From the Mailbag: Hi Glenn, I ordered your e-book a couple of years ago and am finally (hopefully) getting started on my sauna build. I am converting a stand alone shed that is on the edge of our yard. My question is on the use of an electric versus a wood sauna. Without a double I love the thought of a traditional wood fired sauna. My fear is that the time to build and tend the fire to get it up to temperature will be a deterrent from daily use. I like to paddle on Puget Sound early in the morning and end my paddle with a swim in the cold sea water. I can't think of a better way to end this ritual than with a sauna. My thought is that with an electric sauna, I could simply turn it on and have it be warm when I get back. With a wood fired I would have to spend some time tending the fire before I leave. The same would be true when I get home from work before bed. With a wood fire, once I lay the fire and light it do I need to come back and damp everything down or can I light it … [Read more...]
Top 10 reasons why you deserve an authentic sauna at your cabin, cottage or lake home.
10. Sauna is the best way to check for and get rid of wood ticks.. 9. Sauna gets rid of your itchy mosquito bites. 8. Sauna is your bad weather insurance policy. 7. Sauna is a great community thing, for neighbors old and new. 6. Sauna brings your family together. 5. Sauna gets you cleaner than a shower with soap, shampoo, and shampoo bi-products. 4. Sauna won't tax your septic system. 3. Sauna gets you out in nature. 2. Sauna gets you away from the screen, cell phone, TV, or other distraction from #3. and 1. Sauna helps you enjoy all the seasons at your cabin, cottage or lake home. … [Read more...]
Authentic sauna enthusiasts understand and appreciate seasons and weather extremes
Sauna during each of the four seasons involve: Summer saunas by the lake with plunges off the dock and rainy days. Spring saunas with freshly made vihta and new growth. Fall saunas in the misty garden all wet with rain after an outdoor shower. Winter saunas after a pick up hockey game or cross country ski out the back door. Sauna is a celebration of nature. Snow: And Ice: … [Read more...]
The sounds of summer at the lake
Lake cabins and cottages are full of distant, familiar sounds, especially on a calm summer day. The way a boat motor cranks to life easily defines its owner: "I think Jack's going fishing". A faint playful laughter down the shoreline: "The Kurtz kids must be swimming". The slap of a neighbors screen door. And there's an unmistakable "thud, thud, thud, swoosh" that signals John - after finishing a sauna round - with a mad dash out to the end of the dock and plunge into the cool lake. Many summer sounds evoke familiar warm memories, past and present. Knowing a neighbor is moments from that wonderful refreshing plunge into a cool lake fills one with a smile and inspiration to fire up their own sauna. Saunas are contagious. … [Read more...]
Don’t think of the sauna as just another winter tool
Summer saunas mean Hippopotamus style hanging out. And here's A guest post from Miller, reviewing matters on a summer day in his backyard sauna. Check out Miller's start to Finnish sauna build experience HERE. Enter Miller: When mowing the lawn or performing any other arduous task in the baking summer sun, a few rounds in the sauna may be the furthest thing from your mind…but sometimes it’s just what the body needs. Don’t think of the sauna as just another winter tool, one that is put away each year with the hat and gloves. The benefits of the sauna can be enjoyed year round. Here are some thoughts on sauna in the summer for those that have not yet indulged: · Don’t skimp on between-round cool downs. In the winter, a small dousing of water and a few minutes standing in the crisp, winter air is often all that is necessary to adequately cool the body in preparation for the next round. Not so in the summer. Your body can’t radiate away excess heat in the summer … [Read more...]
Extreme heat index means Hippopotamus style hanging out.
47 of the 50 States here in the US are under "Extreme Heat Index" which basically means a sauna is everywhere you go outside. But nobody is outside. The sun bakes and scorches, and the humidity can be cut with a knife. My friend Clint talks about the virtues of hot weather sauna here, and me here, but practically speaking, hot summer isn't the most ideal sauna weather. For those of us with a sauna by the shores of a cool freshwater lake, we don't need to be consoled with a violin. We are not suffering from excessive heat. Though the heat is reaching us, our sauna cool down sessions are more effective by hanging out in the cooler water, like a Hippopotamus. We all know about proper cool down between sauna rounds - allowing the body core to cool (equalize) - and most of us know that water transfers heat much more quickly than air. You can only be in 60 degree water for a couple minutes, but you can play 18 holes of golf in 60 degree air. As you cruise along in your fishing boat, … [Read more...]
Summer Sauna: a great time for a double shot of the clean rinse
It's night time and it's still warm out. You take a wonderful cold shower outside. You sit and chill out and here this great tune. You want to go back into the sauna, yet your body core is still warm You take another cold shower, then go sauna. Summer Sauna - a great time for a double shot of the clean rinse. … [Read more...]
Summertime Sauna
With the awesome spring we've had and temperatures soaring near 90F and with the Twins on a miniature roll , what better time then a late afternoon summer-time sauna? Three rounds, complete with intermittent dips in the pool between rounds to properly cool down, another successful sauna in the books! Now it's time for some pizza and beer. Even though the motto of "the worse the weather the better the sauna" remains paramount, sometimes, with the better weather your better off saunaing. Enjoy the good weather and good times. … [Read more...]