Here it comes, the season everyone longs for during the darker, colder months of the year. Life at home slows down a bit and there isn't much to stress about during the generally lazy, hazy days, except for when the high temps really kick in. If your home doesn't have AC (or you are choosing to leave it off as much as possible) you can feel stuck, especially when it comes to getting a restful nights sleep.
Thankfully our readers have come to the rescue with a long list of tips ranging from from absolutely quirky (but they swear they work!) to "why didn't I think of that!?" good old common sense ideas . Bookmark this quick list of possible solutions now for when you need a cooldown plan!
Freeze a 2 liter bottle with water. Put in a pillow case and hold to your chest like a teddy. Cooling down the central core will cool down all extremities as a result. My roomie calls them "ice babies". - Novalis
I have a couple of old plastic water bottles in the freezer 3/4 filled with water. When it's really warm I fill the remainder of the bottle with tap water and take them to bed with me, creating a 'hot water bottle' in reverse. I tuck one behind my back and roll the other one in a towel for the front side and I'm pretty good to go. - Hawaiinei
When I was younger my bedroom was in the unfinished upstairs of our cape cod style house. No heat in winter, no AC in summer, but I loved the privacy! On the hottest nights I would employ window fans, and a spray bottle, set to the finest mist. When I got hot, I'd spray myself with some cool water and let the air from the fan chill me. - BrandeMT
My mother-in-law, who grew up in Houston TX---and without air-conditioning---sprinkles talcum powder on her sheets. She's had a/c for a long time now, but she still powders her sheets in the summertime. - Sunnyblue
I know this sounds odd but here i go....growing up i never had an air conditioner so we had to come up with ways to cool down. My number one way was always giving myself chills haha. i just use my finger tips and very slightly move them up and down my arms. within one minute you will get chills. Its usually good enough to let me fall asleep. Its been working since I was 4. - Carlyhannah
My crazy tip only works for people with long hair: I used to french braid my hair, loosen the braid at the bottom, and stuff my hair with ice cubes. I'd then pin the ends of the braids into the bottom to keep the cubes secure. (I lived in a family where my dad used to come around every night and turn off everyone's fan to save electricity). - Bee T.
Take a tip from when the cold-loving British were in hot India pre-a/c - use natural fabric curtains (linen, cotton), and leave the ends in a bucket of water. The water wicks up the fabric, and the breeze from the open window blows cool into the room. Doesn't help on still airless nights, but works a dreams with even a light breeze. - FionaAustralia
I highly recommend bamboo mats. They feel cool, definitely cooler than cotton. You may be able to find them thin bamboo mats specifically designed for sleeping in Chinatown. There are special ones for your pillow as well. I got through a few heat waves in an air conditioner-less, top floor walk-up apartment in NYC with a set my mom got for me from Hong Kong. Lifesaver. That, plus wet towels I kept in the refrigerator. - Shenge
There's something that can boost the power of a shower -- using Dr. Bronner's peppermint liquid soap (specifically the liquid, not the bar). The liquid soap is LOADED with peppermint oil to the point that the menthol actually has a cooling effect on your skin, that lasts about a half hour and will help you drop off to sleep. - Empresscallipygos
If it's cooler outside at night than inside, I put my fan in the window to draw the cool air in. It's amazing how cold our bedroom gets and the gentle sound of the fan helps me to fall asleep more quickly! -MeKritterkrazy
I'm a big fan of wrapping an ice pack in a towel and putting it under the small of my back for a bit when I first go to bed. Then I'll keep it nearby during the night in case I need a quick cool down. Even though it melts throughout the night, it's still cold for at least 8 hours and definitely helps cut the heat. - Ramblingirl
When I was pregnant I used to climb in a tepid shower wearing my nightgown and get thoroughly soaked, then get into bed dripping wet with the fan blowing at me. Drastic measures for drastic times. It worked very well. On the worst nights, I'd get up in the middle of the night and stand in the shower again. In less drastic times, don't forget to use a mattress pad with no man-made fibers, in addition to cotton or linen sheets. - Dulcibella
Tuck a couple fla-vor-ice popsicles in bed with you. Sounds crazy but that's what I did in my college dorm with no AC. We used to carry them around, tuck them in tank tops, lay on them, and eventually when we got around to it, eat them. They were a life saver! - Nwatrous
Put a block of ice (in a pan big enough to catch the melted volume of water) in front of the fan. Makeshift air conditioning! -Ruffh20
My mother's house had a furnace in the basement. She would close up the house during the day and set the furnace fan to reverse, bringing cool air up through the ducts into the rest of the house. - Georgeandgracie
For me the key is to have two windows with fans... one venting hot air out, and the other bringing cool air in. Ideally, if you have double hung windows put the fan venting hot air out in the top of the window to pull out that rising heated air. - Mapchic
