All about the wood-fired bath

Russian people have long been familiar with the charms of bathing procedures. The hot air, the steam and the procedure in general can give a person strength and vigor. Our ancestors used to say that after the bath they felt their soul and body rejuvenated.

But, In addition to mental relief, bathing procedures helped strengthen the immune system, cured various skin diseases and respiratory system diseases. Women have noticed that when they regularly went to the baths, they lost excess weight. These claims have survived to this day, however, some skeptics are willing to argue with them.

According to Russian traditions, bathing facilities should be built only of wood. However, in modern realities in the construction of bathing complexes, owners use different materials, such as aerated concrete blocks, bricks or stones.

This is due to the difference in price. Natural wood today is quite expensive, respectively, this material is mostly used as decoration. But if you design a fully wooden bath, a person can feel the feelings that his ancestors enjoyed.

A real Russian bathhouse should have three rooms.

• The steam room is the heart of the whole structure. It is located behind all the rooms. Inside there is a stove and shelves for resting. You can sit or lie on them, it all depends on the width of the benches and the length. The room itself has a small size, so the steam quickly fills the space.

• Bathing room - This room is designed for washing after the steam room. Inside it there is a tub with cold water. Under the ceiling are fixed containers of water and a cord, which should be pulled to dip yourself after bathing. In the modern interior of the washing room there is a shower room. The walls are hung with oak brooms.

• Pre-bathroom - This room is located immediately behind the entrance door to the bath. Inside this room there is a closet, a small chair, a few chairs, a furnace and stacked firewood. Once in this room, the visitor must undress and put his belongings in the closet. In the same room, friendly companies can have gatherings. In modern bathhouses there is a refrigerator, TV, music center and various modern equipment. In winter the anteroom must be heated, as it is here where visitors spend more time. But there are bathhouses without heating. In this case, the room is used as a locker room.

Often the steam room and the bathing room are combined into one. Of course, this arrangement can not be called convenient, but this approach allows you to save space available in the bath. Since time immemorial rustic Russian bathhouse is built from solid logs or bar.

And if the owner of a country house wants to install a wood-burning Russian bath on his plot, he will need to make a project. Modern city-type bathing complexes and saunas are equipped with entertainment requirements in mind.

When developing a project of a traditional Russian bath for home use, it is necessary to make a correct project, which encapsulates convenience and safety. First of all, it is necessary to work out the steam room. The stove inside this room should be located so that it easily and quickly heats the space. Benches and benches are placed near the walls. When arranging the furnace itself, it is important to take into account that it will run on wood, and therefore must have a chimney.

Surely many people have noticed while watching Russian movies that traditional Russian bathhouses are built near the river. In winter, steaming men jump out of the bathhouse, take a dip in the natural pool and return soaking wet to the hot room. This arrangement of the bath structure is considered correct.

The main property of the Russian bath is to cleanse the body and strengthen the body. Wood-fired steaming has a positive effect on the human nervous system, improves the work of the respiratory tract and cardiovascular system. But most noteworthy is that during the action of the hot steam metabolism in the human body is speeded up. Today, bathing therapists prescribe visits to patients suffering from frequent colds, rhinitis, chronic bronchitis, tonsillitis and polyarthritis. Bath heating is considered effective for sciatica and gout.

Regular visits to the steam room help to cope with neurasthenia, kidney and bladder diseases. Steam baths also benefit people with a mild form of heart failure and small gallbladder abnormalities. Some argue that high air temperature and hot steam are bad for health. Especially for cardiac patients. But scientists were able to prove the opposite.

From the human body, visiting the steam room through the sweat exudes moisture, and with it toxins, slags and other harmful substances. In addition, regular visits to the Russian bath allows you to cope with a lot of weight. Of great importance are the substances released during the combustion of firewood. For the treatment of mucous membranes it is preferable to use pine firewood. They also soothe the nervous system and cure chronic diseases.

