Most people have visited the steam room more than once and for them this activity is their favorite. However, it is necessary to know the optimal temperature so that your health does not suffer. It is also important to take into account such points as steam, its quality and air humidity, which is noted indoors.
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Temperature and humidity in different baths
Baths are different. They differ not only in the traditions of their use, culture or ethnic characteristics. The difference, first of all, is in the presence of high temperatures, at which the body is warmed up, the skin is steamed, and its pores are opened. The structure of the steam rooms is also different. In Russian baths and Finnish saunas, steam rooms are organized according to a tiered type - the higher the bench, the hotter the air. In a Turkish hammam or in an infrared bath, the body is heated at the same level.
On tiers of beds in the steam room of a Russian bath, the body is warmed up at different temperatures Source russkaya-skazka.su
All benches are located on the same level, the temperature is maintained the same Source siyaniekrasoti.ru
Russian traditions: sauna on weekends
To maintain the required humidity and temperature in the steam room, water is poured from a ladle onto a traditional stone stove. Many people value the Russian bath precisely for its effectiveness: all the conditions in the steam room are created in order to cleanse the pores throughout the body and expel toxins from the body through sweat. The cultural aspect cannot be ignored: the bathhouse has always been a gathering place for people not only to cleanse the body, but also for spiritual conversations.
The stove is made of natural stones, the pipe is also lined with stones - water is poured on them Source tepliepol.ru
The average stable temperature in a Russian bath is 70-75℃. Humidity – 60-70%. The average time for one visit to the steam room is 15-20 minutes. In total, you can make such passes from 2 to 4, and then the person will not feel much stress on the heart and the entire body as a whole.
The healing properties of the Russian bath cannot be overestimated. Hot, humid air with the addition of eucalyptus or pine essential oils strengthens the immune system, improves blood flow, normalizes the respiratory system, and removes toxins. Visiting such baths helps protect the body from colds and viral diseases.
Natural aromatization with herbs and aromatherapy in a traditional Russian bath Source vk.tula.su
A special feature of using the steam room is traditional massage with brooms. It is believed that such healing procedures can tone the entire body, cure some skin diseases, and strengthen muscles. Brooms are knitted from birch, oak, fir and other tree branches.
The tradition of steaming with brooms soaked in hot water is inherent in Russian baths Source irkutsk.bonodono.ru
When visiting public Russian baths, it is important to be prepared for different temperature conditions. There are steam rooms with a weak positive temperature level - 60-50℃. They are usually visited by beginners, people with contraindications to extremely hot air, or adults with children.
You can enter the steam room with children if the air is not very hot - the norm is 70-75 degrees Source tylohelo.com
The temperature in the steam rooms, where avid bath attendants gather, is always significantly higher than the optimal temperature for beginners. Not lower than 90 degrees. The highest temperature a person can withstand in a bathhouse is 120 degrees Celsius.
The bathhouse attendant maintains the air temperature, humidity level, and correctly performs massage with brooms Source kupeliru.ru
Comfortable Finnish sauna
The peculiarity of the Finnish sauna is dry and soft hot air. This is what distinguishes it from a damp, highly heated Russian bath. But the average temperature threshold is higher than in a Russian steam room - 70-110℃. The optimal temperature for good steaming is 90-100℃. Air humidity – 5-15%. One session includes 2 visits of 5-10 minutes each. It is advisable to take a 30-minute break between visits.
Traditional Finnish sauna with a stone stove and tiers of bench seats Source ivsbor.ru
Dry air is not for everyone. Therefore, to begin with, it is best to try sitting in the sauna for 5 minutes and observe how you feel. If you suspect that the body cannot cope with hot dry air, then it is better to leave the sauna. In this case, the best option may be a Russian steam room without extreme high temperatures or a hammam.
The Finnish sauna is decorated from the inside with natural wood - oak Source 39turov.ru
Exotic Turkish hammam
The most comfortable temperatures in a Turkish hammam. The halls most often have beautiful oriental-style tiles. The humidity is highest here! Higher than the previous two baths - up to 100%. These conditions are also not suitable for all people. For example, not every skin will benefit from dense, humid air.
Turkish Ham, located in Turkey Source legkovmeste.ru
It's worth trying to visit the hammam! After all, it does not have high air temperatures, which in itself is comfort. The minimum heating reaches up to 40 degrees Celsius. Maximum – up to 50℃. The duration of stay in the hammam is not strictly limited. You can sit there all day!
