Thread: Keeping your cool. Board: Oblivion / Ship of Fools.


To visit this thread, use this URL:
http://forum.ship-of-fools.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=70;t=025701
Posted by Graven Image (# 8755) on :
 
It has been over 100 o F where I live for the past week. I am looking for cooling ideas. I keep a wash cloth in the freezer and take it out every hour and put it on the back of my neck. I have told the cat over and over NO! you may not sit on my lap or lay touching me with any part of your warm furry body.
I sit with my feet in a tub of ice water. Finally if it takes more then 5 minutes to cook it we are not eating it. Help, what are your favorite ways of cooling down? [Cool]
 
Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :
 
Move to Scotland.
 
Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
Mousethief! Paging Mousethief!

This is the annual call for the Mousethief Cooler recipe.
 
Posted by L'organist (# 17338) on :
 
Don't drink ice-cold liquid: can be dangerous and won't make you feel cooler. Drink COOL drinks.

Hang plain white sheets in front of the open windows and spray with cold water.

Wear loose clothing - no man-made fibres either.
 
Posted by Jade Constable (# 17175) on :
 
Facial toner or alcohol gel, rubbed onto pulse points and around the neck - as the alcohol evaporates, it will cool you down. Keeping a wet bandanna wrapped around the neck.
 
Posted by ken (# 2460) on :
 
Emigrate to the Faroes. Or the North-West of Scotland. Or western Norway. And take good stout waterproof boots and lots of midge repellent. Everywhere has its problems.
 
Posted by RuthW (# 13) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Sioni Sais:
Mousethief! Paging Mousethief!

This is the annual call for the Mousethief Cooler recipe.
You beat me to it. My answer was going to be "gin."
 
Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :
 
Attend a university with a swimming pool.
Siiiighh. [Big Grin]
 
Posted by Moo (# 107) on :
 
Alcohol in any form makes me hotter.

Moo
 
Posted by Polly Plummer (# 13354) on :
 
Open the hatchway into the loft, and the heat will go up out of your house into the roof.
 
Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
Cool showers several times a day.
 
Posted by David (# 3) on :
 
Swap your plasma out for an LCD.
 
Posted by churchgeek (# 5557) on :
 
Keep blueberries in the freezer. A nice snack that's juicy and cool! And stay hydrated, no caffeine either.

I also just try to be as still as I can be, and calm.

I have ice packs in the freezer that I use for icing my tendonitis when it's acting up. It's also good for cooling off!

And then I have ice packs meant to go into coolers. Those can replace a cat on your lap. (And they'll keep the cat away!)

I'm trying to keep most of my electronic devices off during the day, but alas, I can't resist using my laptop. I've got a lap desk for it with a fan in it, though, so it doesn't make me hotter.

But it's nowhere near 100 where I am - more like 85-90, with low humidity. That's just how intolerant of heat I am. And I'm planning my trip home to Detroit in August this year...I'll spend most of my visit home just melting and moaning, I'm sure!
 
Posted by Galilit (# 16470) on :
 
Our long summer (May to end of Oct) has temps in the mid-40's (C) and I stay inside The Cave as much as possible. 8 am till 5 pm.

I use the Aqua Coolkeeper range of products with great success.It has this "funny stuff" inside that you soak and it stays cool (or cooler than you).I have bandana's and have just requisitioned a vest which is heavy but WORKS. I have 3 dogs who need walks so I HAVE to go out and these products are really good. A bit expensive.

Those wristy towelly things that tennis players wear - soak and put in the frig. Very cheap. (Also stops you slitting your wrists in frustration at the weather and the house arrest)

Air-con to 24 deg C.

Water refrigerated but no ice unless I am really desperate. Sometimes put lemon and spearmint leaves in too. The occasional cup of tea (usually green).

YouTube "Natural Rain" or "Ocean" clips - there are even some 9 hour night-long ones. (Warning: the dolphins are most annoying so avoid them.)

Rest in the middle of the day.

Take a sarong/lavalava/pareo and wet it, then wring it out a bit and lie under it under (or in front of) a fan. This generates instant windchill.

Do "important" things early in the day.

Drink water. Drink Water. Drink water.
Take Berocca (fizzy B-vitamins with Ginseng)

Keep skin clean and make those scrub things.

Spray face often (I use Body Shop Vitamin C but there is Evian of course and also plain old water in a pot-plant mist irrigator!).

The main thing is to put time into it and keep doing it so you are actively treating yourself and not passively suffering and complaining about something that is beyond control.

Also you can get really tetchy in long term uncomfortable heat so try to make a habit of thinking before you speak. Easier said than done but I am trying.

Move to Britain - clouds and s-dding rain 360 days a year!
 
Posted by Pigwidgeon (# 10192) on :
 
Visit central Arizona. After you've survived 119F*, go back home and 100F will feel cool.

*That was last Friday -- fourth hottest day here in recorded history. In 1991 we hit 122F.
 
