Strip down as much as company will allow and cover all the furniture with thin soft sheets. We found after hurricane Charley that most furniture materials either tend to stick to sweaty skin or are rough enough to become uncomfortable over enough time, the sheets will prevent both of those things and will a little cooler. In fact maybe you could fold up the sheets and put them in a bag in the freezer, and alternate between two sets for extra coolness.
I don’t believe there are any fumes associated with an air conditioner - it’s a self-contained unit.
Go spend the day at your local movie theatre, bring pillow.
Always have a glass of ice water at hand. Drink from it often. Hold the glass against your wrists, inner elbows, and temples, often.
The fumes associated with air conditioners are actually well tolerated by both birds and humans. The non-scientific name for the fumes emitted from window units is “cool air.”
Well, there’s this, but really, if you can afford that, you can afford a reasonable window AC unit. It would also be a bit bizarre wearing that around the house.
Yes. Foil is better than curtains at blocking heat, and it’s so cheap you can replace it every year.
Me too!
I have a few sheets left over from design jobs that I use for this purpose. It’s amazingly effective.
Originally Posted by wolfman:
I always wanted to build a fan and radiator system that screws to the showerhead just to kick thermodynamics right back in the balls.
~How would that work? Just curious.
Someone’s been reading Sky Mall . . . :rolleyes:
I live very close to the equator with no AC, it is very rarely even noticed.
1.Air flow, it is absolutely 100% essential to increase airflow any way you can. Most modern housing are basically airtight ovens that are unlivable without AC, if you can’t increase outside exposure and airflow do you have shaded outdoor area to lounge on?
2.Wear the minimum of clothing required, I’m usually only in boxers lounging at home.
3.Fans, fans, fans.
When it’s stinking hot, and you need to resort to the shower to cool down, make it a TEPID shower rather than a cold one. A cold shower shuts down your pores, whereas a lukewarm one opens them up and allows body heat to dissipate.
Cold water might be more effective than icy water for this - as the latter will cause circulation to shut down in your feet - so you’ll just get cold feet.
If you can cool your feet, but maintain circulation, you may sink more heat.
Actually, I found that by googling based on flatlined saying something about needing clothing with A/C.
Well . . . I still bet you “read” Sky Mall, don’t you?
Have you tried putting sheets outside of your windows?
The trick is to stop the sun from entering your home. Once it has entered the glass, you have lost the battle. If you can open your windows wide enough to hang a sheet over them form the outside, (or to plaster them with foil on the outside, like said upthread) and close them again so the sheets are trapped between window and windowsill, you’ve made a low-budget version of window shutters. (window shutters are generally on the outside of the windows, just for this reason)
If the evaporator coil develops a crack, it can leak refrigerant into the living space.
However, the refrigerant of choice these days is R-134, which is actually very safe. It’s even used in “canned air,” which involves squirting it directly into the air.
Anyone who is concerned about the safety of R-134 in their living space should probably also get rid of their refrigerator.
Yay for Monday! A/C at work! It’s not even 7:30 and it’s already 80 in here. Blech!
<smartass>
Blackberry, just imagine how much water you’ll save if you put your head under the shower instead!
</smartass>
Try eating hot peppers, they make you sweat, then you cool off when it evaporates…
When I was a kid and had trouble falling asleep at night, I would do the following. Run a bathtub full of cool water, get into it and keep the water running slowly, cold tap only. The water would gradually cool down to the temperature of the cold tap and my inner core would also gradually cool down (the pores might close, but there is actual heat conduction). After a half hour, drain the tub and go to bed wet. It worked for me.