Finnish Saunas And Heater Options

The health benefits of Finnish saunas and steam baths are well known. Sweating cleanses the pores, rejuvenates the skin and helps to remove toxins from the body. Saunas are an elementary part of daily life in Finland, where almost every house has its own sauna. The traditional Finnish home sauna is heated by a wood burning stove, and although advances in technology have made sauna steam room heaters that run on electricity or natural gas, the essence of taking a sweat bath has not changed.

Finnish Designs Of Home Saunas

The typical Finnish home sauna is built on the shores of a lake or river. The room or cabin contains the stove (kiutas) and a set of benches at different levels. Once the temperature inside the sauna has reached 175 – 195 degrees F, water is thrown over the rocks on top of the heater to produce wafts of steam (a process called löyly in Finnish), which makes it feel even hotter. The most traditional of saunas found in Finland is the smoke sauna (savusauna) where the smoke from the heater goes inside the room instead of up the chimney. The smoke is later vented outside and the fire must be out before entering, but the residual heat of the massive stove is enough for a sweating session. Some Finns believe that these ancestral smoke baths are superior to a steam bath.

How To Take A Sauna Bath

In Finland, proper etiquette requires all sauna users to bathe in the nude. Once the heat inside the room has reached the proper temperature, sit on the bench and relax. At first, the air inside feels very dry. Throw water on top of the rocks to produce steam and increase the humidity. When the heat and steam inside the sauna room becomes unbearable, move from the upper bench to the lower level or cool off by taking a shower. Then repeat for another session. Finns also beat themselves with birch boughs (vihta) to stimulate circulation.

Sauna Heaters

Traditional Finnish sauna enthusiasts demand nothing less than a wood burning stove. The soft heat and steam, the aroma of the crackling fire and even the ritual of tending the stove cannot be duplicated with any other room heater. If the chores of cutting wood or the local building code makes heating with wood unsuitable, then go with an electric or natural gas fired stove.

• Wood Burning – The Polar Wilderness Wood Heater is ideally suited for residential sauna rooms. The stove’s excellent efficiency ratio saves wood. An optional water tank lets you recreate the Finnish tradition of ladling water on top of the rocks to produce steam.
   
• Electric – Electric stoves with a large rock capacity store lots of heat to create plenty of steam for a traditional Finnish sweat bath. Look for electric heater elements that are in direct contact with the sauna rocks for extra heat storage.
   
• Natural Gas/Propane – If your house is heated with natural gas, a gas stove might be a good option. Gas or propane stoves are ideal for commercial applications where the sauna steam room gets constant use.
   
• Infrared – Far infrared stoves use ceramic emitters to transfer more heat directly to the body. This type of room heater is very safe and energy efficient. Infrared technology was previously only used in dry saunas, but there are now dual saunas that combine the infrared heat with the benefits of a traditional Finnish home sauna.

Whichever heater option you choose, adding a traditional Finnish home sauna or steam room is an easy project for most do-it-yourself home renovators. Manufacturers offer completely assembled units that can be installed in less than an hour, or you can purchase a kit to build your own.

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