We're not setup for hot weather, so we resort to all kinds of things to keep us and our homes cool.
Apart from ordering fans from Amazon, what else have you been doing to keep cool?
What's the craziest cooling methods at the moment?
4 months ago by SayCyberOnceMore to c/askuk
wyldrstallyns 15 points 4 months ago
FWIW, in all my years in kitchens across the globe, one of the few culturally organic commonalities across them all was the tradition of taking a kitchen towel; arranging a long pile of ice cubes across its center and rolling it up tightly; securing with twist-ties, rubber bands, butcher string, etc. (even butterfly clips!) Then, draping it across the back of the neck, and tucking the ends into either side of the collar.
Boom! Instant cool, refreshing relief, straight to the dome via the pulminary system. (it cools the neck first, and shortly after, the head and chest) Bonus: the eventual drench as it melts isn't a bad thing considering you're already sweaty AF and helps cool you off too!
Plus, it makes you look like you're obviously working really hard —what, with your uniform so saturated and all, from you neck down your back. 🤪
MagnificentSteiner 2 points 4 months ago
I think you mean 35°C? 45°C is 113°F.
pressedhams 11 points 4 months ago
We get regular temperatures in the south west, Arizona specifically, over 120°F. The summer I moved away it was 133°F for three fucking days.
The local paper kept a count on the front page for how many days the temperature didn’t drop below 100°F, and that includes the overnight temp.
WalleyeWarrior 9 points 4 months ago
He did not make any errors. Texas routinely gets over 40C all over the state. I have experienced it in Johnson City as well as in Houston
MagnificentSteiner 1 point 4 months ago
Nope, the highs are mid to high 30s in Texas.
goatmeal 1 point 4 months ago
Those are the average highs. It can peak well above that for a given week.
I live in northern US and have the opposite phenomenon. Average low in coldest month is 12F but we usually have about a week below 0F
Zombiepirate 6 points 4 months ago
Thanks, my estimate was a little bit off; I'm terminally America-brained.
It's months of over 100°F to 110°F (38°C - 43°C) here, but it does spike up there, and the heat index does regularly get that high.
Pretty much everyone here has AC though.
MagnificentSteiner 4 points 4 months ago
No probs!
I lived in Houston for a couple of years so I knew it was a bit off. I wouldn't have lasted my first summer if 45°C was normal!
Zombiepirate 4 points 4 months ago
I think Houston has a bit cooler temperature from Dallas due to the proximity to the ocean, but the humidity more than makes up for it.
It's just impossible to cool down in that kind of climate.
snek_boi 2 points 4 months ago
Some cultures think that you should drink the opposite temperature. But if you look at what happens when you drink hot stuff, it doesn’t sound that crazy. Hot stuff makes you sweat. Sweat, when hot by dry air molecules, releases energy. That process cools you down.
fozid 1 point 4 months ago
You missed 1 critical part in the process. Hot stuff heats you up, that increased heat makes you sweat harder, the sweat evaporates, which cools you back down to where you were before you drank the hot drink, you briefly feel like you cooled down, which you did, just only from the increase caused by the hot drink. Kind of a win?
snek_boi 1 point 4 months ago
Ah. I see what you’re saying. You’re saying the heat from the hot water compensates for the increase in sweating.
I suppose it’s worthwhile investigating the relationship between the energy in the water and the energy lost through sweating. And indeed some people have studied that:
“Yes, the hot drink is hotter than your body temperature, so you are adding heat to the body, but the amount that you increase your sweating by—if that can all evaporate—more than compensates for the the added heat to the body from the fluid.”
Shortstack 1 point 4 months ago
It’s fine advice if you’re not doing a bunch of labor on a hot day, it’s good for chilling in shade with a breeze where you’re not sweating as hard
YeahIgotskills2 14 points 4 months ago
My tried and tested technique of living in Shetland seems to be working.
kindnesskills 12 points 4 months ago
Ice packs, the ones you put in picnic bags to keep the food cold.
I sit on one or put it in my lap during the day, and put another in bed with me at night. Great between the thighs for maximum cooling. Wrap it in a pillow case or towel or something so you don't have it directly against your skin when it's fully frozen.
Digestive_Biscuit 1 point 4 months ago
I've been using ice packs too. They work great. It doesn't stop me feeling hot but totally works for control sweating as much.
nocturne 10 points 4 months ago
Not in the UK, but a native desert dweller with some advice. I have two neck wraps that have polymer beads in them (they absorb water and hold it). These work great to keep on your neck. https://koolgator.com/product/cooling-neck-wrap/
I also have a hood that I soak and then wear to help cool my head. https://www.mission.com/...
