Steam shower units are a luxurious addition to any bathroom. They consist of both a shower and a steam room combined, giving you an enclosed space that you can use as a sauna, a shower, or preferably both at the same time. They will help you relax your muscles after a long day, and add considerable value to your home.
Steam showers are not common in homes, but if you’ve ever been to a larger massage parlor to spa you may have seen them. They basically look like a sauna room, usually complete with a bench perfect for sitting for awhile, and can be made of wood or stone. There is a shower head usually on the wall, though you may also see them attached directly to the ceiling. The doors are made of plastic or glass and seal fairly tightly to keep the steam in.
If you’re using the sauna, you can usually turn it as high as 120-130 degrees, though most people can’t quite handle such high heat. That’s good though – you know you’ll always be able to get it as hot as you can stand. The heat is going to be a very humid heat, compared to some saunas that produce more of a dry heat. This works well with the shower of course.
Once you get so hot that you need to cool off, you can turn on the shower and do it. The shower water, even when it’s hot, will be cool enough that the steam will disappear pretty quickly. The temperature itself will stick around for some time. Some people find it relaxing to go through this cycle several times, heating themselves up and them using the steam shower to cool themselves off a little bit.
The big health benefit is that this is going to completely relax the muscles in your body, perfect if you’ve spent a hard day of work. This has been known to help with arthritis pain in some people as well. It also increases your heart rate, which can give you the same cardiovascular benefits of a workout. Too much can be dangerous, though for most people they would have to be in the sauna for a very long time to risk themselves.
The process of sweating also helps open up the sweat glands and pores on your skin, which can help clean your skin and prevent acne breakouts or similar skin issues. In some desert cultures, sweat tents are used to clean the body, as wash water is impractical when it’s a scarce resource.
A steam shower unit is not cheap, but it has significant health benefits, and is a fantastic way to relax. It’s scarcity in modern homes will also help it add excellent home value as well.