AnotherE Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 how do you survive?? I need all your tips, tricks, and hints. I live in a lovely area known for its almost constant rain and gray skies, but now we are in our hot season. It is over 90 degrees! For some reason it is bothering me today more than usual. We don't have air conditioning, and our fans just seem to blow the hot air around like a hair dryer. Popsicles and cold water aren't cutting it. I'm trying not to whine. The sweat I worked up posting in the health care thread has my shirt pasted to my back. How do you make it through hot days? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirtroad Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 Get outside... shade trees do better than houses! Go to the pool or the mall ... anywhere but home! Cold water on the inside of the wrists can help a bit. Cold water in spray bottles (keep in fridge) and mist as needed. Few clothes as possible (this can be funny) but can help. Several showers a day! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollyDay Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 I do not know how old you are. But, wait until you have hot flashes!! I have lived south of I10 for over 15 years now. It never really bothered me until the hot flashes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnotherE Posted July 17, 2009 Author Share Posted July 17, 2009 Thank you! We tried outside, but it is even more miserable out there. Ds actually offered to do the dishes if he could just go inside. Our lab is wandering throughout the house whimpering. She can't find a single cool place to lie down. I'm going to take your advice to get out and do some grocery shopping. We'll take our lawn chairs and hang out in the frozen food section. The worst part will be when dh comes home. He is from a warmer location and these days leave him grinning from ear to ear. He makes it very hard to love him sometimes. Oh- I did figure out one trick. Lining the bra with tissue definitely helps with that awful sticky feeling. I feel like I'm back in junior high. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnotherE Posted July 17, 2009 Author Share Posted July 17, 2009 I do not know how old you are. But, wait until you have hot flashes!! I have lived south of I10 for over 15 years now. It never really bothered me until the hot flashes. Ugh! I'm not sure how close I am to that lovely stage of life, but I can almost guarantee I will not suffer it quietly. I don't know what it is about heat that makes me feel so terrible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama Bear Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 Libraries are air-conditioned. Wet heads of hair at bedtime help my kidlets sleep when it's hot out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dana Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 You can get a wet washcloth and put it on the back of your neck. Then the fans should help you cool a bit better. Wiping down with the cloth at least makes you less sticky :001_smile: If it's really miserable, going to a place with ac can help. Can you hang out at the library or a bookstore for a while? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmrich Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 Not to be smug - but we have air conditioning! Seriously I live in Hot-Lanta and there is NO way we could survive without it. When I was little in Cleveland, Ohio we hung out in the basement on the one week it got hot - slept down there, ate down there etc. We got a used room air conditioner for my sister's room because her allergies were too bad with the windows opend and then we all stayed in her room for that one hot week. Another place of refuge for free cold air - the library! and if you really want to freeze - go to the hospital! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnotherE Posted July 17, 2009 Author Share Posted July 17, 2009 More wonderful suggestions! I will send ds to shower before bed to help cool him down. As you can see I haven't made it out to the store. I did leave to roll down the windows of the car, but the door handles were to hot to open.:glare: I'm going to try again with oven mitts. We do have a hospital not too far from us...hmmmm.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyof4ks Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 Bless your heart! Can you get a big box fan? The wet rag on the back of the neck that someone mentioned works well too. Do you have any freezy packs like you use to keep food cold? Those work great to put on your back when you lean against the couch or a chair. Hopefully the weather will be cooler soon! We live in Tx, so air-conditioning is very important here. It has been over 100 daily here, so we just stay inside. The cool front tonight will keep us in the 90s tomorrow! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz CA Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 We live in Tx, so air-conditioning is very important here. It has been over 100 daily here, so we just stay inside. The cool front tonight will keep us in the 90s tomorrow! Can you send that "cool front" west when you have enjoyed it? I'd love to get a break from the hundreds out here. Ninety sounds lovely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 Can you buy a portable air conditioner to keep at least one room cool? We have the stand alone kind in our garage (not a window unit); it was under $500, very simple installation, and makes a huge difference in our two-car garage (which has extra room for storage, so it's a pretty good size). If you put one in a room with a door and a ceiling fan, you could keep that one room very comfortable. http://www.portableairshop.com/Residential-Portable-Air-Conditioners/Residential_Portable_Air_Conditioners,default,sc.html?view=grid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 I second a portable AC. I live in Louisiana and could not survive without AC. I grew up in the midwest which gets its fair share of heat and humidity and my parents would never turn on the AC until August and I would practically die each summer. I swore never to get that hot again in the summer. Cold showers are good, ice packs, tank tops and shorts are a must. Light colored cotton clothing. Let the boys go without shirts in the house. But seriously all of that is just band-aids. AC is really the best solution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathy in MD Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 ....The worst part will be when dh comes home. He is from a warmer location and these days leave him grinning from ear to ear. He makes it very hard to love him sometimes. ..... That's grounds for divorce! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tess in the Burbs Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 go visit the freezer section of the grocery store ;-) seriously. Open the doors and enjoy the cold. movie theaters are usually cold. the pool. a mister for those days you have to be outside. a hat and a hand held fan. see above. lots of A/C. but if you don't have A/C, get to a colder place. like the mall. but the grocery store freezer section is the best. ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle T Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 From mid-June until Halloween, we have very few days below 90F and almost every day in July through September will be around (or over) 100F. We couldn't live here without AC, and I still suffer through every summer, but a few things that help: cold, wet rag on your neck drink lots of cold beverages wash hands in cold water stay still box fans go somewhere cool! Michelle T Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laurad1125 Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 I live in SE Texas. Where we have 4 seasons - Christmas, almost summer, summer, and still summer. Last year we had expensive electricity and kept the AC at 80. One thing that really helped was changing clothes (especially underthings) once they got sweaty. It made a huge difference for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joannqn Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 Sounds like you live in my area as that's the exact description of life here right now. I grew up in Southern California where it is hotter than here. However, there is a humidity difference. I used to love 95-100 degree weather there but can barely tolerate 80 here. To keep the house more comfortable, open everything up at night. Open all windows that you can and have the window fans going through the night. Then, in the morning, shut everything up tight, including closing all curtains/drapes. The house will cool down over night and shutting it up in the morning will keep trap the cool air inside longer. Try to keep the stove, oven, and lights off. We used to do this in CA; it kept the house cool without air conditioning. For other suggestions for coping: Go to pools, wading pools, beaches/lakes Get a big container (think 55L Sterile storage bin) full of water and toys (ie. water guns, sponges) to play with outside. Run through the sprinkler. Go somewhere air conditioned (ie. library, store, bookstore, movie theater, etc.) Several cold showers a day. It gets rid of the sticky feeling and cools you off, which will make you feel a lot better. Wear your swimsuit rather than clothes & keep it wet. Drink lots of cold drinks; make sure you stay hydrated. Don't cook (eat salads) or cook early in the day as it gets hotter later in the day (if you live here...the hottest part of the day is from 5pm-9pm). Use spray bottles and misters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Rat Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 My parents used to wet down top sheets and have a fan blowing when we slept. It helped a lot. You can also put a box fan in a window and hang a wet sheet over it. Cold on the back of the neck helps but also on your wrists. I was in a panic yesterday early (3am) morning when our power went out. We live in Vegas and it's completely unacceptable not to have AC! I was laying there already planning my day around Walmart, library, mall, friends houses, etc. LOL It came back on around 6:30am. Hurray! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peela Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 Its often over 100F for weeks in many places in Australia including where I live- but it's dry heat here (not everywhere though). The houses used to be built with wide verandahs and big sloped roofs. Nowadays houses are all boxes designed to fit as many in a small space as possible. Ridiculous. We have air con, but we also live in a house with marble floors and thick walls. A good summer house. A terrible winter house- its freezing. No central heating. One thing we do here is open up the house in the evening, and have locked security screen doors so that the house can remain open all night to let the breeze through, to let it thoroughly cool down. Then once the heat starts in the morning- by 9am latest- we shut up the whole house and close