When I do have to be outside for extended periods of time I wear thin light colored clothing that exposes as little skin as possible. Our IV index here in New Mexico is brutal, unsure about yours.
PagPag 0 points 4 months ago
I’m just another imposter. Same brutal heat but think 90+% humidity… gotta come prepared
Been building an offgrid two story cabin out in the middle of the woods. Realize this is a choice and one not many would make but I know a few things about mitigation here.
iocase 8 points 4 months ago
If we weren't complete individualistic morons we would have district heating and even district cooling. You can produce chilled water with high grade waste heat with a absorber chillers. They use 1-3% as much electricity as the same capacity compressive cooler.
Paired with a soapstone sand battery you can sink over productive renewables (instead of shorting solar panels or stopping wind turbines) into high grade heat you can use later for winter heating or summer cooling.
iocase 2 points 4 months ago
Yeah it's pretty smart... And incredibly simple... Way too low profit for my country's blood (Canada) not to mention which duolopoly would own it in Canada? It can't exist as a competing business strategy. It either needs to be blocked with regulations (regs captured by industry and capital...) or it needs to be a pet project of one of our oligarchs that never grows beyond a pilot plant battery that maybe gets used to make chemicals or something via industrial heat.
Canconda 8 points 4 months ago
Block sunlight coming in windows. Ideally with exterior blinds or reflective material on the glass. Interior blinds block light but not heat.
AC circulation. If your AC isn't hooked to your forced air than you'll want to circulate the air in your house to bring down the average.
Vent thorugh windows at night. Wait until it's below 20C and open at least 2 windows. Use a fan to force more airflow.
Hang out in the basement.
Upgrade your roof/windows. If you're from a warm climate your house probably isn't well insulated to keep heat in during winter; which also means that it doesn't keep heat out. Newer windows block UV light and have a higher R value which prevents heat from the air against the glass.
Plant climbing/creeping plants. They will absorb sunlight that would hit your house/etc and can create a micro climate several degrees cooler than the ambient temp.
Avoid wearing cotton and dark colours.
Wear a 360 large brim hat and sunscreen. Some of the "hot" sensation is actually UV damage.
Zombie 16 points 4 months ago
If your AC
Lol, what AC?
Hang out in the basement
Lol, what basement?
Upgrade your roof / windows
Lol, with what money?
I say this in jest really, I appreciate the list. Your point about insulation has already made national news due to the protest group Insulate Britain attempting to push the government into insulating all social housing. Instead the government clamped down on the right to protest.
terranoid 13 points 4 months ago
Do you know what they're really worried about with global warming? Social unrest as people inevitably start starving and dying.
They don't give a fuck that you're dying, just that you might cause "issues" as more people do.
Canconda 3 points 4 months ago
Desperate times eh?
I taped a couple of those reflective insulated car dashboard sun covers to the bottom of my sliding deck doors to keep the sun from cooking the floor inside. Has the dual benefit of reducing heat loss during the winter.
Bluescluestoothpaste 7 points 4 months ago
Hang out in the bathroom lol, not in Europe but if the AC goes out that's what I do. Not sure why but bathroom is always the coolest room naturally.
Diddlydee 2 points 4 months ago
I have a hot bath every night, about 42-43 degrees c whatever the weather.
It sounds counterintuitive but a hot bath at the right time triggers your thermoregulatory system and you'll cool rapidly when you get out. It doesn't last long but I've noticed it.
Apart from that, a 2l frozen water bottle in front of a large fan at bedtime and blackout material on all the bedroom windows throughout the day.
homesweethomeMrL 2 points 4 months ago
Swamp Cooler.
homesweethomeMrL 1 point 4 months ago
Meh, humidity gets redundant at a certain point. Cool mist is almost always a win.
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Sorry to crash this as an American, but we have months of 45°C temperatures here in Texas with a really humid climate, so I might be able to offer some advice.
One summer my AC was out entirely for about a month. I survived by positively soaking a sleeveless tank in ice water and sitting around in that until it wasn't cooling me anymore and then soaking it again.
I recently found some ice packs that go around the neck, and they really work miracles for lowering one's body temperature. I always keep one in the freezer now for when I get back from a walk.
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