7 questions about the sauna: what both beginners and experienced steamers need to know

Our website has been operating since 2014. From time to time, our readers receive questions about the bathhouse, its history, the intricacies of the steaming procedure, firewood, signs, and so on...

At first, we gave each reader a personal answer; I wrote separate articles on certain topics. Now we have decided to collect questions in one article and make original selections.

This is our pilot episode, in which I grouped the questions that have come to us lately.

But I’ll start my story about myself, about how I was looking for a warm corner in the bathhouse.

About a warm corner in the bathhouse

So, this was about 10 years ago. Our neighbors had a bathhouse and we were often invited to take a steam bath. Everything about it seemed great, but it cooled down somehow quickly.

You heat and heat, but the heat doesn’t last long. So I asked my uncle why this happened. To which he always answered with annoyance that the bathhouse was built without a warm corner.

So then I asked myself the question, where should this warm corner in the bathhouse be? And everyone I didn’t ask just laughed at me. This corner was literally enchanted, no one showed where it was...

And only when our website appeared and the first responsive readers appeared, I finally learned that a warm corner is not a specific place. This is a strong connection of the corners of the beam into a lock.

Grooves are made in the corners of the timber, which are perfectly cut and adjusted to each other. The result is a locking connection, which gives a 100% guarantee that the corners of the bathhouse will not be blown through and freeze in winter.

About the lining in the bathhouse

My girlfriends puzzled me with the question: “Why is the interior lining in a bathhouse called clapboard?” They probably thought that I wasn’t so familiar with lining...

And the lining got its name thanks to trains. It was train carriages that were first sheathed with thin boards, no more than 2 cm thick, and they were simply called lining.

The name is firmly attached to the building material, and now any internal lining is called lining.

How much money do you need to open a Russian bathhouse?

The purpose of organizing the Russian bath project:

In city X with a population of 20,000 people, a Russian bathhouse will be built, which will be rented out.

After the launch of the project, job seekers will have the opportunity to find employment, and the target audience will have the opportunity to take advantage of high-quality bathhouse services at an affordable price.

Value of economic indicators:

1. initial investment - 980 thousand rubles;
2. net profit for the year - 479.8 thousand rubles;
3. profitability level – 45.9%;
4. payback period – 2 years.

At the start, costs will be associated with:

1. installation of a bathhouse at the customer’s place – 650 thousand rubles;
2. preparation of a construction site - 100 thousand rubles;
3. connection of communications – 120 thousand rubles;
4. equipment, tools – 60 thousand rubles;
5. other expenses - 50 thousand rubles.

To launch the project, 980 thousand rubles will be required.

Legalization of bath business:

The optimal form of registration is individual entrepreneur, the taxation system is simplified.

Practical background:

• The registration stage has been completed;
• The issue with renting a plot (150 square meters) has been resolved. Monthly rent – ​​7 thousand rubles;
• An agreement has been concluded with the bathhouse supplier.

Products and services of the Russian bath:

For renting the facility, clients will pay 0.6 thousand rubles per hour.

Planned sale (unit cost indicated):

1. brooms - 100 rubles;
2. essential oil – 60 rubles;
3. disposable slippers – 50 rubles;
4. shampoos, gels – 30 rubles;
5. towels – 400 rub.;
6. shaving sets – 50 rub.

Hookah rental is available - 500 rubles, barbecue - 300 rubles.

The range of free services in the bathhouse will be presented:

• board games, for example, chess, backgammon, checkers;
• using a hairdryer and bath accessories;
• guarded parking lot.

The bathhouse will be open from 12 to 24. A round-the-clock operation option is not excluded.

About firewood that burns poorly

What can be done when the wood in the stove does not light well and it takes a long time to light the stove?

Damp, damp wood is difficult to light in a stove. If there is poor draft in the stove, it is not easy to get a fire. Fire needs air, without it there will be no fire dance.

Before heating the stove, you need to clean it, remove the ash from the ash pan and the firebox. Open the stove damper and vent wide. For wet firewood, a popular method is to generously sprinkle the firewood with coarse rock salt.

About the sauna stove damper and winter

There are bath attendants who do not heat their kingdom of heat and steam in winter. They live in the city, and come to the dacha only in spring, summer and autumn. In what form is it better to leave a sauna stove for the winter for such sauna owners?

