Sauna on yksi minun ja isännän lempiasioista. Nautimme saunomisesta, etenkin puulämmitteisessä, lempeälöylyisessä saunassa. Havumäkeen muutettuamme olemme kuitenkin olleet ilman saunaa, sillä yli sata vuotta vanhassa talossa ei sellaista ole. Arvelemme että talon sauna on luultavasti alunperin sijainnut vanhassa navetassa, joka on purettu vuosikymmeniä sitten.

Pohdimme pitkään miten toteuttaisimme saunan. Taloon sisälle emme sitä halunneet. Kuuma ja kostea huone hirsitalossa on aina riskirakenne ja yksi sellainen meillä jo on, suihku nimittäin. Yksi vaihtoehto olisi ollut rakentaa luolasauna vanhaan maakellariin. Olen kuullut että luolasaunojen löylyt ovat erityisen pehmeät ja miellyttävät. Minä halusin kuitenkin säilyttää kellarin kellarina, sillä aikanaan se kunnostetaan takaisin käyttöön ja toiveeni on säilöä siellä mehuja, hilloja ja juureksia. Päädyimme lopulta siihen että järkevintä olisi hankkia jonkinlainen trailerin päällä kulkeva sauna valmiina. Sellainen olisi helppo kuljettaa paikanpäälle ja asennukseen tarvittaisiin vain hyvä maapohja.

Itse saunan hankinta kävi vähän perinteiseen tapaan. Eli ensin ei oikein mikään natsaa ja sitten lopulta kun natsaa, sauna onkin alle viikossa pihassa. Joskin tässä välissä ehti jo yksi myyjä tehdä meille oharit ja myydä saunansa meidän ohi vaikka meillä oli näyttö siihen sovittuna. Lopulta löysimme kuin löysimmekin saunan käytettynä ja myyjä ystävällisesti ehdotti että voisi pientä korvausta vastaan myös tuoda saunan meille. Se oli nimittäin seissyt paikoillaan renkaat ilmassa viimeiset 7 vuotta, joten trailerin tieturvallisuudesta ei ollut mitään takeita. Ja niin sitten eräänä perjantaipäivänä terrakotanpunainen sauna saapui meille kuorma-autokyydillä suoraan Etelä-Pohjanmaalta.

Sauna on jo koesaunottu useampaan kertaan ja hyväksi havaittu. Koska kaikki kävi vähän nopeasti, meillä ei ollut vielä lopullista saunan paikkaa valmisteltuna ja tämä piti vain tuupata johonkin missä on tilaa. Niinpä se on toistaiseksi keskellä pihaa. Tulevana keväänä raivaamme johonkin (ei olla vielä päätetty tarkalleen mihin) tilaa ja teemme hyvän perustan jotta sauna voidaan sijoittaa tukevalle tasaiselle alustalle pysyvästi. Toistaiseksi käymme pesulla sisällä talossa, mutta tulevaisuudessa saunassa on tarkoitus myös peseytyä joten sen lopullisessa sijoituspaikassa on myös huolehdittava harmaavesien huolellisesta imeytyksestä maahan esim kivipesän avulla. Tonttimme ei sijaitse vesistön lähellä eikä karttojen mukaan pohjavesialueellakaan. Sauna pysyy tulevaisuudessakin kantovedellä, eli ei tule kiinteää vesijohtoa, jolloin kivipesä tai maanpintaan imeytys riittää pesuvesien osalta. Itse aion vähitellen vaihtaa kaikki henkilökohtaiseen hygieniaan liittyvät pesuaineet kotitekoisiksi ja luontoystävällisemmiksi, joten ne kuormittavat luontoa vähemmän kuin teolliset. Isännän suostuttelussa vastaavaan voi olla sen verran suuri urakka että en tiedä onnistuuko se.

Sauna is one of me and hubby’s favourite things. We really enjoy going to sauna, especially if it’s heated with wood stove. Ever since we moved to Pinehill, we have been without sauna, because the house doesn’t have one. It is unusual for Finnish country house, but we assume that originally sauna was in the old barn building, which have been demolished decades ago.

We were pondering how to make the sauna happen. We didn’t want to build it inside the house. Hot and steamy room inside a log house is always a risk and we already have one, the shower room. One option would have been to turn our cellar into a cave sauna. I have heard that cave sauna’s often have very soft and pleasant löyly. However I wanted to keep the cellar as a cellar, because in the future it will be renovated for storing juices and jams and root vegetables, like in the old days it has been. Finally we decided that the most sensible thing would be to get some sort of sauna trailer on wheels. It would be easy to transport to location and installation would only require good solid and even ground.

