Without AC

[TheArkansasRoadgeek]

So, I've been without A/C for two days and I have windows open, but the heat is very stagnant - humid. At the time of posting this, it's 88* and climbing. I am staying hydrated, anyone have tips for relieving some of this heat?

Thanks!

[froggie]

A) Go north.
B) Fans.  They can't reduce the humidity but they'll at least circulate the air.
C) If one has opened, find a "cooling shelter".

[kalvado]

C) If one has opened, find a "cooling shelter".

It is called "mall" over here.

[abefroman329]

Spend as much time as possible in your basement, or the ground floor of your house. The lower, the better.

[Max Rockatansky]

I had this happen one year at my house in Scottsdale during the summer when it was 120F out.  The house ended up at 105F inside before the AC came back on.  I spent my days in the basement and slept out on an air mattress on the pool.  Best advice I can give is get a ton of Poweraid and wear light clothing.

[1995hoo]

I'll echo fans, and if you can put one in a window on a shaded side of your residence, do that and run it 24/7 if your location allows. My dorm room first year of college had no AC and putting a box fan in a window running 24/7 helped a lot (thankfully, I wasn't on the ground floor). While, as froggie noted, it doesn't help with humid air, running a fan like that at night is key for circulating the cooler nighttime air.

[GaryV]

A) Go north.
...

About 1000 miles, maybe more.  Today it was even warm in the UP of Michigan, unless you were within a half mile or so of Lake Superior.  There may even still be ice between the rocks near the Eagle Harbor Lighthouse.

[TheArkansasRoadgeek]

I thought we had a box fan in the garage, and we did so I have it as close as I an get it. At the time of posting this, it's 89*. There was supposed to be the actual repairman coming today, because yesterday they only sent a diagnostician. It's 8pm and no show .

[noelbotevera]

Heh. If you think living without AC for 2 days is hard, imagine living without AC and electricity for 25 years. The only concession you get is living by the seaside. The only way to keep yourself cool is by drinking tons of water (which may not be cool), and hope you get a sea breeze during the nights. Did I mention that you have to deal with the climate of the Philippines?

Anyways, if you want to stay cool, then drink plenty of water from a cooler. You can also put cool drinks against your neck to help cool you down. You could also drive around with the windows down at 30+ MPH - the winds outside should help cool you down, or use the AC in the car.

[Road Hog]

Get yourself a little window unit (about 5,000 BTU) to run in your bedroom. It will significantly save your summer electric bill.

[hbelkins]

Get yourself a little window unit (about 5,000 BTU) to run in your bedroom. It will significantly save your summer electric bill.

Ditto this. They aren't terribly expensive.

[TheArkansasRoadgeek]

Heh. If you think living without AC for 2 days is hard, imagine living without AC and electricity for 25 years. The only concession you get is living by the seaside. The only way to keep yourself cool is by drinking tons of water (which may not be cool), and hope you get a sea breeze during the nights. Did I mention that you have to deal with the climate of the Philippines?

Anyways, if you want to stay cool, then drink plenty of water from a cooler. You can also put cool drinks against your neck to help cool you down. You could also drive around with the windows down at 30+ MPH - the winds outside should help cool you down, or use the AC in the car.

I'm sorry, but I don't get your point... 25 years and your age is 14. It is unpleasant, yes, but I am bearing through it. I am looking out for my safety, as this place doesn't have ideal ventilation.

[Max Rockatansky]

I forgot to mention my daytime temperature in the summer in Fresno is set to 88F.  That dates back to when I was living in Phoenix fighting a losing battle with the utility bill.  The odd thing is that kind of get used to it after awhile, I even kept doing it in Florida.  Really unless you're exerting yourself staying adequately hydrated ought not to on the hard side.  Might be uncomfortable for awhile until you accumulate to the warmer conditions. 

[Beltway]

Get yourself a little window unit (about 5,000 BTU) to run in your bedroom. It will significantly save your summer electric bill.

Ditto this. They aren't terribly expensive.

Indeed, they are about $100 at Lowe's.  Given the high age of my central system I got one simply to reduce the load in hot weather.  It will cool more than just a bedroom.  Modern ones can safely run 24/7 for days at a time.  They are also fairly quiet.

[Bruce]

Traditionally, air conditioning hasn't been necessary up here in the Northwest. But the summers have been getting unbearably warm and I'm close to giving up and buying a window unit just to survive the nights.

[MNHighwayMan]

As a person who becomes unbearably irritable and unpleasant when unwillingly subjected to prolonged temperatures much above 80°F, I will continue to consider refrigeration the greatest invention of the 20^th century.

[TheArkansasRoadgeek]

As a person who becomes unbearably irritable and unpleasant when unwillingly subjected to prolonged temperatures much above 80°F, I will continue to consider refrigeration the greatest invention of the 20^th century.