Posted by mousethief (# 953) on :
 
Mousethief Cooler™ recipe:

1 one-quart (one-liter) pitcher
1 tray of ice cubes (fill the pitcher about 3/4 full)
1/2 c. (120 ml) Gin. (Tanqueray, of course)
1/4 c. (60 ml) Fresh squoze lime juice*
1/4 c. (60 ml) Rose's sweetened lime juice**
1 can (12 oz/ 350 ml) tonic water

Stir. Serves 4 normal people, 2 really thirsty sweaty people, 1 alcoholic

_______
*if you have to use that reconstituted crap, have some other drink.
**this is a bartender thing used for drinks that need sweetened lime juice; in the US you can get it with mixers or with fruit juices depending on the store
 
Posted by the giant cheeseburger (# 10942) on :
 
A key part of keeping a house cooler during the day without using an air conditioner is actually in what you do at night.

In the evening, check what the apparent temperature is like outside every half hour or so after sunset. Once the temperature outside drops to the point that it's roughly equal to the temperature inside, open all your curtains and windows wide (all of those you're comfortable with from a security/privacy angle at least) to allow the house's latent heat to radiate away and the sweaty inside smell to dissipate. Then set an alarm for about the same time as sunrise (look up the time on the web or on any decent weather app) so you can close up everything in the morning.

If you can afford to (i.e. you don't have work, study or other commitments) you can make a big difference to your comfort level by shifting a portion of your waking hours to overnight, and sleeping during the day. You generate less body heat when you're sleeping, so it makes sense to do that during the parts of the day when the most heat is coming from other sources.

----

A word on drinking lots of water - if you sweat heavily and/or your sweat is quite salty, consider making about a third of your fluid intake an electrolytic sports hydration drink such as Powerade, Gatorade or Hydralyte - whether made up from powder or bought pre-mixed in bottles. These are seriously formulated drinks designed to keep the body in balance when it sweats too much, not sugary soft drinks just targeting people with sport-related marketing. If you're concerned about sugar intake, they all have sugar-free versions rather than the standard version.

Stay away from fruit juice, alcohol and tea during hot weather. These drinks will dehydrate you and leave you worse off than before. Coffee is okay (it makes you thirsty which is good) but it is a stimulant that increases blood flow and therefore a slight increase in body heat generation, and of course it's no good if you have trouble getting to sleep.
 
Posted by Gee D (# 13815) on :
 
slices of cucumber skin on your wrists, and a salad of the cucumber itself - along with plenty of cool water to drink.
 
Posted by Graven Image (# 8755) on :
 
Thank you all. It was 111 yesterday on my deck, but promises of going down to the 90's this week-end. Strange how now that sounds cool.

Mousethief posted
quote:
Mousethief Cooler™ recipe:

1 one-quart (one-liter) pitcher
1 tray of ice cubes (fill the pitcher about 3/4 full)
1/2 c. (120 ml) Gin. (Tanqueray, of course)
1/4 c. (60 ml) Fresh squoze lime juice*
1/4 c. (60 ml) Rose's sweetened lime juice**
1 can (12 oz/ 350 ml) tonic water

Stir. Serves 4 normal people, 2 really thirsty sweaty people, 1 alcoholic

_______
*if you have to use that reconstituted crap, have some other drink.
**this is a bartender thing used for drinks that need sweetened lime juice; in the US you can get it with mixers or with fruit juices depending on the store
Way to hot for this now, but saving it for when it cools off a bit.

[Overused]
 
Posted by balaam (# 4543) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by the giant cheeseburger:
A word on drinking lots of water - if you sweat heavily and/or your sweat is quite salty, consider making about a third of your fluid intake an electrolytic sports hydration drink such as Powerade, Gatorade or Hydralyte - whether made up from powder or bought pre-mixed in bottles. These are seriously formulated drinks designed to keep the body in balance when it sweats too much, not sugary soft drinks just targeting people with sport-related marketing. If you're concerned about sugar intake, they all have sugar-free versions rather than the standard version.

Stay away from fruit juice, alcohol and tea during hot weather. These drinks will dehydrate you and leave you worse off than before. Coffee is okay (it makes you thirsty which is good) but it is a stimulant that increases blood flow and therefore a slight increase in body heat generation, and of course it's no good if you have trouble getting to sleep.
Good advice.

Electrolytic drinks still give benefits if you drink water with them, so drink one, then if you are still thirsty drink water. This is just as good as having more electrolyte, and cheaper.

Don't drink energy drinks, these slow down the body's intake of water.

Check your pee. If it is bright yellow you are seriously dehydrated. Drink a litre of electrolyte, and possibly some more water as well.

(These are tips I picked up on a cycling trip across the Arizona desert.)
 
Posted by Carex (# 9643) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by balaam:


Check your pee. If it is bright yellow you are seriously dehydrated. Drink a litre of electrolyte, and possibly some more water as well.

And if you aren't peeing, you likely may be dehydrated.

