
The rinse is one of our club rules rather than a suggestion, along with the shoe-free zone and the rules on phones and swimwear.