Hey, if I had room in the fridge, I'd be there right now.


iPhone

[noelbotevera]

Heh. If you think living without AC for 2 days is hard, imagine living without AC and electricity for 25 years. The only concession you get is living by the seaside. The only way to keep yourself cool is by drinking tons of water (which may not be cool), and hope you get a sea breeze during the nights. Did I mention that you have to deal with the climate of the Philippines?

Anyways, if you want to stay cool, then drink plenty of water from a cooler. You can also put cool drinks against your neck to help cool you down. You could also drive around with the windows down at 30+ MPH - the winds outside should help cool you down, or use the AC in the car.

I'm sorry, but I don't get your point... 25 years and your age is 14. It is unpleasant, yes, but I am bearing through it. I am looking out for my safety, as this place doesn't have ideal ventilation.

I was referring to my mom; between her birth and when she left for Saudi Arabia, the situation I described was one of her daily struggles she had to contend with.

[Max Rockatansky]

Traditionally, air conditioning hasn't been necessary up here in the Northwest. But the summers have been getting unbearably warm and I'm close to giving up and buying a window unit just to survive the nights.

There is that climate acclamation...  When I was up there in Washington last week people were complaining it was roasting hot on the day it was 75F and sunny.   

On the flip side, my significant other was struggling the day we went to Hurricane Ridge with the weather in the 50s.  She was having some issues seeing in the snow as well even though it was cloudy out.  Its kind of amusing how we're generally products of the weather we grow up in or are exposed to.

[hbelkins]

Traditionally, air conditioning hasn't been necessary up here in the Northwest. But the summers have been getting unbearably warm and I'm close to giving up and buying a window unit just to survive the nights.

There is that climate acclamation...  When I was up there in Washington last week people were complaining it was roasting hot on the day it was 75F and sunny.   

Humidity probably had something to do with that.

[english si]

take a leaf off Southern Europe's book. Stop light getting in the house, let air move through the house. That said, they typically don't have the humidity. But in Indonesia, all the houses had bug-mesh as windows, letting the humid air in (they didn't have aircon save for a few places, despite tropical climate where 85F was put-on-warm-clothes weather).

That said, Saturday I made the stupid mistake of opening the patio door to get some air movement in the house to deal with the funk - it was tolerably hot before, but afterwards... It was humid, even for the UK (and about 85F).

[Scott5114]

I think a lot of the posters in this thread fail to comprehend that Oklahoma (Ft Smith is barely not Oklahoma) is almost uninhabitable in the summer with no AC. 95° and dewpoints in the 80s is a nice day in the summer here. It will get worse in a couple months.

Looks like there's a chance of storms Tuesday, so maybe that will cool things off–although it may just make the humidity worse.

[TheArkansasRoadgeek]

I think a lot of the posters in this thread fail to comprehend that Oklahoma (Ft Smith is barely not Oklahoma) is almost uninhabitable in the summer with no AC. 95° and dewpoints in the 80s is a nice day in the summer here. It will get worse in a couple months.

Looks like there's a chance of storms Tuesday, so maybe that will cool things off–although it may just make the humidity worse.

I'm downtown, so the heat is not too great regardless.

[US 89]

I think a lot of the posters in this thread fail to comprehend that Oklahoma (Ft Smith is barely not Oklahoma) is almost uninhabitable in the summer with no AC. 95° and dewpoints in the 80s is a nice day in the summer here. It will get worse in a couple months.

I was in Oklahoma a couple summers ago, and the heat was almost unbearable. Temperatures were more than 100 with dewpoints pushing 80. Heat index was close to 120, and the weather service issued an Excessive Heat Warning. In that kind of weather, if you want to do something outside, it has to be before sunrise and even then, it’s still gonna be uncomfortable. After the sun comes up, unless you’re going swimming, it is damn near impossible to be out there for more than a few minutes at a time. I can’t imagine what that would be like without AC.

The interesting part is that in Oklahoma, dewpoint does not necessarily correlate with storms: just because the dewpoint is high doesn’t really mean the chance of storms is also high. Compare that with a place like Utah, where if the dewpoint is above 50 there is almost always a good chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon.

I'm downtown, so the heat is not too great regardless.

I would have thought the urban heat island effect would make the heat worse downtown.

[Beltway]

I was in Oklahoma a couple summers ago, and the heat was almost unbearable. Temperatures were more than 100 with dewpoints pushing 80. Heat index was close to 120, and the weather service issued an Excessive Heat Warning. In that kind of weather, if you want to do something outside, it has to be before sunrise and even then, it's still gonna be uncomfortable. After the sun comes up, unless you're going swimming, it is damn near impossible to be out there for more than a few minutes at a time. I can't imagine what that would be like without AC.

How did they manage being outdoors before the days of AC?