[ Glossary ]
Spa and sauna glossary: 40 terms, defined
The words used on drawings and in our articles, from aufguss to balance tank, each with a source.
This glossary defines the 40 terms that come up most often when Sauna Dekor Spa Solutions plans and builds saunas, steam rooms, hammams, cold rooms and pools. Temperatures are the design values we build to; each term links to the page that explains it in full and names its source.
Glossary
Sauna
Finnish sauna
A timber room heated by a stove with stones, run at 80–100 °C with dry air; water thrown on the stones raises the humidity for a short time. Read more
Source: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Bio sauna
A milder sauna run at 50–65 °C, with added humidity from an evaporator on the heater. Read more
Source: Sauna Dekor design values
Infrared cabin
A cabin heated by infrared emitters that warm surfaces and people directly; the cabin air stays at 45–60 °C. Read more
Source: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Heater stones
The stone load on a sauna heater: it stores heat and turns poured water into steam. Read more
Source: en.wikipedia.org
Glass correction
Extra volume added for each square metre of glass, stone or concrete when sizing a heater: Harvia adds about 1.2 m³, Tylö and HUUM about 1 m³; EOS publishes no single figure. Read more
Source: huum.eu
Control unit
The panel that sets temperature and time; it is mounted outside the cabin, with its sensor inside at the height the heater maker states. Read more
Source: eos-sauna.com
Ayous
A light tropical hardwood (Triplochiton scleroxylon), also sold as abachi, used for sauna lining and benches. Read more
Source: en.wikipedia.org
Low-resin pine
Pine selected for low resin content, used for sauna lining; "resin-free" is not a correct term. Read more
Source: en.wikipedia.org
Aufguss
A sauna session in which a sauna master pours water, often scented, on the stones and fans the heat towards the guests with a towel. Read more
Source: en.wikipedia.org
Glossary
Steam room and hammam
Vapour barrier
A layer that stops water vapour passing from a hot, humid room into the structure behind it. Read more
Source: en.wikipedia.org
Steam room
A sealed, tiled room held at 40–50 °C close to 100 % relative humidity, fed by a steam generator outside it. Read more
Source: en.wikipedia.org
Steam generator
The unit outside a steam room that boils water into steam; it is sized by its maker from the room volume, finishes and use. Read more
Source: condair.com
Ceiling fall
The slope or curve of a steam room ceiling that lets condensation run to the walls instead of dripping. Read more
Source: en.wikipedia.org
Flood test
Filling a sealed wet-room floor with water before tiling and checking for any loss, with the result recorded. Read more
Source: en.wikipedia.org
Hammam
A Turkish bath: warm, humid rooms with room air at 40–50 °C, a heated marble platform and wall basins. Read more
Source: en.wikipedia.org
Göbek taşı
The heated marble platform at the centre of a hammam, with a surface at 40–45 °C. Read more
Source: en.wikipedia.org
Kurna
A marble wall basin in a hammam with hot and cold taps; in our projects its top is typically 85–90 cm from the floor, made to order. Read more
Source: en.wikipedia.org
Hararet
The hot room of a hammam, where the göbek taşı and kurnas are. Read more
Source: en.wikipedia.org
Moroccan bath
A steam-and-scrub bath with a bench, poured water and walls often finished in lime plaster, zellige or mosaic; rhassoul clay is often used. Read more
Source: en.wikipedia.org
Rasul
A heated, tiled chamber where guests apply mud, sit in warm steam and then rinse. Read more
Source: Sauna Dekor design values
Glossary
Thermal suite and cold rooms
Tepidarium
A warm room in a thermal suite, with heated benches or walls, used between hot and cold rooms. Read more
Source: en.wikipedia.org
Laconium
A room with gentle dry heat, named after the Roman laconicum. Read more
Source: en.wikipedia.org
Thermal suite
A set of hot, warm, cold and rest rooms used in a fixed order. Read more
Source: en.wikipedia.org
Cold plunge
A tub or small pool of chilled water; we build them for water from 2 to 15 °C. Read more
Source: Sauna Dekor design values
Chiller
A refrigeration unit that cools the water of a cold plunge and holds it at its set point. Read more
Source: en.wikipedia.org
Snow room
An insulated room with fresh snow at about −10 °C (TechnoAlpin). Read more
Source: indoor.technoalpin.com
Ice fountain
A fountain or basin of crushed ice used between heat rounds. Read more
Source: Sauna Dekor design values
Shock bucket
A wall-mounted bucket that tips cold water over the user. Read more
Source: Sauna Dekor design values
Experience shower
A programmed shower that changes water pattern, temperature, light and scent. Read more
Source: Sauna Dekor design values
Vichy shower
A horizontal bar of shower heads above a wet treatment table. Read more
Source: en.wikipedia.org
Salt room
A dry room with salt-covered surfaces, sometimes with a halogenerator. Read more
Source: Sauna Dekor design values
Halogenerator
A device that grinds dry salt into a fine aerosol for a salt room. Read more
Source: Sauna Dekor design values
Glossary
Pools and plant
Overflow pool
A pool whose water spills over the edge into a channel and a balance tank. Read more
Source: en.wikipedia.org
Skimmer pool
A pool whose water level sits below the edge and is drawn off through skimmers in the wall. Read more
Source: en.wikipedia.org
Balance tank
A tank that takes the water displaced by bathers in an overflow pool and returns it to the filters. Read more
Source: en.wikipedia.org
Olympic pool
A 50 × 25 m pool with 8 lanes of 2.5 m plus an empty lane on each side, at least 2 m deep (3 m recommended), water at 25–28 °C. Read more
Source: worldaquatics.com
Hydrotherapy pool
A warm pool with jets and massage stations, typically about 30 °C. Read more
Source: Sauna Dekor design values
Float tank
A tank of water with dissolved Epsom salt, dense enough to float in. Read more
Source: en.wikipedia.org
Plant room
The technical room for filters, pumps, dosing, heat pumps, chillers and steam generators. Read more
Source: en.wikipedia.org
Related pages
Where to read on?
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