I live in the South, so the heat outside has been pretty unbearable for most of the summer. But we’ve been able to deal by hiding inside with the wonder that is air conditioning.
But then, our air conditioning died. My husband thinks he can fix it but it may have to wait a few days because he works a lot of overtime.
We have box fans and ceiling fans, but with a temperature of nearly 90 degrees outside it was a little unbearable. For me at least.
For my nearly 3 year old toddler, the heat didn’t seem to faze her. She continued to run around the house like she normally did while I was sweating just sitting in front of the fan.
I’m not sure if she deals with the heat better because she is younger or if I’m just a wimp. I do know that I was surly and didn’t get anything done because I was so warm. It makes me wonder if I’m too reliant on technology. I’m screwed if the zombie apocalypse happens in the summertime because I wouldn’t be able to move very fast to get away from the hoards of undead.
How do you deal with the heat if you don’t have the luxury of air conditioning?
I grew up in Houston, Texas, and my family’s home didn’t have air conditioning until I was about seven. We had what was called a whole house fan. All the windows were opened, and the fan would pull hot air from inside the house and vent it into the attic, while pulling the air from outside into the house, creating a wind effect, which was… kind of cooling. I remember, though, taking naps through the hottest part of the day.
I live in Central Texas now, which is hotter and drier than Houston, and when our air conditioner went out earlier in the summer, we opened the windows, turned on fans, and dressed as lightly as possible. I sent everyone for short cold showers in the morning, and kept them hydrated and cool with water and ice tea. After the first six hours, everyone adjusted and dealt with the heat surprisingly well. We were almost (but not quite) sad when the A/C was fixed! With no A/C on, and our windows open, we were more aware of sounds in the neighborhood, birds singing, cicadas buzzing, random music from cars, and despite all of that, the realization that our neighborhood is much quieter than we thought!
I take a tea towel and soak it in cold water. Then I wear it around my neck. I also drink ice water and ice tea.
I really don’t mind the heat very much. Leaving in Athens Greece where in the summer we experience temperatures up to 42 degrees Celsius, I believe I have adapted to bare the heat.
My husband on the other hand, gets very hot and sweaty and really hates summer but he can bare it using the fan most of the time. We only use A/C when it gets really hot, 35 or more degrees. The real problems starts with the humidity when it gets over 55% but most of the time we survive without the A/C. Showers and light clothing do the trick.