Keeping cool in soaring temps, without air conditioning (house, water, good)

[newenglandgirl]

I have central air but never use it. I don't believe a.c. is good for the immune system, we're meant to experience the heat and to sweat. However, with the record-breaking temps in North America and possible power outages, it's probably a good idea to know how to survive without air conditioning.

Here's my strategy, and I welcome more tips from others.

If there is electricity: I had overhead fans installed and these, with a combination of a standing floor fan, if positioned correctly really helps. In really hot weather, I put on the overheads and position the standing fans facing toward an open window, to suck out the hot air. Create cross currents with fans wherever possible.

If there is no electricity, or even if there is: I open the windows at night and very early in the morning close them and draw all the blinds to trap the cool air inside the house. Sometimes I keep several windows open just a crack. If you have curtains instead of blinds and it's going to be a scorcher, heavily spray the curtains with water (spray bottle) early in the a.m. and keep the window open a crack for the air to sift in through a small opening and evaporate the moisture (creates a cooling effect).

As for the dog on extremely hot days, I give her bath (no soaps) early in the morning and let her dry off on her own. Or, I spray her with a soft spray (water bottle) every now and then, sometimes with a little Witch Hazel (a coolant) in the water. Change her drinking water often and I never take her anywhere in the car without a huge bowl of water. Of course I never ever leave her in the car unattended, this can be deadly for a dog in any kind of heat, as the temps inside the car soar above the actual temp. Two dogs left in a truck here last week died.

What are others doing? I've heard of "swamp coolers" but don't know what this is. I also would like tips on how to deal with extreme heat conditions in a survival situation away from home.

[jambo101]

You may have this notion that its natural to go with out air and for most of mans history there was no air, but for much of mans history you died before you were 40.with A/C you can make life a lot more bearable and the air coming out of those A/C units isnt some strange artificial air its just regular old air thats been passed over a super cool condenser and has been cooled down and dehumidified its still just regular air, for many of us elderly being subjected to extreme heat can be life threatening and for those people if you've got air use it,if not stay out of the sun, use a fan.,drink lots of cold fluids,take cool showers when you feel overwhelmed by the heat,keep activity to a minimum or if that aint enough go spend the day at the mall.

[ChrisC]

A swamp cooler is a more refined version of your "wetting the curtains with water" idea. It pumps water through a straw-like mesh and blows air through the mesh and into the room--as the air evaporates the water, it becomes cooler. It only works well in dry climates. The downside is that everything in the house becomes rather "clammy" after using one for awhile. They have been quite popular in my area (due to having some of the driest air in the nation) and are still used quite a bit.

Although most people don't understand the concept these days, trees around the home can lower the indoor temps by up to 15 degrees. Natural AC. I cringe every time I see someone around here chopping down those old shade trees around their home planted 100 years ago by people who understood how to keep things cool without wasting a lot of money on power.

Personally, I don't use AC. I just make use of the windows (open at night, closed in the afternoon). I'm no fan of hot weather, but, I believe our bodies are equipped to deal with all but the most extreme. It's been very hot here so far this season, nearing 100 several times, hitting it once, and it's been at least 90 for most of the past month. Today will top 100. 99 tomorrow. Wheewww.

As for dogs... well, I've never seen a dog have a problem with heat around here. Maybe they are just used to it, but even at the hottest I've seen (105+), dogs I've had over the years have always weathered it better than I do. I'm generally drenched in sweat any time I'm even inactive outside in that kind of temperature, and they're off doing the things they always do. On the other hand, NEVER leave a dog (or anything you value) in an unattended car during the summer. Doing so is plain stupidity.

[redwolf fan]

Why do people believe refusing to use AC and suffering in a hot house is so---macho. ?

What point are you trying to make ?

[lifelongMOgal]

My mother grew up in Florida before the days of air conditioning, all they had was fans and homemade swamp cooler in the form of placing wet towels in the windows. I would agree that A/C has made us soft.

Activites should be done outside early in the AM and in the PM avoiding outdoor activity in the heat of the mid-late morning and afternoon. Basements can be quite cool and a good place to sleep when one does not have a/c and it is too hot out at night to sleep on a porch.

If one must cook, do it outside as not to raise the house temp. . Personally, when it is hot out, I cannot stand hot food. Water filled fruit and veggies are about all I even want.

Using cool water to wet a hat when outside, a cool wet scarf on the neck, and running cool water over one's wrists can do wonders in keeping cool.

Yesterday it was 112 and the third day in a row of triple digit temps. At 10 pm last night it was still in the mid-'90s.

[rtandc]

I will give your ideas some thought but first let me lower my thermostat from 69-67 degrees.... It is hot outside today

[jambo101]

Originally Posted by redwolf fan

Why do people believe refusing to use AC and suffering in a hot house is so---macho. ?

What point are you trying to make ?

I think some people think air coming out of an air conditioner is some how bad for you.
My Father in law thought like that, he would rather sweat all day than turn on an Air conditioner, when we finally had to put him in a senior assisted living facility he made it his job to go in all the rooms and turn off all A/C units on an almost hourly basis,needless to say he didnt make many friends in the summers, he was continually thinking the air was poisoned, well he lived 5yrs in that home and passed on at 85 from Parkinsons related illness and not bad air from the A/C

[AK-Cathy]

I think some people think air coming out of an air conditioner is some how bad for you.

I think that Legionnaires Disease was the cause of much fairly recent A/C superstition and of course the mistrust of "new" technology for the very old like the FIL above. If one does not have A/C, MoGal and others had plenty of good ideas.