all the curtains on the side the sun comes in. We have thick, lined curtains, too. We also have that reflective stuff on all the windows to reflect the heat back. All day teh house stays shut up, dark, and much cooler than outside. Here in Australia its also important to have insulation in the roof for summer and winter. Even at over 100F we don't use air con downstairs- only upstairs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravin Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 My first thought: 90 isn't that hot, unless it's REALLY humid (I used to live in Florida so I know humidity). Of course, here it's monsoon season, which means hot, windy (think air blowing out of a furnace at you), and somewhat humid (20% humidity when it's 115 is quite as much a sauna as 80% humidity when it's 95). But it doesn't actually rain much if at all. Wet sheet over a fan was going to be my suggestion. Or be efficient and hang clothes to dry in front of the fan. Avoid cooking with the stove/oven or running the dryer during the day. This is why peopel barbeque. Also, you can always plug in the crock pot in the garage or on the patio. If there's a good breeze outside, hanging wet sheets over windows and getting air circulating through the house can help, too. We have A/C, which is set to 80 this time of year. That means it only has to work a little at night, and keeps it 35 or so degrees cooler than outside during the day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 Do you have a space where you can fill up a paddling/wading pool? The whole family used to pile in when we lived in Hong Kong. Cold showers helped a lot too: the key seemed to be to run cool water on our armpits - that really cooled us down. If the paddling pool wasn't set up, I used to put small children in a tepid bath in the afternoon to play with toys. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnotherE Posted July 18, 2009 Author Share Posted July 18, 2009 You guys are great! After coming back from the store (nice, air conditioned, cold store) I did the cold water on the wrists and a covered icepack on the neck. And when the temperature outside cooled, we set up our box fan in each room for a bit to suck the cooler air inside. We called it our poor man's air conditioner. It was still tough to sleep last night. I admire all of you hot climate people. I really don't understand how you do it. I can see air conditioning being helpful, but what about when you have to go outside, or get into your hot car? Nevermind, these are just the ramblings of a heat exhausted brain. So, when dh came home (smiling, of course- no sense of self-preservation) we talked about the portable air conditioner idea again. I just don't know if it would be worth it for the (thankfully) few hot days we get. I'm going to keep working down the list of ideas everyone gave and save it as a last resort. Thanks again- and if you ever need endless rain survival tips, I'm here for ya.;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen sn Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 how do you survive?? I need all your tips, tricks, and hints. I live in a lovely area known for its almost constant rain and gray skies, but now we are in our hot season. It is over 90 degrees! For some reason it is bothering me today more than usual. We don't have air conditioning, and our fans just seem to blow the hot air around like a hair dryer. Popsicles and cold water aren't cutting it. I'm trying not to whine. The sweat I worked up posting in the health care thread has my shirt pasted to my back. How do you make it through hot days? Cold showers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BikeBookBread Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 I know where YOU live :) I just talked to my Mom and Dad "up there" and they are just suffering, too. I grew up "there" and now live in Really Hot Almost Mexico, AZ. I was up in Phoenix yesterday for our state homeschool convention and the thermometer on our car said it was 118. I believe it... Anyway, sounds weird, but get something hot to drink. It is supposed to regulate your body temp upwards and feel more like the surrounding air. I don't know if it is hooey or not, maybe it's all in my head. But it seems to work for me. I still have my coffee every morning here in the desert....something I won't give up. Coffee is in my genes :) How about going to a movie? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnandtinagilbert Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 dh went around and moved all the fans so they blow air in a circle. Made a huge difference. We are choosing no a/c this summer b/c of Super High electric bills last year. This years budget just can't handle the pressure. All the suggestions were great! We do most of it and are holding out...it's HOT, but we'll manage. We all sit in a little baby plastic pool that we bought for the puppy, but has turned into a favorite reading spot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2cents Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 We used to live in CO before FL. In FL we have a/c and can't seem to live without it. In CO only about 2 weeks a year were unbearable and we used fans. If you dampen a washcloth and put it on your neck the fan will keep you cooler. Keeping the house closed up during the hot part of the day helps too. We would go to the mall and walk around and spend time at the bookstore too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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