I always have a terrible time with summer heat, and have had heat exhaustion many times each summer. I thought maybe everyone could share some favorite tips on coping with the heat. One thing I did today was tape aluminum foil over the tops of my west facing windows, and the house was cooler almost right away. I do not currently have AC, and fans are not always enough. Several cold showers a day also helps me out. I get so sweaty and have to change clothes anyhow. I try to do my yard work in the mornings or evenings, depending on my schedule. What do you do to keep cool this time of year ?
Drink lots and sweat lots, it really does help. I also run cold water over my legs and feet while I am watering my plants. I have seen a bandanna advertised that you wet and wear around your neck, I think it had some kind of gel in it to hold more water at a time. Taping the foil over your windows is a great idea. I think I'll try this as soon as I get some wider foil. We have west patio doors and a deck that holds a lot of heat in the afternoon. I put bamboo blinds on the outside of my doors and an insulated curtain on the inside and it still is warm there.
When the overnight low doesn't get below 80 and the day time high is 100+ I don't do gardening except for moving the sprinkler around every morning before 7 a.m. Inside we have a 3.5 ton central AC unit (our house is less then 1000 sq feet) supplemented by window units in each bedroom that we use at night, aluminum foil on the west facing front window, the curtains are not opened during the day and lights are used at a minimum otherwise the house is dark and much cooler.
Toni, sounds like you live in Texas or other southwestern state ? One place we lived down there, got so hot the house was only 110'+ with the AC running full blast, curtains closed, etc.
The weather is like real hot and humid about 80% of the year here. I just have to stay under the fan all day, no aircond, don't like it. Gardening time is always from 4:30pm on a normal day till late in the evening and will be soaked in sweat right to my underwear by then. I always wear short and very light T-shirts. Sometimes I change T-shirts upto 6 times a day, normally thrice.
AA... No AC? You must not be anywhere in Texas! :-o We keep the thermostat set at 77 or 76. Blinds and curtains are kept closed... except in the kitchen. Ceiling fan stays on in the den/living area. At bedtime, we turn on a small fan on the nightstand in the bedroom. We stay comfortable. And if you think you're getting warm while indoors. Just step outside for a few minutes and come back in. Ahhhhhh.... nice and cool!
Cheryl, I lived in Texas for almost 10 years back in the late 70s and early 80s. I survived Texas summer of 1980... I need to get that T shirt. I live in Missouri since then, and it is more than hot enough for me. When I lived there, I kept the thermostat as cold as it would go, usually down around 60 or colder if we had it. Upper 70s is even too hot for me. When I lived in Texas, it frequently got up around 110 or higher. One place we lived down there had an AC that got so cold it iced up, and I would have to turn it off several times a day--it also got our home icy cold. I wish I had another one like that. I used to have AC here, but one needed repairs the little one was not up to keeping this house cool. KK Ng, I would never be able to live where you do. I have to change clothes several times per day over the summer here also. At 11 pm, it is 77' here. The fans are still going, and I will take a cool shower to get rid of the sweat. Sometimes I take an ice cold shower--my well water is about 50'. My fluid intake is limited by my doctor, so it is hard to stay hydrated and not get over hydrated for me. And the salt is a tightrope act also. Take care and be careful in the heat.
It's 11:30 pm here and still 88 degrees.... summer in north Texas. So far no summer has beaten 1980 but they are really trying to come close maybe even tie it. Sounds like you had an older AC unit or one too small for the house, icing up is one of the symptoms. We had to have ours replaced a few years ago and decided to get one that was meant to handle a house almost twice the size of this one just to make it through the summers. I have found that when working outside if I keep a wet towel around the back of my neck, it helps tremendously and sometimes a wet towel also on my head under my hat.
That old AC kept our mobile home [about a 12 x 65 I think] icy cold all over. Our light bill never went over $40 either. It was an older unit and quite good I think. I like to soak my hat in cold water frequently to keep me from overheating so easily. If need be, I will even use the hose to soak my head in ice water. Brrr... but it feels so lovely. I hope no summer beats Texas summer of 1980. That was so miserable.
What, hot in Texas? Well, if it ever does get hot (insert emoticon of your choice here) I generally do my gardening early, try not to run the dishwasher during the day, keep the blinds slanted upward so we have daylight but less heat, use the clothesline instead of the dryer, and cook/bake early instead of the heat of the day. Mornings are pretty hectic around here!
Hello There, AA-- It gets extremely hot and humid here at certain times of the year. I live in a flat that is on the upper-most level of the apartment complex. There is a flat roof, so the heat of the full sun just burns me right up. Once it gets hot in the house it warms all the furniture and walls and it stays hot. In addition to that the city saw fit to remove the large, old sycamore trees in front of the building. They gave shade to the west side of the house as well as the roof. You can imagine that things have gotten worse temp-wise this year. So something had to be done--First, I got some thick (rubber-like stuff on one side) pull-down window shades. These are great and let no light through what-so-ever. Next I have had awnings installed over all the windows on the western side of the house (--that cuts down the light that reaches the thick pull-down shades). During the daytime, I keep the windows open only very, very slightly (for circulation). I do not care for AC, otherwise it could be a bit cooler. I do have a ceiling fan and that air movement helps enormously. The owners of this apartment building have put on new roofs and renewed the insulation, but I can't recognize that it has helped keeping the heat out. Other than that, there isn't much to do. I do take a numbers of showers during the warmest periods...its an odd sensation standing in a cold shower--the cold water falls onto my head, and when it runs down my back, it is warm. Odd sensation, indeed. The last thing that I do is to make popsicles from the garden fruit. They really do cool one off, and are especially enjoyable knowing that I have made them from my own fruit.
I do remember that summer of 1980. How many days was it with temps over 100F? And no rain for at least a month or two? I remember when it finally rained, everyone was standing out in their yards. :-D
If I remember right, it was over 100' for at least two months and no rain. At least we had AC that summer. Our apartment was on the west side of the complex though. I could see the northern lights at night that summer too. We lived about 30 miles SW of Ft Worth. The northern lights were red and way up in the sky. The local weatherman here remembers them too. Apparently, he had traveled to Texas that summer. Popsicles are lovely treats in the summer. I used to have a small swimming pool and called it a junior jacuzzi and filled it with cold water. That was lovely. I want to get another one.
Wow! I thought the summer of (I think) 1986 was hot and dry for us, but I don't think it was that hot. I worked for a landscaper that summer :'( and it was miserable. AA I'm sorry to hear the liquid restrictions make it so bad for you. It would be very hard to do much gardening that way. I hope some of the suggestions here help you some.
Summer 1980 Days over 100 -- 13 in June, 31 in July, 21 in Aug, 4 in Sept Total 69 Hottest Temp -- 113 on both June 26 and 27th 112 on June 28 110 on both July 2 and 18 88 days in a row without rain June 21 thru Sept 16
