# How did Floridians handle mold before air conditioning? (before c. 1960)

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-floridians-handle-mold-before-air-conditioning-before-c-1960/928770>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [December 23, 2020, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-floridians-handle-mold-before-air-conditioning-before-c-1960/928770 "2020-12-23T22:03:55Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Apodder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apodder/32/17727_2.png) [@Apodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apodder)\
**Post date:** [December 25, 2020, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-floridians-handle-mold-before-air-conditioning-before-c-1960/928770/21 "2020-12-25T19:46:56Z")

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Papua New Guinea

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**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\
**Post date:** [December 25, 2020, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-floridians-handle-mold-before-air-conditioning-before-c-1960/928770/22 "2020-12-25T21:29:18Z")

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My grandparents lived in the Central Valley of Northern California before air conditioning, and it was miserable when temperatures got over 110. You just dealt with it. They had swamp coolers, but you had to sit right in front of them to get any benefit. At night, we slept with the windows open, and still sweated.

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**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\
**Post date:** [December 25, 2020, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-floridians-handle-mold-before-air-conditioning-before-c-1960/928770/23 "2020-12-25T21:57:55Z")

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> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#):
>
> They had swamp coolers, but you had to sit right in front of them to get any benefit. At night, we slept with the windows open, and still sweated.

1. Ensure the ‘spider’ nozzles are free of excelsior bits.
2. Turn the swamp cooler on first thing in the morning, even if it’s a comfortable temperature.
3. Open the bedroom windows a couple of inches, and angle the door so that the air flows over you.

FWIW our swamp cooler in Lancaster had one outlet, in the hallway of our 3BR house, so cracking the windows and adjusting the doors worked well. If the air coming out of the vent is not cool, it’s likely that one or more nozzles on the spider is clogged. (Or else the pump failed, which happened every couple of years.)

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