Do not forget about the accessories, without which the steaming procedure would not make sense. We are talking about brooms. For their composition different plants are used. For example, birch relieves muscle and joint pain. In contact with the skin, birch brooms cleanse it from rashes, pustules and other types of inflammation of the epidermis.

Visiting the baths is contraindicated for people suffering from asthma. And if during the calm period of the disease someone can risk visiting the steam room, then during the exacerbation it is strictly forbidden to do so. Also, you should not sit in the steam room in the presence of an infectious disease. Among other things, go to the sauna is not allowed to epileptics, people with liver disease, high blood pressure and internal inflammation. Women who are pregnant should not visit the bath, especially if the fetus is found to have any abnormalities.

To get the maximum health benefits from going to the bath, you need to choose the right firewood. They are made from different types of trees, where each variety has certain characteristics. Birch firewood is considered the most popular. When they burn, a light steam is released, which has a disinfecting effect.

Birch firewood is characterized by a high heat output. In the bark of this tree there is natural tar, which contributes to the rapid ignition of firewood. However you should remember that the healing properties of birch firewood are preserved for 2 years only.

Oak firewood is sold at a very high price. However, such expenses will quickly pay for themselves, especially if there are children in the family. Oak is a very dense tree, once in the oven, firewood takes a long time to ignite and just as long to burn. And when the logs burn, they release beneficial substances that help strengthen the immunity of people of all ages.

The linden wood, once in the stove, burns evenly, but intensely. This means that the steam room rather quickly heats up to the desired temperature. This kind of logs has certain therapeutic properties. When they burn, they have a positive effect on the respiratory system, help cope with colds and heal cuts on the skin.

Alder firewood is very easy to make, especially since it does not require drying. With them, the bath heats up very quickly, and the wood itself exudes a pleasant smell. When alder is heated, the evaporating substances clean the chimney from soot deposits. Aspen firewood can't boast a high heat output, but that doesn't mean it should be discarded. Aspen firewood is a chimney cleaner, which is why it is only used as a supplementary fuel. Coniferous wood as a warming bath is used very rarely.

Their combustion is accompanied by strong sparks that can cause a fire. Because of the low heat emission you have to put a lot of wood in the furnace. Wood-fired baths have a lot of advantages, but most importantly, they feel the atmosphere of a real Russian bathhouse, where you can recover after a hard day's work, relax your body and soul.

It is impossible to acquire the skill of heating the bath at one time. For years the Russian people perfected this art by applying new knowledge. And only thanks to the accumulated experience of the past generation it became possible to work out the correct process of the heating.

The first stage of kindling is to make the room clean. After each bath it is important to wash the floors, especially near the stove. Before the start of firing the sauna should be aired out, 30 minutes is enough. Any furnace designs have certain similarities with each other, although each model is equipped with an individual mechanism. Accordingly, the principle of kindling each system requires an individual approach, although the general principle of action in this case is the same:

• preparation;
• making the fire;
• giving the heat.

After airing the rooms and cleaning the inside of the sauna, you can proceed to fire up the stove. First of all you need to clean the ash-pit. Throw away the remnants of burning that have been collected. Then the wood is prepared. They must be placed at a safe distance from the stove. Now you can inspect the sauna heater. If it is open, it must be rinsed. It is worth noting that Rinse the sauna stove once per 5 bathing procedures.

It is important to determine the presence of draught. To do this it is necessary to open the ash drawer, the firebox door and the chimney flap. Then light a match and bring it to the door. If the flame lights up, then everything is okay. You will need newspaper or special flammable mixtures for kindling. While the newspaper is burning, you need to put some dry logs of small size into the fire. Now the kindling is made on the grate.

• On the grate a few logs are put with the distance of 10 cm between each other.
• At this distance is placed the kindling.
• On top of the fire a little bit of wood chips is poured.
• The kindled structure is pressed by a few logs in the opposite direction from the first billets.

