Different Finnish Saunas

There are many different types of sauna that can be found in Finland, after being in Finland for an extended amount of time I am now an expert! Saunas can be classified by the building itself or by what kind of stove it uses.

The main division of saunas is between saunas warmed once and continuously warmed sauna (stoves). All smoke saunas are warmed once.

Once warmed stoves have larger amount of stones that are warmed up before the session. This can be done by burning wood, with or without chimney, oil or natural gas. Continuously warmed stoves have lower amount of stones that are heated during the session. The warming can be done burning wood, oil or natural gas, or electrically.

The temperature in the saunas is between 60 to 100 °C.

Smoke sauna

The smoke sauna is known as the ‘savusauna’ in Finland. It is a special type of sauna that does not have a chimney. Wood is burnt in a large stove and the smoke fills the room. When the sauna is hot enough, the fire is allowed to die and the smoke is ventilated out. The residual heat of the stove is enough for the duration of the sauna. This represents the ancestral type of sauna, since chimneys came later in the history of the sauna.

Wood stove sauna

The wood stove sauna is the most common type of sauna outside of the city areas, where the electric sauna is more common. The metal stove with stones on top is heated with birch wood fire, and this heats the sauna room to the required temperature. If birch wood is not available any other wood will do, but well dried birch wood is preferred because of its good quality and smell, and long-lasting burn. The important thing is to have a good löyly, that is when the stones are hot enough to evaporate the water thrown on them into steam that rises to the bathers. The bather in every type of sauna sits on a high bench near the ceiling where the hot steam reaches them quickly.

Electric sauna

In city apartments, and in most public saunas, an electric sauna is used, as it does not require wood to burn. They are more practical and convenient since they are very simple to prepare, only a press of a button will do. Most apartment buildings in Finland include at least this type of sauna, or there is one for use by the occupants of a building, with dedicated hours for use for communal men's and women's sauna, and special hours for those who have requested apartment specific hours. Most Finns prefer a wood stove sauna to an electric sauna.