Getting the actual sauna was typical to us. First nothing is to our budget or liking and then when finally we find nice one, it takes less than a week when we actually have the sauna. Allthough there was one seller who actually sold their sauna past us, even though we had already agreed on viewing. This sauna we found second hand and the seller was friendly and suggested that perhaps it’s best if they transport the sauna to us with small fee. It had been standing on legs, wheels in the air, for past 10 years, so there was no guarantees on the roadworthyness. So one fine Friday morning this terracotta coloured sauna arrived to us, on a lorry, straight from Southern Ostrobothnia.

We have already tested it and found it good. Everything happened pretty fast, so we didn’t have the final location prepared. We just had to put it somewhere where was enough space. So it’s in the middle of the yard for now. On the coming Spring we will make space somewhere (not decided where yet) and prepare good, solid permanent base for it. For now we will go and wash inside the house, but in the future, we will also wash in sauna, so it’s important that we also take care of the greywater disposal. Our property is not near lakes or rivers and according to maps not on groundwater area either. Because there will not be permanent waterpipe in the sauna, we are allowed to just make sure that washing waters will be absorbed into the ground. This can be done with building underground stone pit or small absorption field where waters can be drained. I am going to replace all my personal hygiene detergents into homemade, more ecological ones, which are not as bad for the environment. Making hubby to do the same might be too big of a task for me.

Sauna vocabulary
Traditional Finnish sauna
Small room with wood or electric stove and high benches. Stove has lot of rocks which heat up. Clean water is thrown on the stove rocks to release hot steam. Traditionally sauna is the place where Finns wash themselves, but also used as a place for relaxing and bond (sometimes alcohol is involved, however not recommended). Temperature can be anything between 60-100 degrees of Celcius, however 70 is usually the best for comfortable experience. For some people sauna is almost religious experience, but to most Finns, sauna is important part of our culture, the essence of Finnish lifestyle. Us Finns usually go to sauna naked, but bathing suit is also accepted if you are not comfortable with nakedness. Other clothing than bathing suit, bikini or towel wrapped around you are not considered polite and can even cause health risk if the fibers of the clothing can’t handle the heat.
Löyly
Löyly is the steam and hot air that comes from throwing water on the sauna stove. You can say “throw more löyly” or “I’ve had enough löyly now” or “that was strong löyly”. There is no accurate translation for word löyly. If you want to have scented löyly, tar and birch are traditional cents, but don’t go overboard, add only couple drops of löylyscent.
Saunatonttu
Saunatonttu, the Sauna Elf, lives in sauna and makes sure that everyone behaves well in sauna. If you misbehave in sauna, you might feel the wrath of Saunatonttu. If angered, Saunatonttu can cause bad löyly or even cause breakage or burning of your sauna. So always remember to throw last löyly for Saunatonttu and thank them.
Kiulu
Kiulu is the small bucket, usually made of wood, where you keep your löyly water. Traditionally kiulu is made of kimpi, curved wood board which are connected with skillfull carving and joining together without glue or screws, just by correct matching shape and wooden bands. One kimpi board is longer than others, and forms a handle. Modern kiulu can be also made of plastic or metal.
Vihta or vasta
Vihta is small bouquet made of birch branches with leaves on. Traditionally it’s been used to bash your warm skin to remove dirt and loose skin cells. First you soak vihta in löyly water, then you press it gently ontop of the hot stove rocks on both sides for couple seconds. Then you gently whip your skin all over. It also enhances blood circulation and gives lovely scent to enhance your sauna experience. It is constant debate weather it’s called vihta or vasta. Usually in Western Finland it’s called vihta and Eastern Finland vasta. You can get fresh vihta only in Summer time, however it’s possible to dry it or freeze vihta in your home freezer and then you can enjoy vihta all year round.
Savusauna
Smoke sauna is the old form of Finnish sauna. Smoke sauna doesn’t have chimney. All smoke from the burning of the sauna stove stays inside the building. Smoke sauna walls are pitch black inside, from soot. It takes usually over 3 hours to warm the smoke sauna, when regular sauna takes only 1,5 hours. When sauna is ready, aka warm enough and fire has almost gone out, all ashes are taken out of the sauna stove and sauna is ventilated properly to get rid of all the smoke and carbon monoxide. Warming smoke sauna takes practice, time and caution, but the heat in there is not as sharp as in ordinary sauna. In smoke sauna you have to be carefull not to touch the walls, otherwise you get all sooty.