You can wash, the body is not exposed, covered with a bath towel or sheet Source o-krohe.ru
Specific infrared bath
Infrared baths are cabins equipped with special equipment that emits infrared waves with a length of 0.76-3 microns to 7-14 microns. This radiation is completely safe for health. The range of its wave frequencies is identical to the wavelength that emanates from the human body. The average temperature is 45-50 degrees, the minimum is 35 degrees, and the highest is 55 degrees Celsius.
This is an innovation in the field of wellness recreation. When visiting an infrared bath, a person sweats in the same way, but the temperature is felt differently. What happens here is not the heating of the air, but the heating of the body itself. The temperature is perceived as soft, pleasant warmth, penetrating inside to a depth of 3-4 cm. In terms of load, visiting an infrared sauna is similar to the effect after light gymnastics or physical exercise.
The cabins are lined with natural wood panels inside and out. They are designed for one or two people to stay inside. Therefore, the device is oversized, and they can be installed even in an apartment. The most comfortable models are a sauna cabin combined with a shower stall. Everything (heating, lighting) is controlled via an electronic panel.
The heating equipment is clearly visible inside the infrared sauna. Source dnepropetrovsk.bodo.ua
The maximum time for one session is 20-30 minutes. But it is recommended to make several short-term visits instead of one half-hour. The body will gradually get used to the heat. After such a sauna, the blood vessels will expand, become more elastic, blood will circulate better, and all waste and toxins will be released through sweat.
Stages of work
- Penofol is attached to the ceiling and “rough” walls. To do this, use a construction stapler. Penofol sheets must be placed one on top of the other in such a way that the edge of each of the subsequent sheets “finds” the previous one. This is done so that the moisture drips down onto the floor, that is, in the direction of the interior.
- After the penofol is fixed to the ceiling and walls, slats with a cross-section of 50 x 50 are nailed. Such slats can be made yourself (cut from a board with a circular saw) or purchased at a specialized hardware store. When nailing the slats, leave a distance of 50 cm to 100 cm between them - here everything depends on the length of the finishing material (lining).
- Concrete floor is being made. Its level should be 30 cm-40 cm below the base.
- The furnace foundation is being made. Its dimensions should exceed the dimensions of the future oven by 20 cm around the entire perimeter.
- For sexual transfers, small “chairs” are laid out. The height of the upper part of the “chairs” should be such that after laying the beams and floorboards, the height of the floor level will be higher than the level of the furnace vent.
- Concrete is poured with a slope towards the gutter of the drain pipe.
- The stove is being installed. Of course, the type of stove and its size depends only on the preferences of the bathhouse owners. However, one condition must be met - the blower must be installed below floor level!
- Roofing felt or other waterproofing material is laid on top of the completed “chairs”. Logs are laid on top.
- Then the floorboards are laid along the joists. The boards must be fixed close to the nailed bars. For water drainage, gaps of 10 mm-15 mm are left between the boards. When the floor is laid, they begin the final stage - covering the ceiling and walls of the steam room with clapboard.
The effect of hot air on the body
A well-heated Russian bathhouse produces hot steam, otherwise called “fiery heat.” Under its influence, the body experiences a slight pleasant trembling. All systems and organs begin to work intensively, pushing out accumulated harmful substances (toxins, waste, fat) through the pores. Vital forces are mobilized. After bath procedures, relaxation sets in, which together gives a strong healing effect.
Interior of a massage room in a SPA salon with an infrared sauna cabin Source spa-sherbinka.ru
Step-by-step heating of the body in the bath:
- first 5-7 minutes the body adapts to high temperatures;
- if you continue to stay in the steam room for up to 10-15 minutes. (total) – then the skin warms up;
- next 10 min. – internal organs are gently warmed up.
If in a Russian or Finnish bath there are serious deviations in temperature or air humidity, then instead of vigor and renewal of strength, you may experience discomfort in the form of burning and dryness. The body has to fight to keep the internal processes of different systems (breathing, heartbeat) normal. Then they leave the bathhouse not with ease, but with a feeling of exhaustion, weariness, loss of strength and energy.
What kind of oven should it be?
When describing the arrangement of a steam room, we cannot ignore the issue of the stove. This is also a controversial and painful issue for many. No one will object that a brick stove is optimal for the conditions of a Russian bath, but in practice, not everyone has the opportunity to install one. That's why people are leaning towards a metal stove .
And if it is not lined with stone or brick, then it has all the characteristics tailored for a sauna - fast and powerful heating, quick cooling, difficulties in adjusting the temperature.
But does a stone or brick screen If everything is done correctly, and the stove itself is also cast iron, then the owner can fully count on receiving the conditions of a Russian bath. After all, the main thing in a stove is its ability to simultaneously not overheat the air in the steam room, managing to heat the stones inside the heater to several hundred degrees so that they produce light, fine steam.
