Welp, here in Texas, Summer's finally here. The streets are empty and the power's going out from everyone turning the AC on at the same time. And that means that soon enough people living further north in reasonable climates are going to be getting hit with record high temperatures, because that's just what happens every year now.
SO! To repay their kindness of the past few years in providing tips on staying warm during our Big Freeze(s), I'm gonna share some Gen-U-Ine Texas Wisdom(TM) on beating the heat. Anyone else from similarly hellish climates is more than welcome to chip in anything I miss or forget.
Most things on this list are tips and suggestions, but this is a hard-and-fast rule. I know that probably sounds really obvious but I literally cannot stress it enough. If you're hot and sweating, you're losing water and it needs replacing. If you're hot and not sweating, you're out of water and it REALLY needs replacing. Sweat is not your enemy, it's your body's natural cooling mechanism.
Straight water is best obviously but if you can't do that for whatever reason, go whatever you've got. I personally keep a big jug of water by my computer and refill it regularly. A fairly reliable metric is if you go to take a drink and you find yourself just guzzling it down, let it happen; your body knows what it needs. If you start drinking and immediately start sweating, it means you needed to sweat but were too dehydrated to spend the water. Keep. Drinking.
2) Ice water is your friend
I preface this by saying if you're elderly or have heart conditions, be very careful with this one: going too cold too fast can shock your system and stop your heart. Even if you don't have heart conditions, you should be careful about it if you're particularly overheated (e.g. you just came in from doing yard work in the heat). Even if it doesn't mess with your heart, it can mess with your stomach and make you throw up. Start off with cool room temperature water and work your
way down.
That said, there is no better tool for cooling down your core. Remember there is no such thing as cold, just lower and higher amounts of heat, and most of your organs are on the inside, not the outside. You can climb into a freezer or sit in front of an AC going full blast, but you're still gonna have to wait for the heat to diffuse its way from your core to your skin before it actually leaves your body. With ice water, you're introducing a great big thermal battery right into your core where it can pull that heat out directly before getting expelled in the myriad way the human body has to lose moisture.
3) Cold showers: not just for horndogs anymore!
Now we've got your core taken care of, but your outer layer's still plenty hot. Lucky for you, water is a great conductor for heat on the outside of your body too! Showers are particularly effective because it's a constant stream of new cold water rather than a singular body that will warm up over time. As with the previous tip, those with heart conditions or the severely overheated should start with a cool or even lukewarm temperature before easing their way lower to prevent adverse reactions from the sudden shock.
4) Keep the air movin' and coolin'
We all know the relief a nice cool breeze can bring when you're feeling hot, but those are often short-lived and not available on command. Now, the people this list is for (by virtue of needing this list) probably don't have central air conditioning, so we're gonna have to find another way. First off, if you can afford it (both the up-front cost and the utility cost; suckers really suck up the juice), a 1-room or window unit air conditioner in your bedroom or whichever room you spend the most time can be an absolute lifesaver. I pretty much guarantee whatever room you put it in will become the room you spend the most time.
If that's not an option for you, you're not out of luck though; I'm going to let you in on the tried-and-true method of those too budget-bound for AC; the wind-tunnel method. This should be particularly effective for people with the grave misfortune of spending the summer months in a home built for the winter, made to retain every ounce of heat it can.
All you need is (at least) 2 large box fans (or similar high-power exhaust fans) and (at least) openable windows (or doors to the outside if you don't mind bugs/birds/neighbors coming in). If your home has a built-in attic fan, that can substitute for at least one of the fans and windows, that's what they're made for.
Pick at least two windows on opposite ends of your home. If you only have windows on one side of your home (e.g. a small appartment), choose the two farthest away from each other. If you live in a multi-story home, at least one should be on the top floor and one should be on the bottom. At one window set up one of the box fans blowing in, and at the other window, blowing out. In a multi-story home at least one fan blowing out should be on the topmost floor you're looking to cool. Heat rises and you will notice.
Because they might be called something different where you live, this is what I mean by a box fan:
The idea is to create a gentle wind tunnel through your home to constantly keep the air circulating, bringing in new (cooler) air from outside and venting the old warmer air back out. As such, there will need to be a constant open-air path from one fan to the other, so leave the interior doors open. A few additional tips:
If you have a windowless room you want to include on the circulation, put another box fan (or one of those squat barrel fans) on the floor in the doorway blowing in. The cooler air will flow in at the bottom of the doorway and the warmer air will flow out at the top
Any room that generate it's own heat when in use (i.e. kitchens, computer rooms, etc) should definitely be included in the system, unless you plan on never going in there. Kitchens in particular should get an exhaust fan.
When you run the fans can make a lot of difference. You'll need to work out what works best in your personal situation (especially if you've got a lot of insulation) but what works best for me is to run them from evening to morning when it's coolest out, then shut them off during the heat of the day so the house holds on to the cool for as long as it can.
For a little extra cooling, take some light fabric soaked in water or a wide pan of it and place it in front of the intake fan. The air blowing over/through the water will cause it to evaporate, cooling the air as it comes in. This may not always be effective however, because...
5) Humidity is NOT your friend
Somewhat paradoxically, water can be as much an enemy as a friend in the fight to keep cool. In simple terms, the more water is in the air, the less water can evaporate into it, the upshot of which is your sweat stops doing its job and instead of evaporating away, leaving you slightly sticky but cool, it just stays there, leaving you hot, damp, and miserable. The only real ways to combat this are to a) not introduce unnecessary steam into the air (and venting any you do generate) and/or b) get a dehumidifier. The problem with b is it doesn't really work with the Wind Tunnel Method for obvious reasons. If you live somewhere both hot and humid, an AC unit really is the best of both worlds because it dries the air as it cools it.
So, other than small obvious stuff like "Stay out of the sun" and "Try not to move around too much", that's what I've got for y'all. If I think of anything else I'll be sure to add it, and again, anyone else with tips to add is welcome to do so. And even if you don't have something to add, I'd appreciate y'all reblogging this anyway so it can hopefully reach more people who need it so we can help our northern neighbors like they helped us these past few winters.
Good luck out there and keep cool!
