the expert's advice
From Suite Benessere
Magazine
Issue N. 14 | Summer 2003
| Dear
Daniele
Cantoni, I am a father who has recently found
himself in the middle of a strange debate. Our family
bought a new apartment and we are thinking about
installing a sauna at the end of the hallway where
the bedrooms are located. The debate started when
my daughter and my wife began insisting that they
wanted a "turkish bath," while my son
is of a different opinion. He would prefer to have
a sauna because he uses one at the gym and he feels
that it "makes you sweat more". I, on
the other hand, have not had any experience with
either one and the architect who is drawing up the
plans for the house told me quite honestly that
he is no expert in this field, either. What do you
suggest? Alessandro A. [Milan] |
Dear Reader, the decision you have to make is not an easy
one because each option has its own set of implications.
I will say that in the wellness field worldwide, men tend
to prefer saunas and women usually prefer turkish baths.
- I can understand your son who is used to using
a sauna [which has always been the most common wellness
feature in Italian gyms] and is probably unfamiliar with
the benefits of other types of "heat baths".
Contrary to what many people believe, the sauna [95 degrees
celsius and approximately 20% humidity] does cause the
user to sweat more per minute, but the climate in the
turkish bath [45 degrees celsius and over 90% humidity]
is such that one can spend more much time inside and therefore
will, in the end, lose more fluids.
- I also understand the women's point of view. Women
generally have lower blood pressure than men do and for
this reason (since heat lowers blood pressure) they can
tolerate a turkish bath much better than a sauna. We also
should not forget the aesthetic benefits of the turkish
bath - the high percentage of humidity coupled with
heat not only allows the body to naturally detoxify, but
also enables the skin to be deeply cleansed. To enhance
this effect, I recommend a monthly body peeling, if possible
using sea gel because its salt content will increase the
osmotic effect, thus further diminishing water retention.
At this point, we should take a look at a few technical
factors.
- A sauna is the easiest facility to install [it
only requires an outlet and a ventilation system, connected
to an exhaust pipe that leads outside], so it would be
possible to put one in as you had already considered in
the hallway, although I normally would not recommend it.
Remember that a sauna generally has a certain unmistakable
"mountain look" to it and this may not go with
the rest of your home's furnishings. So, in addition to
the prefabricated saunas that are readily available on
the market [some of which are of excellent quality and
reasonable in price], you may want to consider personalizing
your sauna, using dimensions and materials that better
harmonize with the rest of your home decor.
- If you should decide on a turkish bath, I would
strongly discourage you from installing it in the hallway.
The entrance way to a turkish bath has more of a "swimming
pool" feel to it than something that would be part
of a hallway leading to bedrooms. This is because of the
inevitable release of vapor and humidity into the air
every time the facility's door is opened. Technically
speaking, besides the water hook-ups and the hook-ups
for the siphoning drains, it calls for the same type of
installation as a sauna. Aesthetically speaking, unless
you decide to go with a prefabricated fiberglass base,
you can use your imagination and choose from various shapes
and materials that match your home decor.
- I greatly appreciate your architect's honesty in
admitting his inexperience in this field, as I am often
confronted with situations in which a "professional"
improvised and made choices that, in the end, were non
it in the best of interest of their clients.
- In conclusion, I would strongly recommend that
you visit a center where you can use these types of facilities
at least two or three times , so you can also decide which
one YOU would prefer.
| I
often hear talk of "Laconucums", particularly
in advertisements for certain famous hotels. Could
you explain to me what exactly these are? Luca C.
[Casalecchio - BO] |
In the early Greek gymnasiums and the old Roman baths,
the laconicum was a room specially designed for athletes
and other clients who wanted to sweat. Initially, this
room was heated by large stoves with metal lids [the temperature
was regulated by opening and closing the lid]. A system
was later developed that distributed the heat throughout
the air space in the floors and the walls. Today, laconicums
are being reconstructed according to the same criteria
that was used in the past, but with the use of modern
technology. The floor, walls and benches are heated either
electrically or using hot water circuits. This creates
a dry environment with an internal temperature of 65 degrees
Celsius. In a laconicum, one sweats at a slower rate and
with minimal fatigue because the body comes in direct
contact with the stone or mosaic, which has been heated
to 37 degrees Celsius.
