Communal bathing isn’t part of American culture, but after a trip this weekend to a Russian bath house in Manhattan, I’m swayed that it should be.

I’ve been fighting off the tail end of a cold for a few days, so thought the steam and sauna might knock out the rest of the gunk. Or at least the high percentage of steamed chlorine would eat out mucus from my lungs. No dice. But still, after three hours of alternating between sweaty heat rooms and plunging into a cess of ice-cold water, my body was weakly glowing from pleasurable exhaustion.

While another Russian bath house in the Lower East Side is more well-known, I went to Wall Street Bath & Spa 88 down on Fulton Street. It was clean, staffed by slightly-less-taciturn-than-usual Russian help, and was fairly inexpensive—$35 all-you-can-soak. I’d suggest making a day of it—I intend to again soon—by hanging out in the communal lounge area, sipping fair-price bottled beers, watching the big screen TV, popping over to the hot tub for a little human soup time, and then finishing up in the restaurant, where lots of surprisingly tasty Eastern European food can be eaten while you lounge in a white terry robe. (Try the pickled vegetables!) There is also a pool table in a stately paneled room, but no cues were on hand. I’m sure it costs extra to play. There is supposedly a smoking lounge, as well, although I did not find it.

I had a beer, a couple of big bottles of water (you can bring your own bottle which they will fill with tap), and the regular access to the steam rooms and pool. My total was something like $47. Totally worth it for a multi-hour mini-vacation.

A few bits of advice is you head to Wall Street Bath specifically.

• The white robes cost an extra $5 to rent, so you might bring your own, although I didn’t see anyone doing that. Maybe there’s a way to schmooze the attendants.

• There’s no need for a towel. As many as you can use are provided, usually hot from the dryers.

• Hard plastic slippers are provided, but I’d suggest bringing a pair of flip-flops of your own.

• It’s co-ed, so bring trunks. A nice locker room with showers is provided, as is a free place to stash your valuables.

• If you wear glasses like me, be sure to take a little pouch or have trunks with a pocket so you can stash them in the steam rooms, where they will not only fog over instantly, but could even get too warm to wear if the frames are made of metal.

• Don’t worry about how you look, because even the hottest girls look miserable in the sauna. It’s more a family sort of vibe than anything like a ’70s swingers sort of place.

• Do the cold water shocks. They feel amazing once your body stops its uncontrollable seizing, and it’s the alternating hot-and-cold that really gets the muscles (and possible other organs, depending on how much you buy into the theory) to relax.

• It’s okay to say “schvitz” even if you aren’t a Jew.

• It’s okay to pretend you are a Russian mobster making a human slave deal to your friends as you sit with a towel draped over your head, but you will get all the dirty looks from actual Russians that you deserve.

Image: Cannonseat (That’s not Wall Street Bath, but another banya. Same sort of thing, mostly, although you can’t eat or drink in Wall Street Bath’s steam rooms.)