The body has a limited ability to absorb water, however. (The number 500ml (1 pint) per hour comes to mind, but I don't know from where.) So better to drink smaller amounts continuously than to do it all at once
 
Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
For those that have access to it coconut water is as good as an electrolyte drink - in desperate circumstances mix Diarolyte™ or similar with lots of water and drink that.

Through my own stupidity I once ended up with anhydrotic heat exhaustion and I can assure all of you that it is not in the least bit fun - far better to be peeing every half hour than having that. In hot weather never, ever wait until you are thirsty before drinking!
 
Posted by Mechtilde (# 12563) on :
 
Get yourself a Chillow. They really do stay cool, & are a Godsend for people who can't sleep because of hot weather, hot flashes, etc.
 
Posted by cliffdweller (# 13338) on :
 
Go to the library and soak up their A/C while reading or chatting on the Ship.
 
Posted by Zach82 (# 3208) on :
 
Putting a big bowl of ice between you and the current of an electric fan can work wonders.
 
Posted by Moo (# 107) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by cliffdweller:
Go to the library and soak up their A/C while reading or chatting on the Ship.
Unfortunately the library is closed on Sundays during the summer. [Waterworks]

Moo
 
Posted by Sir Kevin (# 3492) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by L'organist:
Don't drink ice-cold liquid: can be dangerous and won't make you feel cooler. Drink COOL drinks.

I always keep a bottle of green tea in the fridge door. It is not too cold and doesn't need ice.
 
Posted by Sir Kevin (# 3492) on :
 
Temperature Notes for the US:

24C = 75F, 45C = 113F

How to convert:

Celsius times 9, divided by 5 + 32 = Fahrenheit.

(F - 32) x 5/9 = C.

It's the only thing I remember from taking chemistry in school.
 
Posted by ken (# 2460) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by the giant cheeseburger:
Stay away from fruit juice, alcohol and tea during hot weather. These drinks will dehydrate you and leave you worse off than before. Coffee is okay (it makes you thirsty which is good) but it is a stimulant that increases blood flow and therefore a slight increase in body heat generation, and of course it's no good if you have trouble getting to sleep.
The idea that tea will dehydrate you and coffee won't is just plain silly. As is the idea that coffee is astimulant and tea isn't. It depends how strong you make them and what you put in them.

Tea as usually drunk is pretty much isotonic, so, just as with the overpriced branded sports drinks it will hydrate you quite effectively. Same goes for low-fat milk and weak beer. (Has to be weak beer I'm afraid - most beer sold these days is 5% or so which is too much alcohol to be very refreshing, not that that stops anyone)
 
Posted by PeteC (# 10422) on :
 
24C is not hot. 32C is comfortable. But if your thermometer reaches 50C outdoors in the shade it is better to whimper indoors and watch cricket on the TV
 
Posted by ken (# 2460) on :
 
32C is unbearable torture. 18-24 is warm but OK. 24-28 unpleasantly hot. Above about 28 my mobility is restricted and my mind starts getting blurred, I actually become clumsier and stupider.

I'm enough of a science nerd to find that temperatures given in Farenheit is basically a clue that whatever you are reading doesn;t need to be taken seriously. Even in the USA scientists and engineers use C. Really Serious Scientists use K.
 
Posted by BroJames (# 9636) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by ken:
…I'm enough of a science nerd to find that temperatures given in Farenheit is basically a clue that whatever you are reading doesn;t need to be taken seriously.…
Unless you're looking at cold temperatures (but warmer than -40)!
 
Posted by cliffdweller (# 13338) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Moo:
quote:
Originally posted by cliffdweller:
Go to the library and soak up their A/C while reading or chatting on the Ship.
Unfortunately the library is closed on Sundays during the summer. [Waterworks]

Moo
I go to the mall to walk when it hits triple digits here. Yesterday saw a cute older couple sitting in the food park with a stack of books, playing gin. Go wherever someone else is paying for the AC.
 
Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by ken:


Tea as usually drunk is pretty much isotonic, so, just as with the overpriced branded sports drinks it will hydrate you quite effectively. Same goes for low-fat milk and weak beer. (Has to be weak beer I'm afraid - most beer sold these days is 5% or so which is too much alcohol to be very refreshing, not that that stops anyone)
On the subject of weak beer there's no law against diluting beer to make shandy. Lemonade can actually make some lagers quite drinkable in hot weather and a shot of lime juice helps further.
 
Posted by churchgeek (# 5557) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by the giant cheeseburger:
A key part of keeping a house cooler during the day without using an air conditioner is actually in what you do at night.

In the evening, check what the apparent temperature is like outside every half hour or so after sunset. Once the temperature outside drops to the point that it's roughly equal to the temperature inside, open all your curtains and windows wide (all of those you're comfortable with from a security/privacy angle at least) to allow the house's latent heat to radiate away and the sweaty inside smell to dissipate. Then set an alarm for about the same time as sunrise (look up the time on the web or on any decent weather app) so you can close up everything in the morning.
That's essentially what my dad did in our house growing up. We didn't have AC (this was in Michigan, where summers get hot & muggy - not Arizona hot, but near 100F most summers), but had a big fan. Dad was pretty good at figuring out how to make air flow through the house in the evening to cool it off (placing "cross-ventilation" in my sisters' and my vocabulary at a very early age). Once we got a window unit air conditioner in the living room (which was on one end of the house along with the kitchen; the bedrooms were on the other end), that made it even more fun for him to engineer. He was always on top of precisely when it was cool enough outside to switch off the AC and go to fans/cross-ventilation. It was all kinda noisy, though, AC or fan.