There is another option: an electric heater with a steam generator. You get the opportunity to choose a mode at your discretion, including a Russian bath, setting the required degrees and turning on the electric steam generator.
Safe for the body and extreme temperatures in the bath
The highest temperature in the bathhouse that the human body can withstand is 120℃. And extreme (dangerous threshold for the human body) – 150℃. These temperatures are not used in public baths for restricted visits. They are used in bath attendant competitions. Under normal conditions, it is extremely rare for anyone to steam at a temperature of 120 degrees Celsius. But this is enough for experienced bath attendants. Still, the optimal temperature in the bath is 90-100 degrees.
Bath-sauna under glass with access to the pool - the best solution for contrasting procedures Source weboptimize.ru
Gradual increase in air temperature and humidity
It is important not to overheat the oven. For the firebox, 3 types of firewood are taken:
- pine;
- aspen;
- birch
Pine firewood is rich in resins. They allow the stove to heat up, but leave a lot of soot inside the chimneys. Aspen ones will provide little heat and will burn out quickly, but they will clean the chimney perfectly. Birch gives off a lot of heat to the stove and burns longer than pine and aspen.
A fresh or dry broom is soaked in hot water for 15-20 minutes before use. Source rys-les.ru
Rules for visiting the steam room
To ensure that the temperature in the steam room does not harm the skin, you must follow a number of visiting rules:
- Do not visit the steam room on an empty stomach. It is enough to eat something 1.5-2 hours before going to the bathhouse.
- First remove all metal jewelry. The heat can burn the metal.
- It is best to enter the steam room dry.
- Be sure to wear a special headdress that protects your ears.
- Hair should not be wet.
- On the first visit, they don’t immediately go to the top shelf.
- To improve sweating, beads of sweat should be wiped away. Therefore, a towel or sheet is needed in the steam room.
- In order for the body to warm up well, periodically change the position of the body.
- You shouldn't get up suddenly. Otherwise, you may feel dizzy and there is a risk of falling.
- It is better to use massage with brooms on the second pass.
- Contrast water procedures are taken between visits to the steam room.
- It is better not to drink cold drinks during the break.
- There is no smoking or drinking alcohol in the steam room.
- You can't pour beer on rocks.
- The steam room of a public bath is not used as a wash room.
You cannot stand in the bathhouse. Sitting or reclining improves lymphatic drainage. The recommended body position is lying with your legs elevated. This makes it easier to reduce the load on the heart. Immediately after bathing procedures, people do not go outside. It is necessary to allow the body to cool down.
Compliance with the rules of a public steam room is the key to a comfortable visit to it Source kazan.spravka.ru
Contraindications to bath procedures
The warning that the temperature in a Russian steam bath is not suitable for everyone applies to those who are contraindicated to breathe hot, humid air.
You should not visit the bathhouse:
- hypertensive patients;
- those suffering from cardiovascular diseases (ischemia);
- persons with exacerbations of various diseases;
- those with ulcerative skin disorders;
- cancer patients;
- asthmatics;
- epileptics;
- suffering from diseases associated with the central nervous system and brain.
Bath procedures make the heart beat faster and pump blood. The pressure changes and there is a load on the diseased heart. Also, women should not visit the bathhouse during the menstrual cycle, so as not to develop poorly controlled bleeding. After drinking alcohol, it is also not recommended to visit the bathhouse.
You should only visit a steam room or sauna if you are feeling well Source sauni-moskva.ru
When does the need to reduce it arise?
If the stove is incorrectly selected or installed, the temperature in the steam room is disrupted. When the temperature changes above the specified norm in a Russian bath, the steam becomes “heavy” and intense heat is felt. This happens if the power of the stove does not correspond to the volume of the steam room. When operating metal stoves with a tank, complaints sometimes arise about increased humidity at low temperatures in the steam room (40-45 degrees). The water boils early, when the bath has not yet warmed up.
Therefore, even at the design stage it is necessary to select a suitable furnace. An increase in humidity in the bathhouse is possible due to inadequate air exchange.
Ventilation in the log bathhouse was not specially thought out, since the humidity outside and in the steam room was approximately the same. The issue was resolved by the construction itself
Now there are various modifications to the construction of baths, and special attention should be paid to ventilation planning. If the bathhouse has already been built, sometimes it is necessary to install a forced fan to eliminate this problem
There is a method that allows you to reduce the accumulation of condensation on the ceiling and walls in the bathhouse (and, as a result, increase their service life), as well as ensure the creation of an adequate steam pocket.