In addition to those: I'll reiterate basements. Before I moved to AK, we had a horrible summer in Kansas (I can't recall whether it was 1979 or 80) where it stayed above 100 degrees for weeks and the rest of the summer was abnormally hot. Like moGal said, we got up early, did all of our chores before 10am and after the sun went down, often wetting ourselves down with the hose several times in while working in the garden. We ate low calorie fruit and veggie meals with cottage cheese for example to not rev up our metabolisms with nutrient dense foods. We drank lots of fluids/water. If you are sweating a great deal be sure to replace your minerals lost with electrolyte sports drinks mixes or foods filled with minerals.

Good info in this link: http://www.tdi.texas.gov/pubs/videor...fsfluidrep.pdf

During that horrible summer (that this summer is shaping up to resemble or exceed) we had power brown outs and power outages. We also lost an ice plant that supplied our area's ice when it too was overstressed by the heat. If memory serves, they lost a compressor or two. For several weeks a bag of ice could not be bought. A few enterprising folks started importing some ice from elsewhere but the bags sold for $5 and up which was a lot of money back then, pretty much the cost of a bag of groceries and that was if you could get it home without melting. Ponds and streams dried up and were infested with weeds and snakes. Wells both private and some public either went dry or were flowing poorly due to demand and/or reduction in source water and rationing went into effect for many areas. Animals and people died, many of which were either the ill, the elderly or infants/toddlers, the usual suspects.

Toward the middle of the heat wave our water came out of the tap at roughly body temperature so cool showers were out. In fact you couldn't get dry after the shower because the effort to dry would produce plenty of sweat. Very discouraging. We put our sheets in the freezer to get good and cold (though freezers were also struggling to stay cool) and would pull them out, whip them on the bed with fans running and we'd jump into a cool bed in the hopes of getting right to sleep before the bed got too hot.

All I can say is I feel for you folks right now. Been there, done that without A/C. I pretty much lived in the basement between 10 to 7ish laying on the concrete like a slug for the heat of the day catching up on my reading. We didn't have a mall close at hand but visiting A/C cooled stores is an excellent idea when overwhelmed by heat. If folks can pack up and take a trip to the Seattle area, (or Canada, Alaska) that too is a good idea right now.

Good luck to you folks down there. Though my husband is ready to be done with Alaska, I hang in up here because the extreme heat and staying cooped up to keep from overheating is just no fun at all and downright dangerous to the vulnerable.

[Nor'Eastah]

Originally Posted by lifelongMOgal

My mother grew up in Florida before the days of air conditioning, all they had was fans and homemade swamp cooler in the form of placing wet towels in the windows. I would agree that A/C has made us soft.

Last trip we took to Florida, we visited the Henry Ford home and museum in Fort Myers. Of course, I loved looking at the old cars, but the house was interesting, too. Had VERY wide porches on all 4 sides, looked to be 12 to 15' deep, and the guide explained that it kept the heat out of the house.

Many people do not realize that Rhode Island is one of the hottest places on the whole east coast. That is because it is paved over much more than most places. I grew up in Providence, and just walking outside you were hit with a blast of heat from the pavement. I'm looking forward to moving to northern Maine, where summer nights are actually cool, and summer days comfortable.

I am from northern European ancestry, with blondish hair, blue eyes, and skin that burns instead of tanning. I suffer terribly from the heat. Not that other folks don't...but I think it makes a difference in your genetics. Anyway, I have suffered long enough! A/C has not made me "soft"; it has saved my life on at least one occasion. My feeling is, it's far easier to heat a building in winter than it is to cool it off in summer (without power), so I'm going to where I can do that.

OOOF! You folks who live in triple-digit territory, I sweat for you! HEY! Turn the A/C up, willya?

[ChrisC]

Originally Posted by redwolf fan

Why do people believe refusing to use AC and suffering in a hot house is so---macho. ?

What point are you trying to make ?

Nothing to do with "macho" in my case. I'm pretty much just the opposite of macho. I'm not trying to make any point. I simply don't like wasting money on something I don't need and don't want. Besides, I don't like to have to wear a coat in the middle of summer anytime I'm indoors, which is what I end up having to do around here anytime I'm in a public building with AC for any length of time. It's stupid. And wasteful.

My indoor temps are anywhere from 70 to 85 during the summer. I have no problem with that. So what's the point of adding complexity and cost to the home? During the winter months, my indoor temps are anywhere from 55 to 63 or so. Again, I'm fine with that. I like wearing a sweater and being bundled up in the house during the winter. That's when I'm supposed to be bundled up, not in the summer when it's 100 outside.

Works for me. You do what works for you.

Originally Posted by jambo101

I think some people think air coming out of an air conditioner is some how bad for you.
My Father in law thought like that, he would rather sweat all day than turn on an Air conditioner, when we finally had to put him in a senior assisted living facility he made it his job to go in all the rooms and turn off all A/C units on an almost hourly basis,needless to say he didnt make many friends in the summers, he was continually thinking the air was poisoned, well he lived 5yrs in that home and passed on at 85 from Parkinsons related illness and not bad air from the A/C

In my case, it has nothing to do with me thinking it's "bad." I simply do not like air-conditioned air.

As for you father in law, he should have turned his AC off if as he wished, but allow others to do as they wished. That's the way it's supposed to work. Not everyone wants what any given individual wants. There is no one-size-fits-all.