Taking a cool shower or bath, if possible, also helps - not just running the water on you, but washing the oils and dirt off your skin.

Depending where you live, if there's an accessible waterfront, they can be cooler. It's surprising, e.g., how much cooler it feels down on Detroit's Riverfront than just a few miles north in the neighborhoods.
 
Posted by churchgeek (# 5557) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Sir Kevin:
Temperature Notes for the US:

24C = 75F, 45C = 113F

How to convert:

Celsius times 9, divided by 5 + 32 = Fahrenheit.

(F - 32) x 5/9 = C.

It's the only thing I remember from taking chemistry in school.
Thank you thank you thank you!

As someone who's disgruntled that we didn't manage to switch to the metric system (including Celsius) back in the '70s, I still struggle to make sense of Celsius. It's not like I can visualize how long a centimeter is, e.g., for length, or how big a liter bottle of pop is for liquid (see how my mind works...)

And so armed with this new knowledge, I can say I agree with ken's assessment that
quote:
32C is unbearable torture. 18-24 is warm but OK. 24-28 unpleasantly hot.
However, when he goes on to say that
quote:
... temperatures given in Farenheit is basically a clue that whatever you are reading doesn;t need to be taken seriously.
I must protest that my ordinary, everyday experience of the world (and its cruel mood swings from frigid [<20F] to hellishly hot [>79F]) is very serious business to me!

(ETA: Those are the extreme limits of my comfort zones; YMMV. It seems most people can tolerate more heat but often less cold than I can.)

[ 05. July 2013, 01:29: Message edited by: churchgeek ]
 
Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Living in The Tropics [just above 10 degrees north of The Line] the temperature generally wanders between 25˚C and 35˚C, both of which are quite comfortable. Above 35˚ and I get uncomfortable and above 40˚ is just silly. Similarly below 25˚ and I start looking for a top and below 20˚ and I am looking for a fleece! One famous night in December 2003 it got down to 15.9˚C and we were wearing clothes to bed and searching for the blankets! When we got to the mountains with Pete every winter we got to bed and in several layers AND snuggle under as many blankets as we can find.

In UK in May this year my various hosts all provided me with winter-weight duvets - BLISS!

We really are wimps.
 
Posted by Zach82 (# 3208) on :
 
Amaretto sours slide down real smooth in hot weather. If you don't feel like going through the effort of a mint julep that is.
 
Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by PeteC:
24C is not hot. 32C is comfortable ...
That's a matter of opinion ... [Big Grin]

We're being forecast 27°C but feeling like 32 with the humidity for Friday and 28°/36 for Saturday and I have to say I'm absolutely dreading it.

[Eek!]
 
Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
Personally, I'm looking forward to the temperatures being in the 80s this weekend. It's a cold country, I always seem to have the electric fire on when at home, and rarely get the chance to leave off a jacket or second layer, so it'll be great to have a bit of decent weather for a change.

I like intense direct heat and strong sunlight, and enjoy the window seats on the sunny side on buses or trains, so I can bask for a bit. Warmth is good.

The trick is not to get dehydrated. In hot weather, carry a bottle of water with you and consume at intervals. Otherwise, sluggishness and headaches occur.

The power of suggestion being what it is, I also find that visualizing a bleak winter's evening with snow and a bitter wind cutting through clothing pretty quickly makes me feel chillier, but YMMV.
 
Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by churchgeek:

Depending where you live, if there's an accessible waterfront, they can be cooler. It's surprising, e.g., how much cooler it feels down on Detroit's Riverfront than just a few miles north in the neighborhoods.
You want an estuary. In the rare moments when the temperature staggers into double figures round here, it sets off a heat exchange with the waters of the Forth/North Sea. The result is a cooling - well, bone-chilling - blanket of haar.
 
Posted by Pine Marten (# 11068) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by ken:
32C is unbearable torture. 18-24 is warm but OK. 24-28 unpleasantly hot. Above about 28 my mobility is restricted and my mind starts getting blurred, I actually become clumsier and stupider.
quote:
Originally posted by piglet:
quote:
Originally posted by PeteC:
24C is not hot. 32C is comfortable ...
That's a matter of opinion ... [Big Grin]

We're being forecast 27°C but feeling like 32 with the humidity for Friday and 28°/36 for Saturday and I have to say I'm absolutely dreading it.

