Assessing the humidity in the house: the best hygrometers for baths and apartments

The best mechanical hygrometers

Mechanical hygrometers are divided according to the principle of measuring humidity levels. The most common type is film hygrometers, which measure the expansion of an organic film as air humidity levels change. However, this is not so important, and manufacturers rarely indicate this nuance in the product description. Regardless of the operating principle, all hygrometers work equally well and you can be one hundred percent confident in their readings. Of course, if the device is of high quality, and these are the hygrometers that are included in our rating.

Creating comfortable conditions in the bathhouse and sauna

Many lovers of baths and saunas know that even the most experienced bath attendant can make mistakes when creating comfortable conditions in a steam room. Every professional in this matter knows that even a minimal exaggeration of the temperature regime can lead to dire consequences (read: “What temperature in a steam room should be - from optimal to maximum”). Elderly people and children are the first to be at risk of getting heatstroke when the temperature in the steam room rises.

Excessive exposure to the steam room can lead to a general loss of strength among visitors. Increasing the pressure can cause nausea and dizziness in visitors, and if the air humidity is exceeded, breathing will be difficult and the cardiovascular system will be under additional stress.

If all these parameters have a value less than the normative one, then the effect of the procedures will not be productive enough. You should not trust the feelings of an experienced bathhouse attendant when it comes to creating an optimal microclimate within the steam room. It is best to entrust this task to automated devices that will provide accurate information about the specified air parameters in the steam room.

For example, a stylish thermometer for saunas and baths in the shape of an hourglass will fit perfectly into the interior of the room. The cost of such a decorative element is not high, but in terms of functionality it is simply irreplaceable. Installing such a device is quite simple.

The best electronic hygrometers

In terms of the quality of measuring indoor humidity, electronic hygrometers are not inferior to mechanical ones, and in some aspects even surpass them. For example, an electronic device can be placed in a highly protected housing and used in extreme conditions. Analog meters are more susceptible to environmental influences and are rarely used outdoors. If you just need to measure the humidity in a room, you can take the most compact device, or choose an attractive futuristic form factor. There are also a lot of such models on the market.

Basic requirements for devices in the bathhouse

Technical means for monitoring air parameters in bath rooms differ significantly from their counterparts used in ordinary living rooms. It is worth understanding that any bath and sauna thermometer with a hygrometer is subject to excessive exposure to steam and moisture.

Typically, any device has a wider measuring range and an extended scale of values. Naturally, during production, such devices are given such a shape and properties that they are absolutely safe and convenient for use in a bathhouse.

Any thermometer, barometer or bath hygrometer must meet the following criteria:

• increased resistance of materials used in production to random mechanical loads, moisture, steam, and elevated temperatures;

tightness of the structure (especially functional elements responsible for collecting information about air parameters in the room);

• the optimal maximum temperature for heating the product body, allowing you to touch it with bare hands without any discomfort;
• competent product design with increased safety of measuring elements;
• readable scale markings, simplifying the process of reading data from the device.

Today, any remote bath thermometer or other device is made from high-quality materials that are absolutely safe for the human body. When heated, none of the materials emit any harmful substances.

It is necessary to buy any technical means for a bath in specialized stores, since only in this case will they fully comply with all regulatory requirements. There is a high risk of purchasing a defective barometer or thermometer with a hygrometer for a bath, so you should be careful and not skimp on such important devices.

How to choose?

When buying this device, you must first of all pay attention to the body. It must be impermeable, safe and stable to the influence of high atmospheric moisture content and high temperature.

The most suitable option is wood. It has low thermal conductivity, and therefore you will not get burned in case of accidental contact. All transparent components of the structure must be made of heat-resistant glass to withstand temperature fluctuations from 0 to +120 ° C.

It is also necessary to take into account the scale of possible indications. Ideally, it should be 0-100%. But for Russian steam rooms you can choose a more inexpensive sample - 30-100%. The measurement scale should be large and conspicuous so as not to look closely at it in the twilight.

Moreover, the device must be high quality and suitable for the interior of the steam room.

Bath barometer

The air pressure in the steam compartment is also a very important parameter, which some bath attendants do not pay enough attention to. Indeed, temperature and humidity are fundamental parameters, but optimal pressure is also very important if the bath attendant wants to create the most comfortable conditions for his visitors.

If we are talking about a Russian bath, then there is no need to use a barometer in the steam compartment, and optimal pressure should be achieved within the rest room. The use of mercury barometers is strictly prohibited due to safety regulations.

The simplest and most suitable for use in a bathhouse is the aneroid. This device is in the form of a regular box with corrugated walls. If the pressure decreases, the box expands and vice versa.