It is better to leave stove valves open during the winter. The fact is that when you arrive at your property in the spring, you may not be able to light the bathhouse the first time. During a long, cold winter, the valve may freeze, so much so that it cannot be opened without a hammer.

If the bathhouse is not heated for a long time, the stove freezes, the bricks absorb moisture, and the bathhouse pipe inside becomes covered with a snowy fur coating mixed with soot.

It’s better if all this wet stuff just rolls down the chimney into the stove during the thaw, and doesn’t thaw and then freeze again on the stove valve during spring matinees.

Advertising and promotion of the Russian bathhouse

The population in the area planned for the project is 10 thousand.

Advertising tools:

1. ads;
2. leaflets;
3. flyers;
4. Internet;
5. bulletin boards;
6. thematic forums;
7. local television and radio channels, printed periodicals.

Potential clients for the bathhouse:

The client base will mainly include residents of the residential area in which the idea will be implemented.

Competitors of the bath business:

Nearby there are a couple of similar complexes that provide similar services, which can hardly be called high-quality. Moreover, their prices are unreasonably high.

About linden

Linden is a wonderful tree - it is an excellent building material and wonderful brooms and excellent tubs, ladles with scoops. Is the expression “Linden Seal” somehow connected with this tree?

The connection is the most direct! Linden has long been used in wood carving; it lends itself well to processing and has pure white wood.

In the old days, scammers made fake royal and princely seals from linden. Complex ornate patterns could be easily cut from this wood, which is why the fakes are called “linden.”

How to steam properly

The first entry into the steam room is required

to warm up and get used to the heat load (optimum temperature 60°C). A broom is not needed at this stage. It is better to lie on the bottom shelf; at this level the temperature necessary for adaptation is maintained. When the skin turns red, sweat appears and the heart beats faster, you can climb to the top bunk. The duration of the first approach should not exceed 10 minutes.

The second visit can last 15 minutes

and accompanied by a broom massage:

1. Plowing - swinging a broom towards the steamer, then shaking it under the ceiling of the steam room and briefly pressing the hot branches to the lower back, feet, and shoulder blades.
2. Whipping on the skin and slowly stroking the body with a broom.
3. Compress - lowering a broom onto the body with firm pressure for 5 seconds. At the end of the massage, you should not get up suddenly, it is better to lie down for a few minutes, then, without rushing to get up.

Steaming with a broom

A broom in a steam room is one of the main accessories - it can not only give you a good whipping, but also act as a medicine.

• A birch broom will rid the skin of toxins and remove salt from the body. It is recommended for use by people with kidney and musculoskeletal diseases.
• Oak - stabilizes blood pressure. Oak leaves have anti-inflammatory properties, calm the nervous system and help with headaches and insomnia.
• Linden broom contains vitamin C. It is used as an antipyretic and to calm the nerves.
• Fir - eliminates pain in muscles and spine, improves immunity. It has disinfecting and bactericidal properties.
• Juniper broom contains natural antibiotics, prevents the appearance of bacteria and reduces high fever.

Few people know how useful a broom made from nettle branches is. Even with a light touch, it creates a deep massage of the skin with a tingling effect, which improves its elasticity and firmness. The skin additionally warms up, turns red, and blood flow improves.

Nettle is useful for kidney and liver diseases, strengthens the walls of blood vessels. Only problem areas are hovered with such a broom, applied for a while to the sore spots.

Sauna for weight loss

A Russian bath is an excellent assistant in losing weight, because at high temperatures sweat is actively released, along with toxins, salts and other harmful substances, but it is important to understand that fat reserves are not destroyed. Going to the bathhouse is regarded as an auxiliary method for losing weight, but not the main one.

Photo: Juliya Shangarey, shutterstock (1.09.2019)

The bath accelerates blood circulation, which increases the flow of oxygen and nutrients to the internal organs. You can forget about cellulite and improve your skin condition. Heating causes an acceleration of metabolism.

To achieve the desired effect, you must follow the rules:

• Before entering the steam room, take a warm shower, but without using soap or a washcloth.
• Add infusions of aromatic herbs or essential oils to the water that creates steam.
• The first visit to the steam room should not exceed 5 minutes. After it, you need to go out, rinse with cold water, throw on a sheet and rest. You can drink a drink to increase sweating.
• On the second visit, you should use a broom; your stay in the steam room will also be about 5 minutes.
• Next time, you can simply sit on a shelf, rub your body with gentle movements using a broom and rub yourself with honey or salt.
• Compliance with temperature contrasts: the higher the temperature, the colder the water for dousing should be.