We live sans air conditioning as well, and since our apartment is not capable of housing an attic fan, we use those double fan units in our windows. During the cool nights, we use them to suck outside air in to cool everything down and then first thing in the morning all the fans get turned off and the curtains get closed to keep the cool air in and the sun's heat out. Now, since I can't live in darkness once I get home from work with all that nice summer sunshine to be had, I simply open the curtains and windows and switch the window fans so that one pulls in air from outside and the other pulls hot air out of the apartment. Repeat each night! - Midwest Nutmeg
I grew up in Fresno, CA in an old farmhouse without AC--now totally unimaginable. I completely agree with the daytime clamp-down...that is the best way to keep the temp from spiking beyond what you can control with fans. Room darkening drapes or thermal shades really make a huge difference. Also, I am a big fan (ha!) of reversing the fans to move hot air out when inside temp is above outside temp. I also would suggest sleeping low...hot air rises, so getting as close to the floor as possible/comfortable makes a good bit of difference. Ideally--a hammock is the ultimate summer sleep vehicle, plenty of airflow--but not always an option inside! - Barbieq
The key isn't what you do at night, it is how you regulate the temperature all the time. Always shut up your apartment during the day and turn on ceiling fans (if you have them) to circulate air. Then at night, switch to window fans. If you mess it up you will have to wait til a 60 degree night to get things back to normal. - Rahskolnikov
If the air outside is cooler than the temp inside, try this trick. In a room other than the bedroom, place a high-velocity fan so that it level with and facing out toward an open window. Open windows in your bedroom (or all rooms) and turn the fan on high. It will pull the air from the outside through the other windows and send the hot air out the window where the fan is placed. It's especially nice if you can position your bed so it's in the air flow - it feels like a fan, with air flowing over the bed. Run it for 15 to 30 minutes before bedtime, and the room will cool right down. Even if you have A/C and decide to use it, it starts the cooling process from a much lower temp, hopefully saving money. I used to do this all the time in an apartment with windows on only one side (but in separate rooms). The air would flow around the dividing wall. Another advantage - if the fan is placed in a window some distance from the bed, the sound isn't so loud, and you can sleep. - Rubylionesse
We like our house really cool (67-69). We recently had two solar attic fans installed. The past few days, we've noticed it is cooler in the house and the AC has been off the past 2-3 days. That should save on our light bill and makes the installation costs seem not so bad. - williamsweyr
I find a shower, no matter how cold the water, still increases the humidity of my place. So I opt for cool baths. It cools me right to the core and I think sometimes that I heat the water on really hot days...Oh, and coffee popsicles in the morning :) - Emtdmt
Please share your best fixes and tips to the comments - help make this a one stop shop of super chilly coolness for future hot weather suffering solution searchers!
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Drink piping hot tea. People in many hot countries, i.e. India, do this. It cools the body temperature.
Jasmineisdomestic - I think the theory is that this increases your body temperature, making the difference between it and the air temperature less - therefore you feel cooler. However logical this might seem, I never want to drink a hot drink on a hot day.
Coffee popsicles! I'm definitely going to try that one :)
I read (I think on AT) to have a bucket of ice water by your bed. When you get hot at night, just dunk your feet in. I know I can't sleep when my feet are hot, so I'll be trying this technique soon! We broke 90 in Virginia already... blegh!
Three summers ago, we had ten days in a row of temperatures of close to 105 degrees.Even with fans and blinds, etc., I pretty much thought I was going to lose my marbles due to no sleep and thus crankiness. I hit upon the idea of setting a bath towel next to my kitchen sink and then sticking my head under the faucet and getting my hair soaking wet in lukewarm water (not ice cold, too much of a shock), drying my hair slightly with the towel, and let it air dry. I rinsed and repeated as necessary to get through the day. It saved the day(s)!
I drink hot tea on hot days, but then I drink it every day. Heat makes me tense, and tea relaxes. As you relax into tea drinking, you are no longer stressed by the heat.
During our rare heat waves I walk around with a wet washcloth draped over the back of my neck. It does warm up, but as the cloth dries the evaporation helps take away some of the heat. I recharge it regularly. Holding a glass of ice water against my wrists is my other refresher.
I work outdoors as a trail guide, moisture wick clothing is essential. I like to wear it right out of the washing machine so it's still damp and cool. Suntan lotion seems to keep me cool, and quite frankly, I bring cheerful items to cheer me up when it's really miserable.