Next, a fire is made. Any man has faced this procedure at least once in his life. The main thing is to observe the safety rules. It is much more convenient if the floor near the stove is lined with tiles, this material can not burn. As a safety measure, it is necessary to put a container of water nearby. The paper in the stove is ignited. Then you need to wait a couple of minutes, and then close the stove door. After about 5 minutes the wood is ignited, which is accompanied by a buzzing flame. Now you can partially cover the ash-pan and open the water boiler slide.

As soon as the wood has caught fire, it is necessary to give some heat. After 10 minutes after the base has burned through, you can start adding more logs, about 5 to 6 pieces at a time. You should use the poker to open the door. In this way, the sauna will start to heat up and reach the desired temperature. Subsequent laying of firewood depends on the time it is supposed to spend in the bath. Once the room is fully heated it is necessary to open the pipe slide, level the coals on the grate surface and enjoy the bathing procedures.

There are several areas in the sauna room - the anteroom, the changing room and the steam room. The temperature in the steam room ranges from 50 to 90 degrees and the humidity is 70%. The humidity in the anteroom is 80% at a temperature of 28 degrees. In the locker room the temperature is 25 degrees and the humidity is 60%. A person, once on the way from the locker room to the steam room, gets used to the temperature and humidity. Scientists have been able to determine how long a person can stay in a room with a high temperature:

• At 70 degrees, a person can stay for no more than an hour;
• at a temperature of 82 degrees is recommended to spend in a steam room no more than 50 minutes;
• at a mark of 93 degrees allowed to soar for 30 minutes;
• in the room where the temperature reached 104 degrees, a person must stay no more than 25 minutes.

The bathhouse is associated with hot steam and brooms. But in this case the brooms are much more important. The choice of steam tool must be as effective as possible so that a person achieves the desired result. For example, oak brooms relieve stress fatigue, reduce oiliness of the skin. Pine brooms cure colds, birch brooms cure bronchitis. The linden brooms can soothe swelling and headaches.

In addition to brooms, you will need to stock up on mittens and other bath accessories. More precisely, a few sheets to wrap up and terry towels to wipe the body, drying the hair. You should bring a felt hat to protect your head, and slippers or flip-flops for your feet. Once you have gathered the necessary things, you can go to the bath.

However, to visit it correctly you must remember a few important rules.

• You should go to the bath satiated, but in moderation. From too much or not enough food when exposed to high temperatures can make you feel dizzy.
• Before entering the steam room, it is desirable to do a little warm-up or jump in the pool for 10 minutes, then take a warm shower without detergents, with the hair should remain dry.
• For maximum relaxation in the steam room it is necessary to lie down. Under no circumstances should you make any sudden movements, otherwise you will become dizzy. The initial temperature for steaming should be 60 degrees. Then it can be increased.
• Use a broom can be used only after getting used to the body to steam. The broom itself should be poured with boiling water and held in hot water for a couple of minutes.
• Breathe in the steam room can only be through the nose, otherwise you can dry out the bronchi and burn the lungs.
• It is not recommended to jump into the snowdrift or into the river after leaving the steam room. Only experienced bathhouse attendants may do so. It is enough for amateurs to go for a cool shower.
• It is allowed to arrange aromatherapy sessions in the bathhouse. To create the appropriate atmosphere, it is preferable to use scents of pine and wood. To do this, it is enough to drop a few drops of essential oil in the water, where the brooms are steamed.
• In one session of bathing procedures a person loses about 1.5 liters of liquid. Therefore, it is necessary to drink a lot of water or herbal tea between visits. But under no circumstances should you consume alcohol. From the degree increases the load on the human body, respectively, the effect is significantly reduced.
• After taking bathing procedures it is necessary to rinse with warm water and sit in peace for about 20 - 30 minutes.

• To date, many bathing complexes that meet the requirements of Russian traditions are arranged in urban areas. However, in these projects modern elements of the interior are used.

• Much more pleasant to be in a home bath, where every detail of the structure resembles the Russian antiquity, the very atmosphere of tranquility and bliss.

To learn how to take a steam bath in the Russian bathhouse see the following video.