Keeping it cooler

[pomtzu]

In Florida, our AC units pretty much run constantly. I turn mine up to 78-80 and run fans in each room. It stays fairly cool. I also have to use a cool, damp washcloth to help end the hot flashes. Really cools me off right away.

We never use the oven during the summer. Only microwave and cold stuff. Alot of people here turn their AC way up and go somewhere cool for the day. i.e. window shopping at the mall, grocery store. movie theater. Wherever there is AC and it doesn't cost a fortune. We drink cold drinks all the time. Alot of ice water or iced tea.
Basically, most of us sweat alot too I think. What else can we do? We're also fortunate to have swimming pools all over the place to cool ourselves off. Anything we can think of to make it through the summer down here.

I don't know how you do it on a year round basis Terry. I visited my brother several times when he was still living in FL (Pembroke Pines). and it was too unbearable for the most part to even leave the house. Sit outside for a little bit in the very early a.m., other than that - from the a.c. house- to the a.c. vehicle - to go to the a.c. malls, etc. BLAH!!!

[Daisy and Delilah]

That's how we do it, Ellie. Can't get to the car quick enough or back into the house quick enough.
Not only the heat but we have the terrible humidity. It's just miserable.
We wear the least amount of clothing we can get away with too. Some of the sights we see. Oh Boy!!

[pomtzu]

That's how we do it, Ellie. Can't get to the car quick enough or back into the house quick enough.
Not only the heat but we have the terrible humidity. It's just miserable.
We wear the least amount of clothing we can get away with too. Some of the sights we see. Oh Boy!!

I can tolerate the heat to some degree, but throw in that humidity, and I'm done for. We are right on the ocean too, so we get it bad here. Today was awful, and it's still miserable outside now. Didn't get any storms to cool things off a bit...... This too shall pass - eventually...

[kitten645]

My living room has very high ceiling which is nice because the hot air stays up there. I do however block certain rooms. I use a spring/tension pole with a sheet hung over it, across the doorway of the bedroom. I only open the vent in there to let in the AC. Kitchen, bathroom (always closed door...well cracked open for kitty box access) and living room are hotter than heck but I spend my time in the bedroom watching TV or eating dinner or reading. Thank God for the huge trees that block me from direct sunlight (satelite TV too but you gotta pick you battles) I keep moist washclothes in the fridge to wipe my neck and forehead. I have longish hair so a hair clip to keep my hair off my neck is essential.
Claudia

[Alysser]

Being a costume character, I deal with the worst heat imaginable. On break, I put my bandana (used to keep sweat out of my eyes) in the fridge and when I go back out just put it back on and it feels sooo nice. Personally, I can handle the heat well or else I wouldn't have the job I do. When I'm home I have the vent wide open and the fan on. My house is pretty cold since my mom loves A/C and so does Mikey.

[Marigold2]

AC how I love the AC. 62* is perfect for me. 80* and above is just hell.
I don't care what the cost is I just have to be cool. I keep it around 60 in the winter which saves the money I spend on AC in the summer.
Hubby is a freeze baby. He lies in bed with a sheet, two blankets and I only use the sheet. All night the fan is on high.
The cats love the fan and all three boys are on the bed having a nice snooze with us.

[krazyaboutkatz]

I remember when I lived on the east coast and the horrible humidity that we'd get but I was much younger then and I could deal with it much better. We'd go to the community pool pretty much every day during the summer so this is how I stayed cool. My parents didn't believe in keeping the house very cool but I just got used to it so it didn't really bother me.

Now that I live in CA., I don't have A/C where I live but even if I did have it I wouldn't need it very often. I get the morning sun so if it's still cool enough in the mornings I open up my bedroom window and the sliding glass door to let in some cool air. I close everything up on hot days before I leave with the drapes and shades closed.

If it's going to be a very hot day, then I leave the ceiling fan on in the dining room and I'll also set up a tower fan in my bedroom and one in the living room so the cats will stay cool during the day. At night is usually cools down so I open up again when I get home. I do have 2 pools that I can use in my condo complex if I'm extremely hot too.

I rarely use my oven or electic cook top thought out the year and I especially don't use it on hot days. When I do cook, I usually microwave. I also drink plenty of cold water and cold diet soft drinks. I'm so glad that we don't have very much humidity. I couldn't handle it these days.

[pomtzu]

Yippee - a little break today. Humidity will be lower and temp only around 90, but the nasties with the higher temps and high humidity coming back tomorrow! I hate it when I take the dogs out for a potty break, and when I walk outside, it feels like someone threw a steaming hot wet blanket at me! I was looking at some pics yesterday of our mountains of snow that we had last winter - and almost wished for some. I'd like a happy medium, but live in the wrong part of the country for that.
Just about 30 miles north of us, they got terrible destructive storms yesterday - some places looked like a war zone. We didn't get so much as a cooling drop of rain! Areas up around Philly and parts of south Jersey got hit hard too - same as they had in CT.
I have some cooling bandannas that I use that are quite effective too. They are filled with some kind of material that expands into a gel and gets cool when soaked in water. I activate them and keep them in the fridge, so I always have one when I need it. I wrap it around my neck, which I find cools me better than using it on my head. They stay cool for a good long time, and when it loses it's cool , just re-wet it and pop it back in the fridge and get out another.
It was so miserable, that the birds were using my outside kitty Sherbie's water bowl on the back porch for a pool. Must have been more like a hot tub tho, since the sun heats it up in no time. I have to change the water several times a day since it gets so hot! We used to have several big trees that blocked the direct sun from beating on the back of the house all day, but they had to come down when we did the addition. I'm sure that has a lot to do with the a.c. feeling less efficient too, since the roof is getting extra hot and the outside compressor unit gets the sun on it all day now.
But I'll survive. Heck - I've made it this far - so what's another hot summer????

[Asiel]

Got up to fantastic sunshine this morning so I was celebrating. An hour later the sky turned dark and you could feel the humidity climbing so I turned the furnace on to 73 to get the chill out. Now it's still cloudy but turning a bit cooler so the humidity is lifting. By suppertime I'm sure the temps will have climbed back up and the sun will be turning the house into an oven so back to the a/c. I hope this settles for the wekend, a nice sunny one with no humidity. Only 10 degrees this morning, another weird summer I think. By supper it could hit 30....life is a puzzle out here.