| I
would like to know what a DESTINATION SPA is. Mario
R. [Naples] |
The word "spa" has come to be used internationally
for what we in Italy call a "wellness area"
and, in certain cases, a "beauty center". It
is a word of Latin origin and it comes from the initials
of Salus per Aquam - health derived from water. A
DESTINATION SPA is a hotel facility, whose principal activity
is wellness. These hotels offer vacations of two to fifteen
days or more, with special wellness packages that occupy
the guests time throughout the day. You may find it funny,
but to describe it with one word, I'd have to use an English
term: Beauty Farm.
| I'm
a hotel owner and I would like to ask you to explain
something strange that happened in the wellness
center of my hotel. Last year, I had a beautiful
7x4 meter whirlpool installed. It was finished with
a Botticino marble mosaic and it had a modern, automatic
filtration system with ph control. Initially, I
had some calibration problems with it, but they
were quickly resolved. The whirlpool runs 12 hours
a day, has a capacity of 10 people and can hold
up to 22 cubic meters of water. Now, a year after
its installation, the marble mosaic has completely
worn off - it's as if it has disintegrated.
I can't understand what could have happened. Thank
you in advance for your assistance. |
As you can see, we have accepted your request to remain
anonymous, considering your situation. Although you have
not given me a great deal of detail to go on, I believe
I have figured out what may have caused your problem.
In recent years, public pools and whirlpools have been
equipped with systems that automatically regulate the
chlorine and ph levels. If however, this system is not
properly calibrated or if one of the products you use
should run out [which would usually cause an alarm to
go off immediately], this could cause an alteration in
the ph, such as an increase in the acidity of the water.
In such cases, very serious consequences can result, such
as clients developing a rash, as well as a progressive
corrosion of the inside finish of the whirlpool, especially
if it is made of a calcium-based material [for example,
one of the many varieties of marble]. I think that when
you say the problem was "quickly" resolved,
you mean that it was quickly resolved once you realized
there was a problem. If you can recall some clients having
"red legs" after using the whirlpool, then this
was your problem. In conclusion, since [for aesthetic
reasons] one often can't avoid using calcium-based
materials in whirlpools and swimming pools, it's a good
idea to install a warning light for your automatic monitoring
system [for chlorine and ph] in a very visible place [such
as the reception area]. If however, the warning light
is on control panel in the maintenance area, you must
make sure that it is checked regularly to avoid serious
damage to the facility and, worse yet, to the client.
| Dear
Daniele Cantoni, I'm a hotel owner from Tuscany
and about a year ago I had a 6-person turkish
bath in mosaic installed. It had always worked well
and it had actually become the pride of my small
hotel. Four or five months ago, I began to notice
a slight odor which increased over time until, a
month ago, to my great disappointment, I had to
close the facility down due to the unbearable smell,
which was something like rotten eggs. I've tried
everything, from washing it down with antibacterial
products to having the internal drains checked.
The company that built it, following [what they
considered] a thorough examination, denied any responsibility
in the matter because they claim it was built according
to standard regulations. What can i do? Andrea P. |
Figuring out what the bad smell is is quite simple for
anyone who works in this field - it's the typical,
nauseating odor of stagnant water. Discovering where it's
coming from [especially without seeing the facility] is
much more difficult. A stagnant smell could come from
poor ventilation in the facility, but that definitely
isn't the problem in your case. One thing is certain:
the company that built it is either playing dumb or else
it's one of the many companies that improvises in building
such facilities because they've seen the demand for them
on the market. I say this because every company in this
field has a skeleton in the closet - for example,
assigning the new hired hands to install a turkish bath
that later develops a problem like yours. In addition,
there are no specific regulations in Italy regarding the
construction of indoor turkish baths. It would be easier
to find such regulations in Syria or Turkey. Based on
my experience, I would advise you to have all of the areas
where water could possibly stagnate checked [by the company
that built the bath] - every point of contact between
the benches and the walls, the door jambs, the points
where the walls meet the ceiling and the floor, all of
the crevices and, if there are any, all of the points
where silicone was applied, all of the pipes, especially
those inside the walls [breaking the walls, if necessary]
and last of all, the vapor generator. Apart from rare
cases in which the problem comes from the type of water
being used, most problems of this nature are the result
of an inexperienced builder or poor installation. Despite
this fact, I suggest you come to an agreement with the
builder because a lawsuit [besides being long and drawn
out] would not necessarily end in your favor due to the
lack of qualified experts in this sector. In all of my
career, I have only come across two other cases like this
one and, I'm sorry to say, in both cases the baths had
to be dismantled and completely rebuilt. |