[Eek!]
I'm totally with ken and piglet here. It's 10.45 in London, I've just got back from an errand and am dripping sweat - I suppose it's in the low 20s at the moment. My heart sank when the forecast predicted up to 30 next week. In heat my feet swell and chafe, and I get irritated and depressed. Fortunately up here on the pc I have a fan whirring which is helping nicely to cool my feet and knees. And next week Mr Marten and I are off to the Tewkesbury Medieval Festival with a friend [Yipee] - I hope we don't swelter. On the other hand I don't want it flooded like last time [Eek!] .
 
Posted by luvanddaisies (# 5761) on :
 
Up to 30 in London? WooHoo [Big Grin]

I found it very strange when sailing across the equator down to Rio that most people seemed to be melting, while I really enjoyed the heat. I don't think I was meant to have been born in Scotland. [Roll Eyes]
 
Posted by bib (# 13074) on :
 
During the hot Summer days in Australia, we close the whole house up as much as possible - curtains drawn, windows closed etc. Then once the sun goes down we open everything up, doors, windows etc and even sleep with outer doors open but security doors closed and locked. Makes a big difference to surviving. However, it is Winter here now and this week has been freezing. Suggest you come here and escape.
 
Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Welease Woderwick:
One famous night in December 2003 it got down to 15.9˚C and we were wearing clothes to bed and searching for the blankets!
Well, that is 60°, which is definitely chilly. I have an electric blanket for nights like that. [Big Grin]
 
Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on :
 
Daughter-Unit's Mom-in-law and I were doing some shopping chores together today. Inside the stores, she was freezing, and I was hoping to cool off a bit. (Very much agree with using other folks' AC to keep cool!)

I think it's all in a person's point of view!

It wasn't too hot today, low 80s, but very, very humid, so it felt a bit uncomfortable outside to me.
 
Posted by comet (# 10353) on :
 
at 100F I'm pretty sure I'd spontaneously combust.
 
Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
There's nowt wrong with a bit of spontaneity!

[Biased]
 
Posted by Crazy Cat Lady (# 17616) on :
 
Well we are only getting 21 degrees here, there are some advantages to living in England's bump on the side. If it is too hot I spend the afternoon stood in the North Sea

But I do get heat exhaustion very quickly, only once had heat stroke and thought I was gonna die. Any tips/hints appreciated
 
Posted by mousethief (# 953) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by ken:
I'm enough of a science nerd to find that temperatures given in Farenheit is basically a clue that whatever you are reading doesn;t need to be taken seriously. Even in the USA scientists and engineers use C. Really Serious Scientists use K.
Because only scientists and engineers need be taken seriously. Got it.

Just out of curiosity, are you a scientist, or an engineer?

[ 06. July 2013, 22:26: Message edited by: mousethief ]
 
Posted by North East Quine (# 13049) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Firenze:
Move to Scotland.
It is 25 degrees here and I have ice packs in my bed, so that it will be bearably cool enough to sleep in.

25 degrees overnight is too hot for me.
 
Posted by Moo (# 107) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Crazy Cat Lady:
But I do get heat exhaustion very quickly, only once had heat stroke and thought I was gonna die. Any tips/hints appreciated
Put ice on your wrists where the blood vessels are close to the surface.

Moo
 
Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by North East Quine:
... 25 degrees overnight is too hot for me.
25° overnight??? [Eek!] In NE Quineland?

I'm going to sit under a cool fan for half an hour before going to bed - I tried it last night and it helped.
 
Posted by Nicolemr (# 28) on :
 
Sleep in a tee shirt that's been soaked in cool water.
 
Posted by PD (# 12436) on :
 
The degree to which I am able to survive the heat is completely dependent on how much it cools off at night. If it heads down below 20C/68F fairly quickly I am a happy bunny as that gives me the opportunity to cool the house off ready for the next round. The rare nights it is muggy and about 23C/74F make me as miserable as one is unsure whether to open up and sweat or close up and listen to the A/C unit rumbling!

In the old days the two-story houses around here had plenty of upstairs windows, and a hatch in the roof to let the heat out. A favourite trick was to open the hatch, and the cellar door and let that cool the house. Sleeping porches were also popular, even on the convent!

PD
 
Posted by The5thMary (# 12953) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Jade Constable:
Facial toner or alcohol gel, rubbed onto pulse points and around the neck - as the alcohol evaporates, it will cool you down. Keeping a wet bandanna wrapped around the neck.
Yeah, when I first moved down to Atlanta, Georgia I was shocked to see grown men with towels wrapped around their necks, the towels having been soaked in ice cold water. I thought it looked messy and it is... but then I started doing it and... it's lovely! I take medicines that raise my temperature and I get overheated at the drop of a hat, so staying cool in the humidity of the South is crucial.
 
Posted by Chamois (# 16204) on :
 
Originally posted by churchgeek:

quote:
As someone who's disgruntled that we didn't manage to switch to the metric system (including Celsius) back in the '70s, I still struggle to make sense of Celsius. It's not like I can visualize how long a centimeter is, e.g., for length, or how big a liter bottle of pop is for liquid (see how my mind works...)
I used to struggle with "visualising" Celsius until someone taught me this useful translation for the weather forecast:

Less than 0 C = freezing
0 - 10 C = cold
10-20 C = mild
20 C - 30C = hot
more than 30 C = horribly, unbearably, ridiculously hot

This scale works for southern England. I'm sure it can be adapted for other parts of the world with a different range of temperatures.
 
