Vaalto was born in Kaamanen, Finland in 1921. His mother was a saleswoman who would go around Europe selling the saunas his father made. His father owned ‘Laukkanen Saunas,’ a small hand crafting sauna maker whose products were set up all over northern Europe. His father, Somya Laukkanen hired some of the local boys of the town to cut trees before he fashioned them into the steam house.