Yes, hot tea (and spicy foods!) both actually cool your body. They stimulate the blood vessels in your skin to dilate and thus release body heat into the surrounding air faster. It's the same method that hot climate animals use to keep cool with large ears, etc. It's also the same reason menthol makes you feel cold - it dilates your blood vessels!
So, yeah, a spicy curry dinner in summer definitely helps ;-)
Ps the photo reminded me, don't forget your pets. Brush your cat frequently, give them cool surfaces to lie on. Plenty of water too I leave a bowl of water outside for strays as well and we give them a shaded igloo on our porch.
@PETITOISEAU I'm so glad you posted that! I thought I was weird - when it's really warm I crave curry (which I love). Luckily I live in Florida, so it happens quite a lot :)
I find that creating a through-draft with open doors and windows works the best. I like heat but I don't like stuffiness and stale air. At night though, my partner closes them all apart from a small bedroom window. We have a small beverage fridge by the side of the bed (it acts as a night stand) and keep cool drinks in there - and frozen socks. I put a pair of damp socks in a ziploc and then into the freezer. At night I take them to the beverage fridge. If it gets hot during the night, I just put them on. Sometimes we have a bottle of frozen water by the fan and that works well. It's good to cool the insides of your wrists against it too.
I find that peppermint foot lotion helps at night. Store bought peppermint lotion is not minty enough for me, so I add some peppermint to it or a heavier lotion.
I was given something called a chillow a few years back It is spnge in a waterproof case that you add water to then squeeze most of it out and seal. It's enough to cool without chilling, great as a cushion during the day too. Don't know if you can get it state side but they principle seems simple enough and no damp/wetness to deal with.
.http://www.chillow.co.uk/2010/template/
Coffee popsicles!!
I'm in Texas, and we had over 60 days of 100+ degree weather last summer. Just getting in your car after work can be dangerous. I always, always carry an insulated travel mug with ice water, which, in desperate times, can be poured across your body or head to keep you cool. (I did this a lot when I was pregnant in the summer) Running cold water on your wrists can really cool your body quickly, too, and I'm a big believer in body powder to stay cool all day and before bed. We have A/C and solar shades on our windows, but I also shut the blinds against the sun once it gets too brutal in the afternoons.
My small house can get very hot quickly. Each morning I draw the curtains across the east facing windows, open the west windows and turn on the fan. along about noon, I turn on the vent/fan from the central heater and the bathroom exhaust fan for about an hour or two. Then I close the drapes over the west windows, open the east windows and move the fan to draw in the cooler air. I leave the windows open all night and on especially stuffy nights I use the fan. As a previous poster said, you do have to be diligent with this routine, but it does work.
Can anyone recommend an attractive metal window/box fan? I can only find cheap-looking white plastic ones.
I wish we could leave our windows open. Unfortunately on almost every summer night we get the smoke from bushfires (we have a lot here (Perth, Australia), and the prevailing winds blow the smoke from hundreds of miles away right to our suburb) or the smell of the highway (just 100 yards away) blowing in, even on near-windless nights, so there's perhaps a handful of nights we could leave the window open. However, during summer our nightly temps rarely get below 80 anyway, so it kind of defeats the purpose. Winter is no better, either. Our neighbours have a wood-fired heater and the smoke blows straight into our house. I hate having to have the house closed up on a sunny, crisp winter's day when it's nearly 75 outside and beautiful and their wood heater is going full-tilt and there's so much smoke it's choking outside the door :(
A small spray bottle of Sea Breeze astringent kept in the fridge. Good for misting feet, legs, back, neck on steamy days. Lots of cornstarch (no talc - bad for the lungs). Avoid knits, i.e., t-shirts, which are always warmer than woven fabrics, as well as silk, which is very good at insulating.
Something that has helped me on hot summer vacations is keeping a bottle of aloe vera gel in the fridge. Then when you apply it, it feels super cool and refreshing with the bonus of giving your skin much needed hydration after being in the sun. You can do this with any lotion, really but I find aloe vera just feels more refreshing and I like to keep things as natural as possible.
My biggest issue in summer is getting enough WATER. I hate getting halfway through running errands and realizing I'm out of drinking water, or that what I have is warm.
Every night, fill a 2-litre bottle about 1/3 full of filtered water, then lie it at about a 45-degree angle in the freezer with the lid only half screwed on. (Yes, I have got this down to a science, LOL). Before leaving the house in the morning, fill the bottle the rest of the way and screw the lid on tight. Wrap in a dish towel. Free cold water in the car whenever you need it.
We live in Barcelona and don't have air conditioning. Now that it's finally gotten warm over here (for Barcelona standards, winter was very long!), we sleep with our windows open at night. Also be mindful of what you wear to bed. This is the time for 100% cotton clothes and I have a light linen night gown which is very cool. Also--no cuddling!