Posted by MrsBeaky (# 17663) on :
 
Living here in the North Rift region of Kenya, I daily give thanks that we are at such high altitude because it is always cooler at night no matter how hot the day has been.

Foe me keeping cool/ staying warm is all about my feet.....if I can get them the right temperature then the rest of me follows suit. So socks if I'm cold and bowls of cold water if I'm hot!
 
Posted by the giant cheeseburger (# 10942) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by MrsBeaky:
Living here in the North Rift region of Kenya, I daily give thanks that we are at such high altitude because it is always cooler at night no matter how hot the day has been.

Foe me keeping cool/ staying warm is all about my feet.....if I can get them the right temperature then the rest of me follows suit. So socks if I'm cold and bowls of cold water if I'm hot!
I agree about both.

On the altitude thing, I've noticed that even 150 metres makes a difference. I used to live on the plains in the inner suburbs, now I live perched on the side of a valley it is noticeably cooler in the late afternoon when the convection current coming off the plains gets pushed away by the cooler sea breeze.

quote:
Originally posted by Chamois:
Originally posted by churchgeek:

quote:
As someone who's disgruntled that we didn't manage to switch to the metric system (including Celsius) back in the '70s, I still struggle to make sense of Celsius. It's not like I can visualize how long a centimeter is, e.g., for length, or how big a liter bottle of pop is for liquid (see how my mind works...)
I used to struggle with "visualising" Celsius until someone taught me this useful translation for the weather forecast:

Less than 0 C = freezing
0 - 10 C = cold
10-20 C = mild
20 C - 30C = hot
more than 30 C = horribly, unbearably, ridiculously hot

This scale works for southern England. I'm sure it can be adapted for other parts of the world with a different range of temperatures.
I would say where I live it works out to roughly...

0° to 15° = cold.
15° to 25° = mild.
25° to 35° = hot.
>35° = (insert preferred superlative here) hot.
quote:
Originally posted by Nicolemr:
Sleep in a tee shirt that's been soaked in cool water.
That just sounds like a recipe for waking up in a warm clammy shirt with warm wet sheets, especially if it's a humid evening.

Better to go without a top at all if you can get away with it, to help evaporation and ventilation instead of trapping moisture and air in.

For people who live with others, go with a moisture-wicking singlet or sports bra, ideally the briefest you can get away with without causing jaws to drop. Or go for one even skimpier than that if those jaws dropping is a good thing [Big Grin]
 
Posted by geroff (# 3882) on :
 
Here I am sweltering in an office converted from a Victorian church with plastic roof 'glazing' and no AC because we do 'green' architecture. Not a lot I can do about the temperature - but their will be company supplied ice creams and we are allowed to wear shorts and sandals! [Hot and Hormonal]
 
Posted by Jengie Jon (# 273) on :
 
I was naughty last night, Mum complained of the heat so I asked her what she would have done in South Africa. Answer was lots of showers or a dipping bath.

The dipping bath is easy, run a tub of cold water in the morning. Whenever the day gets too hot, simply dip in for five to ten minutes, no soap or washing it is simply to cool down. The warmth raises the temperature to an acceptable cool.

Also temperature management, curtains drawn as soon as there is any sun, windows shut once temperature outside is warmer than inside. As temperature drops open windows and draw curtains as sun stops shining in.

My own adds to that is to wrap an old t-shirt in a damp towel then put it on. It will be ever so slightly damp. Moroccan Mint Tea is also good either hot or cold, so you can make a pot and just leave it too cool. I cheat; I just put two peppermint tea bags in with a green teabag into the tea pot; if I get the balance right I do not need sugar.

Jengie
 
Posted by Penny S (# 14768) on :
 
I have obviously been doing it all wrong. I'm in a town house with three floors, and I've been using the windows open on the top floor to allow hot air out and draw cooler air in below, where my study window and the back door are open. This is less effective in the afternoon as the sun starts shining on the ground floor on the only side I can have open. (I remember a programme about Arabic passive cooling where they had towers to draw air up from the basement which had an aqueduct running trough it.)

I also have a summer setting on my warm air system that just moves air around without heating it, drawing it in from the space at the bottom of the stairs in the centre of the house. (I do wish I could have a cellar or a well down there.) It does seem to work to cool things a bit, except my bedroom in the afternoon, top floor, west facing. I'll try shutting the windows on the sunny sides from now on. It's been about 27 C the past few days. I do not do well in the heat.

I have not needed to get my fans out of the spare room, though.
 
Posted by Carex (# 9643) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Chamois:
Originally posted by churchgeek:

I used to struggle with "visualising" Celsius until someone taught me this useful translation for the weather forecast:

Less than 0 C = freezing
0 - 10 C = cold
10-20 C = mild
20 C - 30C = hot
more than 30 C = horribly, unbearably, ridiculously hot

Or, to summarize:

30 is hot,
20 is nice,
10 is cool
0 is ice.
 