Hot air collects under the ceiling and settles on it. The tree initially absorbs moisture, and then stops, and a so-called steam pocket is created. To adequately create steam, the ceiling must have a heat capacity.
To do this, at the construction stage of the bathhouse, the following structure should be formed.
When the walls have already been erected, reflective heat-insulating material - penofol - is sewn onto them and onto the ceiling using a construction stapler. It is applied in a specific way: one edge overlaps the other to create a continuous layer. Then wide bars are nailed to which the eurolining will be attached. As a result, an air gap is created between the inner and outer cladding of the walls and ceiling.
The furnace vent is mounted below floor level, and concrete is poured with a slope towards the drain pipe. The logs are installed in the form of a platform, waterproofing material is laid under them, and floorboards are laid on top. An air gap also forms under the top layer of the floor.
Recommendations for beginners
For beginners, the optimal temperature in the steam room should not exceed 70-90 degrees Celsius, humidity – 30-40%. The duration of one visit is no more than 5-8 minutes. The duration of the next few runs should be increased by a couple of minutes. Frequency - after a 20 or 15 minute break, you can make 2-3 passes in total. Essential oil must be used with great care. This is especially true for public steam rooms. The best option is to dilute the ether with water and simply leave it on the bench, allowing natural evaporation.
If you pour essential oil on stones, there will be soot, it is better to use a bowl with aromas Source vodniy.amazonia-fitnes.ru
Modernization
Only in the 20th century did the construction of saunas with stoves equipped with chimneys begin. And in the 30s, saunas and steam rooms appeared with a metal partition that separated the flames and stones. The temperature remained high for as long as possible. A huge advantage of this type was the absence of soot. In the 50s, saunas with separate changing rooms began to be built, and as development progressed, the steam room area began to be separated. The next stage of development was the emergence of electric ovens, which turned out to be easy to use and safe. Since this option does not require a chimney, this type of stove can be installed almost anywhere.
Advice for those who have their own sauna
It is better to make the thresholds high and the doors low in order to retain the heat inside the steam room as much as possible. The walls and floor are finished with special thermal insulation material. It is generally better to make flooring in several layers. Ventilation allows you to equalize air pressure and release excess steam. The stove is placed near the door so that the steam room can heat up evenly. After each use of the wet bath, wipe it dry, dry it and ventilate it.
A high threshold, a low door - typical of a Russian bathhouse and the entrance to its steam room Source birzhaplus.ru
The oven must be real stone or brick-lined. The finishing can be made of metal. But the top is left open to pour water on the stones. Getting on the upper stones, the water flows onto the hot internal cobblestones. As a result, you get normal healthy steam. It’s a big mistake to completely “sew up” the furnace with metal and pour water on the hot iron. Then you will have to inhale harmful fumes or too dry hot air.
Characteristics
The first significant difference between a Russian bath and a Finnish sauna, which is difficult to miss, is the stove device:
- In Russian baths, the stones are placed inside the heater, while the stove is tightly closed with a door. Steam is formed when water hits a hot surface. The closed design helps maintain the required temperature in the room over a long period of time.
- The Finns install stoves with open space for stones. Warmth freely fills the room. The cooling of the stones occurs faster, because the heat is not retained.
The main difference between a sauna and a bathhouse is the presence of a swimming pool. The Finns took care of building a place for swimming after visiting the steam room. Previously, saunas were built in river areas, next to reservoirs. After steaming, the visitor rinsed in cool water, cooling the steamed body.
If it was not possible to build a sauna on the shore of the lake, they installed a wooden tub with a rope. After the steam room, it was enough to pull the rope so that the body was doused with cool liquid. Modern Finnish steam rooms are equipped with a swimming pool.
Residents of Finland insist that the benefits of steam procedures increase if exposure to steam is combined with a sharp temperature change. After visiting the steam room, polluting particles leave the pores, remaining on the surface of the skin. Bathing in cool water will cause the skin sockets to tighten, preventing the return of debris.
Advantages of bath procedures
When the temperature and humidity in a Russian bath (or any other) are well regulated, the human body can be properly cleansed and healed. The general advantages of baths include a positive effect on the body:
- The body steams well, the pores open.
- Blood microcirculation increases.
- Ensures normal transport of nutrients to the joints and skeletal system.
- Sweating removes waste, toxins, salts, and white fat.
The bathhouse is indicated for those who suffer from obesity, some pulmonary and respiratory diseases, who have joint pain and have been diagnosed with mild non-infectious skin dermatitis. It will be useful to visit the steam room for people with blood stagnation in the musculoskeletal system, joints, and in the body as a whole. Allergy sufferers and those prone to frequent colds are allowed to visit.