As for the day time, if you keep your blinds drawn during the day, the sun won't heat up your house very much. If you need the natural light because you're home all day or something, open them just a crack to let in the light but keep the heat out.
Alternatively, send some of that heat to me in Australia! It's still a day until winter proper and I'm already freezing :(
This post is quite an insight into people's lives. Funny, I can't help but think of how nocturnal activities with a partner would be severely limited with some of the stated options. I think even the Kama Sutra neglects to include frozen two liter water bottles.
We try not to turn on the conditioning except when it is 100F outside. We live in Astoria NY, and are lucky to have a house that has a breeze. My key on hot nights without AC, before we go to bed, we fill our bathtub with cold water above the ankles and puddle in it. It cools my core really well since all your blood flow has to go to your feet and then go to your heart again, plus we end up chatting about our days, and our son thinks its so much fun. I also use some of the methods mentioned above, such as run cold water on my wrists, and put a cold cloth on my neck. Linnen nightgowns are a MUST.
We turned on the AC as soon as it hit 80 degrees outside. It was just unavoidable. We have huge windows that get a lot of sun, and it can turn our apartment into an oven. We draw the blinds and it helps, but we give up having a nice view.
Biggest luxury ever, a midwest sleeping porch. We had a little second floor room on the east side of the house that didn't get much use. We replaced the sash windows with way bigger windows. Now on really hot nights, we drag a futon in there, open up all the windows and it's like sleeping outside.
In the area of the country I live in, there is no option- you turn on the air! The humidity is a killer around here, which worsens the pollution, which worsens my asthma. Therefore, the key to not owing your power company a small fortune is the keep the thermostat high-we keep ours around 74 degrees during the day and we have a really large ceiling fan in the great room that we also keep circulating. Once the sun is overhead, at about noon, curtains get closed to keep the cool air cool. At night the ceiling fan over our bed gets turned on. I'd love to be able to do more to reduce my carbon imprint but my health has to also be a consideration.
Get vinyl window shades and lower them half way down. You'd be amazed what a difference just blocking off the bulk of the sunlight can make!
Off topic of cooling, but on topic of the photo, can you tell me anything about the stair runner pictured here? I am looking for a modern, bright, clean lined stair runner. Is the one in the photo something commercially available, or it is a DIY? (And on topic of cooling, having spent a grad-school summer in San Antonio without AC, I believe in wet cotton clothing and a fan!)
As soon as I get home from work, I quickly rinse off in a cold shower, then run a tub or half-tub of clean cold water. Optional: add peppermint or tea-tree salts/fizzies/etc. I spend a few minutes in there, then get out and let the water evaporate off me. Instead of draining the bath immediately, I go back to it several times on hot evenings.
Being immersed in cold water will obviously bring your temperature down quickly, but even when the bath gets closer to room temperature, the evaporative cooling afterward makes a huge difference -- especially if you stand in front of a fan!
omgosh these are such WONDERFUL tips! Another suggestion I would include is....if you have a basement...just move down there for a little bit...instead of cranking the A/C (which equals to an expensive hydro bill), sleeping in the basement is nice and cool. That's what we've been doing and its great!
I live in England. We have no summer :(
I envy you all!
Our climate is usually nice enough that we can skate by without an AC but when it's brutal (August), it is brutal. We've tried many of these but our neighborhood gets hit with crime waves in tandem with heat waves. The burglars come into homes via open windows. We keep the shades down during the hotest part of the day and open up the windows once it cools outside but have to close them when it's time to (try to) sleep.
Do they still sell Sea Breeze? Going to try that and the aloe and the coffee pops...and probably that fantastic frozen french braid too :)
I go to bed with my hair wet. Showering with Dr. Bronner's peppermint is a GREAT idea, too. A light dusting of cornstarch, then slip onto bamboo or cotton/bamoo blend sheets. Works like a charm.
I keep a couple ziploc freezer bags with a flat sheet folded up in each that I keep in the freezer from May to September. When I can't get to sleep because of the heat, I just pull one out and lay on top of the bed with one on top of me. I keep 2 just in case I need the 2nd one later in the night. It's a bit shocking at first but the relief and the sleep that follows.... sigh, zzzzzzzzzz.....
I live in a small studio apartment with a bathroom that just barely fits a sink, toilet, and shower. The bathroom is by the door to the apartment, and the only two windows are at the other end of the room. The bathroom has NO exhaust fan or even room to plug anything in and put it on the floor. In the warmer weather, showering becomes almost unbearable as humidity, moisture and heat fills almost the entire apartment. Aside from taking a freezing cold shower - does anyone have any suggestions for how to the apartment cool/less humid when showering? Thanks!