Posted by Jengie Jon (# 273) on :
 
The tower thing will only work if the air outside at ground level is cooler than than the air indoors. Otherwise it will just let out the cool air from indoors. In other words the flow will go in the other direction and you pump warm air from outside into the building.

Jengie

[ 09. July 2013, 07:21: Message edited by: Jengie Jon ]
 
Posted by Karl: Liberal Backslider (# 76) on :
 
Since I use a summer duvet in the middle of winter and nothing at all from May to October (and sleep au naturelle with the window open) you can probably guess which way I go.

It's over 20. It's too hot. End of. I go around with no jacket once it's above about 15; 25 is getting hard to tolerate. Hate it. I'm allowed to because I never moan about it being "too cold" in winter. It never is in England.
 
Posted by L'organist (# 17338) on :
 
We live in an "upside down" house: living rooms on the top, bedrooms at the bottom. Perfect in hot weather... [Smile]
 
Posted by Penny S (# 14768) on :
 
So far so good today with revised system, for which my thanks. Windows shut on the east, with curtains/venetian blinds closed. Windows/door open on the west, where the garden air has been cool and damp because of evening watering. Air circulation going. 22 degrees C in living room. 25 in bedroom under flat roof. (Since the flat roof has solar panels sitting on it, I would have thought there would have been some insulation.)
Just about to change round, as the sun is now hitting the living room windows and the paving will be heating up in the garden.
 
Posted by Penny S (# 14768) on :
 
The study, open to the garden, was only 20. The entrance hall, facing east, had cooled down significantly from its morning temperature, probably because I had left the door to the inner parts, the back door and the study open after a caller. It heats up fast as soon as the sun catches it.

(I have thermometers all over the place because in the winter I can't be sure if I'm warm enough - I feel OK when the house temperature is lower than advised. I certainly know when it's too hot though!)
 
Posted by Stercus Tauri (# 16668) on :
 
Once every year or so when I can stand the heat no longer, I cure it with a bottle of ouzo, a little water, and plenty of ice. Jurgen Gothe, late of the CBC, once observed that if you try this on the beach, you can tell when you've had enough when you find your mouth is full of sand. I'm usually asleep long before that stage.
 
Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :
 
Not if I were sitting next to an operational blast furnace in Death Valley at noon would I consider ouzo as a solution.

It has been 28C (82F) here today - at which point even Edinburghers seriously think of doffing at least one layer of tweed.
 
Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Stercus Tauri:
Once every year or so when I can stand the heat no longer, I cure it with a bottle of ouzo, a little water, and plenty of ice. Jurgen Gothe, late of the CBC, once observed that if you try this on the beach, you can tell when you've had enough when you find your mouth is full of sand. I'm usually asleep long before that stage.
That's like Dean Martin who observed that "You're not drunk if you can lie on the floor without holding on".
 
Posted by Stercus Tauri (# 16668) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Firenze:
Not if I were sitting next to an operational blast furnace in Death Valley at noon would I consider ouzo as a solution.
I feel the same way about Tennent's lager. If you ask for beer in Hell to cool you down, I am certain that's what they'll serve. Bad student memories coming back.
 
Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Karl: Liberal Backslider:
... It's over 20. It's too hot. End of. I go around with no jacket once it's above about 15; 25 is getting hard to tolerate. Hate it. I'm allowed to because I never moan about it being "too cold" in winter. It never is in England.
KLB, you're a man after my own heart; the only bit of England I've been cold in is Cambridge in winter (and it was lovely). When it gets cold (and it does here in the winter) you can always put on another layer; when it's too hot there's a limit to what you can take off. [Big Grin]

We had temperatures in the mid-high 20s at the weekend, and I did the closing windows during the day thing, which worked quite well; mercifully it's now cooled down to Civilised Levels (i.e. highs of about 17°C).
 
Posted by Leorning Cniht (# 17564) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Karl: Liberal Backslider:

It's over 20. It's too hot. End of. I go around with no jacket once it's above about 15; 25 is getting hard to tolerate. Hate it. I'm allowed to because I never moan about it being "too cold" in winter. It never is in England.
I'm agreeing with Karl! It must be one of those twice-a-day things [Smile]
 
Posted by Leorning Cniht (# 17564) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by geroff:
Here I am sweltering in an office converted from a Victorian church with plastic roof 'glazing' and no AC because we do 'green' architecture. Not a lot I can do about the temperature - but their will be company supplied ice creams and we are allowed to wear shorts and sandals! [Hot and Hormonal]
I used to have an office with a south-facing glass wall. It was pretty unbearable in the summer. My solution was to take the plastic waste paper basket, half-fill with cold water, place under the desk and sit with my feet in it.

Every couple of hours I'd get new cold water.
 
Posted by PD (# 12436) on :
 
There's a large washing-up bowl in our house which is used on Sundays when I get home from church. I usually "boil in the bag*" on Sunday mornings in summer.

