In icy, frosty weather, with only one thought of the bathhouse, heat begins to flow through the body. Yes, add a stove-heater here, and the park and emotions begin to go through the roof. But ...
Do you know that improperly selected stones can be harmful? Some of them, when heated, are capable of releasing a lot of harmful substances and compounds, such as sulfur or zinc oxide. Purchased in natural markets, without a certificate of quality, they may be radioactive.
In addition, some of the stones, when water gets on them, burst into fragments due to the large temperature difference. It’s not safe, because fragments can hurt you. Therefore, bath stones should be bought in stores with a wide assortment, among which you could choose the ones suitable for your stove.
How to check the quality of the stone for hardening test? Yes, it is very simple: you need to heat it over a fire until red, and then quickly lower it into water. Not cracked, then passed the test! Many people think that the more stones they put in the stove, the better. But this is not at all true.
What to buy stones for a bath?
If your bathhouse has a factory furnace - a heater, then in the technical specification it indicates the required amount of stone in kilograms.
There are recommendations for laying stones in the stove: the largest of them are stacked on the bottom, and smaller stones should be stacked on top of the larger ones.
But there are lovers who want to take a steam bath, who put cheap rock on the bottom of the furnace, and on top of it - thoroughbred. At the same time, they get aesthetic pleasure and save money.
If you decide to buy stones for a bath, you should choose them of natural or volcanic origin, the most suitable of which are: gabbro-diabase, coil, raspberry quartzite, jadeite.
Gabbro-diabase is a very dense and durable homogeneous breed. The color of the stone is black. It is the cheapest, but it heats up quickly and retains heat for a long time.
The coil refers to rock minerals. The color is dark green with a snake skin pattern. It is considered an expensive stone with good heat dissipation.
Raspberry quartzite is a rock and represents fused quartz grains with high density and low thermal conductivity. Gives powerful steam. Refers to expensive stones.
Jadeite is a semiprecious, expensive stone with a high density, practically does not absorb radiation. The color is dark green, contains metasilicon.
If you cannot find the listed rocks of stones, then choose non-volcanic rocks. They are collected along rivers, bays or lakes. They have a rounded shape, and this ensures uniform heating of the stove-heater.
In fact, bath stones in specialized stores are represented by a small assortment. Real bath stones are rock formations of stones with a large heating surface, which is distinguished by large grain size, beautiful appearance, healing properties, and durability. They give a large and soft steam, and a visit to a bath or sauna turns into a real pleasure.