Staying Cool

[secular_mom]

Now that my allergies seem to be calming down, I'm ready to turn off the A/C again. I have a HARD time sleeping when it's hot though. I'm wondering if anyone has tried using ice water in a hot water bottle to keep cool at night.

I wish there was some way to keep the mattress from heating up while I'm sleeping, right now I'm wishing we had a water bed :)

 

And bug repellants- citronella candles and bug sprays cause me to have breathing problems- any other ideas on keeping the bloodsuckers away? I remember hearing about 'mosquito plants' when I was a child, but I don't think we ever had one- do they really work?

[Guest]

I have put a big bowl of ice cubes in front of a fan aimed at me before I turn in (also have a ceiling fan).

[secular_mom]

Hmmm, I'm trying to figure out how to set a bowl of ice up in my bedroom, in front of the window fan.

Our A/C unit is the original one from when the house was built in the 70's. I HATE IT!!!! It's a monster and uses way too much electricity. Maybe I can try sleeping till the heat wakes me up, then taking a cold shower (well, the water really doesn't get 'cold' in the summer here, just less warm) and standing in front of the fan till I cool down and then hop back into bed. All that activity would probably just wake me up completely though, and I still wouldn't be able to get back to sleep. Ugh.

[Starr]

We bought a window unit for our bedroom. Best money spent in a long time!

[MorganClassicalPrep]

I like to take a cool shower or bath before bed, that helps keep me cool for awhile.

 

But I could never sleep without the A/C on. :D It was 102 here today, I can barely breathe in this heat!

[Mejane]

Not really what you asked, but... A/C units are so much more efficient and quieter now than their ancient counterparts. Don't know what your finances are like, but you can get a window unit pretty reasonably. Our last house was a 1200sf ranch. We ran two window units, one at each end of the house, and it cooled off the whole house. People thought we had a central unit.

[Margaret in GA]

Fans! We do have our air on (set at 81 currently) because the humidity will ruin our furniture and other precious items. Otherwise, we really wouldn't need it since our ceilings are high and we have plenty of shade. Good for you for turning yours off!:hurray:

 

Margaret

[secular_mom]

Fans! We do have our air on (set at 81 currently) because the humidity will ruin our furniture and other precious items. Otherwise, we really wouldn't need it since our ceilings are high and we have plenty of shade. Good for you for turning yours off!:hurray:

 

Margaret

Thanks! I wonder though, if I should NOT turn it off. We live in a ridiculously humid area- a neighbor commented on a house in our neighborhood that was empty for over a year and said that she'd hate to see the mold growing in there with it being closed up for so long with no a/c running. We had to turn on the A/C this year earlier than we would have normally, because of my asthma.

 

I have been thinking about getting at least one window unit to run in the bedroom- I could put it in the kids sleep room and crash with them- I'm sure they'd love that.