PD

* - bag aka an alb
 
Posted by daisydaisy (# 12167) on :
 
On the few really hot days or nights here, I set up a swivelling fan on the landing and open all the windows so the fan is moving the cooler air around. My home is on an east/west facing terrace, so in the morning I close the curtains in the east rooms and in the afternoon open those and close the west curtains.
 
Posted by Penny S (# 14768) on :
 
I did meet a man from a remote valley in Kent (OK, remotish) whose Dad had lost parts of fingers to frostbite one winter not so long ago. So serious cold is a possibility.
 
Posted by Sir Kevin (# 3492) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by piglet:
quote:
Originally posted by PeteC:
24C is not hot. 32C is comfortable ...
That's a matter of opinion ... [Big Grin]

We're being forecast 27°C but feeling like 32 with the humidity for Friday and 28°/36 for Saturday and I have to say I'm absolutely dreading it.

[Eek!]
I found 30 to be about the highest temperature I experienced in San Diego when I lived by the sea, but walking on the beach in bare feet was agonizing as the sand was quite a bit hotter. As a kid, driving in the summer in Pasadena when it was 35 was tolerable if all the windows were gone. We did not have air con in cars until 1968 and never got it in the house as the walls were so thick it never got over 24 inside and what little hot air there was could be expunged by an air circulator blowing out the screen door on the small balcony overlooking the front door and garden.
 
Posted by Sir Kevin (# 3492) on :
 
Aaargh! Read "rolled down" or "lowered" for gone!
 
Posted by Graven Image (# 8755) on :
 
I only said to someone, " I can always stay warm, but I cannot always cool off." His reply was, "Then Lady you were never in the army and had to stand watch while stationed in Korea in the winter."
 
Posted by Penny S (# 14768) on :
 
I have just come across the third instance of a problem with having the windows open. And a flat roof. Pigeon droppings. Three storeys up. And I can't get at them to clean it off. And the windowcleaner isn't due for three weeks. I managed the other two occurrences. Can't do this one. It isn't safe.
 
Posted by no prophet (# 15560) on :
 
The worst I ever experienced was in the 1970s in Guyana. It would be high 30s, 100% humidity with the rain coming down in buckets between times of blazing sun creating a humid hot hell. When someone talks about dry and wet heat, they are talking about something real. Mould grows on anything. Armpits, camera lenses, plastic.

What I thoroughly fear is hot weather than brings those late afternoon thunderstorms that have tornadoes as their guests. We've had roofs lifted and houses destroyed within 1/2 block of our house, twice. Also other times have lost all of our shingles, had car damage, fence knocked to pieces, and major water damage.

When the edge of a tornado passes, it is like freight train. best is to have some windows open so pressure can equalize and the windows don't pop. -- I clearly am a winter person. Summer being a mere 100 frost free days of rather bad skiiing. I can always put on some more clothes (only so many to remove) and there are no tornadoes.
 
Posted by Penny S (# 14768) on :
 
In the storm of 1987, minus tornadoes, it wasn't only the windows which popped- houses lost their gable ends which popped outwards.
 
Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Penny S:
I have just come across the third instance of a problem with having the windows open. And a flat roof. Pigeon droppings. Three storeys up. And I can't get at them to clean it off. And the windowcleaner isn't due for three weeks. I managed the other two occurrences. Can't do this one. It isn't safe.
Can you get at it by going up to that floor, opening the window a bit and reaching out from the inside of the building to use a wet cloth on a stick, or a sponge? I had a similar problem with mine and that took care of most of it. There was one annoying bit I couldn't quite reach to do, though.
 
Posted by Penny S (# 14768) on :
 
The window swings out on brackets at the top, with a very narrow slot above the pane. It's a very large pane, over a metre square, which leaves a very large hole. If I get up high enough, my centre of gravity is higher than the bottom of the window.

However, rather like your idea (thanks), I have found a flexible piece of aluminium tubing that used to be the centre of a Peter Powell stunt kite, and I have stuck a bottle brush in the end. It will reach while I am still on the floor, but I haven't had time today (and I'm hoping for one of those thunderstorms). I have a spray bottle which can reach as well.

I am getting new windows soon, and I am hoping that some thought has been put into cleaning by the designers. These are stupid. (I think they are too big to be replaced by side opening windows which open inwards.)

I found that the same event has done the little hopper window over the sink. This one I can get my hand out of - if I find a way to sit over the sink!
 
Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
A few suggestions from the BBC's website. We've seen a few of these already, but there some explanations (which are sure to annoy the pickier scientists on board [Biased] ).
 
Posted by Sparrow (# 2458) on :
 
Put your underwear (clean of course!) in the fridge overnight.
 
Posted by no prophet (# 15560) on :
 
We had a high temp of 13°C on Sunday. I guess another suggestion is to visit northern Canada. It was 27° yesterday, so you have to pick your days!
 


© Ship of Fools 2016

Powered by Infopop Corporation
UBB.classicTM 6.5.0