Bath timer

Bath procedures are a responsible process. The consequences that may arise in the event of an extremely long stay in conditions of elevated temperature have already been described above. In the steam room, to record the time spent in the room, you can install both a simple hourglass and an electronic clock.

Naturally, an electronic device cannot be installed in a steam room, but if it is installed correctly, you can get an originally designed accessory with increased practicality during operation. In the photo and upon visual inspection, such an element will look very beautiful and will create an atmosphere of modernity and technology in the room.

Popular models

Among the wide variety of measuring devices, there are a number of modifications that have already been able to gain the trust of customers. The “Shaika” hygrometer from the “Nevsky Bathman” brand is one of these. It is made in Russia. The advantage is considered to be the combination of a thermometer and a hygrometer, a kind of thermohygrometer. Instead of an ordinary mercury thermometer, an alcohol prototype was used to manufacture it, which made it possible to practice the device in rooms with extremely high temperatures. An additional advantage is the fashionable design, which can embellish the steam room. The disadvantage is the cost - it is quite high.

The domestically produced Doctor Bath device is also in high demand. Its shell is made of real birch. The structure of the device also includes a thermometer, which makes it possible to completely control the local climate of the room. The operating temperature range is 0-140° C, which is considered ideal. Stylish appearance can be achieved

Description

The sauna hygrometer “absorbs” moisture, measures its proportion with oxygen and displays the results. There are a number of main varieties, which we will talk about in more detail a little later.

The functionality of a device may be affected by its location. To obtain the most accurate readings, you need to follow a number of recommendations. It should not be placed close to sources of cold or heat energy.

In addition, it is not advisable to place the meter near humidifiers or other devices that change the local climate of the room.

Bath thermometer

Not a single experienced bath attendant can say with confidence that his many years of experience will allow him to regulate the temperature in the steam room more accurately than when using an electronic thermometer for baths and saunas. Each visitor to such establishments has his own limit for the body’s temperature sensitivity.

For various types of baths and saunas, optimal temperature limits for receiving procedures have been established:

• in a Russian bath they range from 40 to 60 degrees Celsius;
• in Turkish - similarly;
• in a Finnish sauna – 100-110 degrees Celsius. The reason for such high heating is that the human body tolerates dry steam much more easily than wet steam.

The temperature is determined by visitors in advance if they have established preferences, or is selected as the steam room heats up. By constantly checking the thermometer for the steam room, you can choose the optimal temperature. If there is overheating, it will be enough to ventilate the room, but in this case you will have to reschedule the paired procedures until the optimal temperature is established.

In private and commercial buildings, a simple mechanical or electronic bath thermometer with an external temperature sensor is used. Standard mechanical devices operate on the principle of thermal expansion of bodies. The body that is sealed into such a thermometer for a steam room can be presented in any state of aggregation - from gas to a solid structure.

If we are talking about a gas thermometer for a sauna, then it is worth noting its high error and the widest range of temperature values, which makes its use impractical. Such devices have a low price and a simple design.

The best electronic thermometer for a sauna with a remote sensor detects changes in temperature conditions through a proportional change in the resistance of the conductor in the structure. Naturally, modern electrical devices are an order of magnitude more expensive, but the accuracy of the measurements they make is significant.

Typically, electronics of this type are produced in the form of universal devices, which include not only a thermometer, but also other measuring instruments.

The most common devices for installation in a bathhouse:

• liquid thermometer - with a working container in the form of a flask. A narrow test tube with a special liquid and a marked scale are placed inside such a container. With temperature changes, the liquid column increases or decreases as it expands or vice versa. The value opposite which the upper limit of the column is set is the room temperature;
• a dial thermometer is the same mechanical thermometer as a liquid one, but its significant difference is the iron-nickel spring. When the air temperature changes, the spring itself increases and contracts, which in turn affects the mechanical needle. The arrow moves along a circular scale and, stopping at a certain value, indicates the temperature inside the room;
• An electronic thermometer is the most modern and most accurate device, in which a special sensor acts as a functional temperature meter. As a result of its work, an electronic sauna thermometer displays all received data on a graphic display. The positive quality of this device is its highest accuracy. However, an electronic thermometer for baths and saunas has a significant drawback - it cannot be installed directly in the steam room. Based on this drawback, it becomes difficult to install an electronic thermometer. It is necessary to ensure that the sensor from the electronic thermometer is placed in the steam room, and the device itself is placed in the next room. For this purpose, a meter cable is used, provided in the basic configuration of the device. Naturally, difficulties arise in monitoring the temperature in the room on the part of visitors taking bath procedures.

Based on the foregoing, we can conclude that it is best to install a pointer or liquid version of the device in a steam room. If we are talking about a private sauna, where all the wishes of the clients are satisfied by the bathhouse attendant, then you can use an external sauna thermometer if there is a permanent operator monitoring the readings of the device.