AB4 - The photo is from a house tour a while back and the link is at the bottom of the article. The house tour notes that the stair runner is by Roger Oates.
@L_Doug we already broke 100 Degrees last weekend! Of course now we got a nice cool front and its been in the 70s and isn't supposed to get higher then mid 80s the next two weeks!
Will definitely be trying some of these tips out once it gets back up into the 90s. I hate sleeping with the A/C on. I feel like I'm just wasting money since the temp really doesn't make a difference while I'm sleeping. My childhood room was in a part of the house with poor installation, and my parents never even bothered to buy me a fan (I was one of those money conscious kids, so never asked for one). I'm used to the hot temperatures, but my boyfriend goes crazy once it gets into the 90s outside. I think I'll save a few 2 litters for him to fill with ice.
Here in Vegas we deal with around 69 100+ days, and the dry heat sucks water out of your system, so an AC is basically required for survival. We need to conserve energy as much as possible though to avoid overtaxing the grid.
We shutter the windows during the worst heat of the day, about 1-6 pm, and turn the AC down when we're not at home or during the night. We have ceiling fans that run night and day.
We take cold showers just before bed, and sleep with thin sheets and breathable clothing.
We do things during the evening and early morning, and take it easy during the heat of the day. We tend to avoid black clothing and I personally avoid leather shoes at all costs, rather wearing Nike Shox with mesh uppers, or Birkenstocks. I use powder over sunscreen, and avoid the sun as much as possible. I generally avoid caffeine but if I need it I drink almond milk with double strength coffee ice cubes. I eat colder foods during the summer, with an emphasis on fruits and veggies. I drink water constantly, or I'll drink Lemonade or Iced Green Tea.
We have our long hair cats shaved during the start of the summer to help keep them cool, put ice in their large water supply, we give them cool dark areas in the house to relax, and throw bags of ice on the tile for a bit to cool it off for them to lay on if they get very hot on bad days (it's good for dogs too). Both of our boys are showing curiosity when it comes to water, so there is a chance on a very hot day that they could join us one time during a cold shower! LOL
Coolest possible shower or a cool bath before bed, wet hair pinned up and linen sheets. Sleep naked. I love the fans, hate air conditioning but sometimes you just have to give in during the day when the humidity gets up around 100% for days on end.
Cover the windows during the day, I know someone who won't but complains constantly about the heat. le sigh
Love the coffee popsicle idea, so going to do that!
We also use ice jars. I keep glass jars in the freezer full of ice, I put them in front of open windows and the air blowing in is cooled by them. I always take one to the bedroom to put in front of the fan at night. I add a washcloth or any old cloth in the top to wipe down any warm areas like my forehead.
A jar doesn't last all night without thawing but it works during the getting-to-sleep period.
If you only have a shower, a person can use a dishpan full of cool water to cool the feet. Love all the ideas of living with no a/c. Such a money saver too.
I just lived through a heat wave in Montreal, and I discovered an important truth: leaving the windows open at night is essential, no matter how hot and humid is. For two nights I refused to open the windows because I thought I would just let the humidity in, as there was absolutely no breeze. My apartment was an oven, and I was losing my mind. Coming home after leaving my windows open for a few hours one late afternoon (when the sun was already on the other side of my building) made me realize that hot, "fresh" air is better than hot, stale apartment air. It wasn't cool by any means, but it made the difference between tolerating the temperature and hyperventilating.
Having a quick, cool shower right when I come home makes a big difference too. I also put a flexible ice pack in a pair of leggings and sling it around the back of my neck. I have two, so one is always ready in the freezer.
But the best thing I did was buy a tower fan. I'm sure someone here can explain what makes them different from standard pedestal fans, but it's really cooling without being as aggressive as my other fans, which means I can put it behind me while I'm working at my desk and it DOESN'T BLOW MY PAPERS AROUND. This is so, so essential to staying productive during the summer months.
a dehumidifier is a must if you live in humid areas! Keeping the curtains pulled during the heat of the day and opening the windows in the evening with fans helps a lot. Before sleeping, I used to take a cool shower and "drip dry" and would go to bed with wet hair...and powder up after drying to absorb excess moisture. I also drink tons of ice water throughout the day.
Now that I live in a big house with lots of windows and few curtains....but two A/C units, I find that I still employ a lot of these things...they help!!!
I use a sleep mask called a Chilly Mask to cool me off and let me sleep! There is also a Chilly Tube to wear during the day. A Novel idea that works great! www.chillythings.ca