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You can also use scrubs and various masks.

Steaming when you have a cold

If you have a cold, a Russian bath will speed up recovery due to the effects of high temperature and increased moisture.

• Wet steam performs the function of inhalation, ensuring the cleansing of the lungs and bronchi from accumulated mucus.
• Hot steam opens and cleanses pores.
• Increased humidity will relieve muscle tension and fatigue, and also strengthen joints and ligaments.

About red brick

When we were rebuilding the stove in the bathhouse, the stove maker, among other things, asked us for an old bathtub with water in order to soak the bricks!

For what? After all, these are not laundry, these are bricks! And then they scolded me like a schoolgirl...

Brick absorbs moisture. If its internal cavities are filled with liquid, it will reduce its absorbency. The kiln mortar will penetrate into the brick cavity more slowly and be distributed more evenly. Dry brick will quickly absorb the liquid part of the mortar and the mixture will not be enough to adhere the brickwork.

You can cool your body in the pool after each steam bath.

Contrasting bath procedures (immersions in cold water or snow rubdowns, alternating with visits to the steam room) are very beneficial for the nervous system: they perfectly relieve stress. However, for other purposes they may be superfluous. If the point of the procedures is to restore strength after an illness, you should abandon temperature contrasts and take a hot shower between visits to the steam room.

But even when contrast procedures are indicated, experts recommend plunging into cold water only after the third steam bath, when the body is already evenly warmed up.

About the eternal stone

My friends built a bathhouse. Everything is based on the latest technologies, everything is the best... When the choice of the stone heart of the furnace began, they decided to lay an eternal stone.

Jadeite is a stone with high tensile strength that practically does not absorb water. It does not split and does not shoot small fragments when using water on the heater.

This is a very beautiful and very expensive stone. In our native Arkhangelsk, my friends were never able to find a good quality stone, so they had to go to Moscow.

Nourishing skin masks should be applied between visits to the steam room.

The basis of almost all nourishing masks is fat. They create a film on the skin that closes the pores, so you cannot apply masks to the body and face before visiting the steam room: sweating is impaired. In addition, cosmetics of this kind contain aromatic substances that create foreign odors in the steam room.

Before taking bath procedures, you need to rinse with warm water in the shower and wipe your skin dry with a towel. In the steam room, you can use only peeling products to facilitate the exfoliation of dead skin particles. The process can be enhanced with honey: it has not only cleansing, but also nutritional properties. The rest of the cosmetics can be applied to the face and body only after completing the bath procedures.

About shelves, deck chairs and benches

Do softwood trees make good benches and shelves?

Almost all conifers boast resin pockets and shells. Hot resin can burn and stain your body. It is better not to make shelves from pine or spruce.

The best option for such construction is soft, durable wood - linden, alder, aspen, thuja, Siberian cedar.

About Pele's Hair

Why is modern stone wool insulation also called “Pele’s Hair”?

After a volcanic eruption in Hawaii, when the lava cooled, long, strong threads were found. The fragile volcanic fiber was named Pele's Hair. In Hawaiian mythology, the goddess of fire and volcanoes is called Pele.

People have borrowed from nature the technology for producing modern insulation, which is 95% stone. This is how stone wool turned out.

When cooling after a steam room, hair must be kept dry.

This is a very common and harmful misconception. After the steam room, you definitely need to plunge headlong.

As a result of strong heating in the steam room, the vessels of the head and body are in an expanded state. Immersion in cold water causes them to instantly narrow. When the vessels of the head remain dilated, the pressure in them can sharply increase, which is fraught with unpleasant consequences: the most common are lethargy, drowsiness, and difficulty speaking. Some consider such sensations to be evidence of the high-quality effects of bath procedures, but in fact these are symptoms of deterioration of cerebral circulation.

About the wedding ceremony

In the old days, were rituals performed in a bathhouse before a wedding?

Before the wedding, the bathhouse was heated for two days. In order for the union of the newlyweds to become strong and the relationship to glow with passion, a ritual of uniting earthly and heavenly forces was performed in the bathhouse. Such unity could only take place if the bathhouse was heated with special firewood.

The tree must have been struck by lightning. Only such a tree was suitable for the ritual of a strong marriage and passionate relationships.

This is our first selection of your questions and our answers. I really hope you liked our idea. Ask your questions and tell interesting little-known facts about the bathhouse