Wood stove steamer or kettle humidifier for sauna

If you follow this blog, you know that the sauna was built with the help of a lot of my friends who frequently use it as well. So, it’s not surprising that any addition or alteration to the sauna gets debated by the whole group. One such long standing debate has been about the “Kettle Humidifier” or “Stove Humidifier.” There are different variations of this, but, the idea is the same. A cast iron pot/kettle is filled with water and placed on top of the stove/rocks. As the stove produces heat, it heats up the pot/kettle in which water evaporates and humidifies the air.

After seeing this kettle at a store, I thought it would be a great addition. However, the debate raged on. Some people thought that it would make the sauna a steam room and that’s not what we wanted. Because of that point, I stayed away from investing in this humidifier kettle-- until recently. This fall, I decided to bite the bullet and give it a try. It’s only $15 :)

Wood stove top humidifier for sauna.

I have to say, I’m glad I bought it. It definitely does NOT make a steam room out of the sauna. However, what it does is makes it easier to breath and makes, at least me, sweat a lot quicker. An extra bonus is you can add your scents directly to the kettle water for a continuous release of wonderful Eucalyptus or Spearmint or whatever sauna scent you like. Keep in mind, this is not a replacement for throwing water on the rocks—this is in addition to. Any time you want some Löyly, you can still throw a few ladles of water over the rocks-- the kettle does not get in the way.

So, if you have never heard about a humidifying stove kettle or have been playing with the idea of getting one, I suggest you go and buy one. I know it made my sauna experience more enjoyable and I hope it does the same thing for you.