Staying cool without electricity

We always like to stretch our dollars. And we don't hook up the ACs until it starts getting pretty warm. I get a little hot before we do set them up and I have a way of cooling off that would be a good thing to have in your survival kit. I wet a washcloth, wring it gently but not to much, and wipe down my face, neck, and arms as needed. It's an instant fix in the hottest weather.

 

I am a frugal person but when it comes to convenience, I don't sacrifice for money. In fact, we had installed an air conditioner in the living room to make life more comfortable for us and it doesn't matter what time of day you operate it as long as it gets warm already. By the way, we have 3 dogs in the living room that also enjoy the air conditioning.

We cannot discount a power outage. Some 2 years ago, there was a strong typhoon that rendered our place with no electricity for 3 days. No electric fan, no air conditioner, not even ice in the freezer. What we did was to open all the windows to get good ventilation. It was good when there was wind but when the air is still, it was pretty warm. When the heat became unbearable, we would ride in the car - including all the 3 dogs - and savor the cool air. We were just lucky that we had a tank full of gasoline for our 2 cars so the 3 days was not much of a problem. But if the power outage would take months, I don't know what to do.

 

I grew up poor and there were no fancy air conditioners back then that we could retreat to. As hot as it got near the shores of Hawaii, as kids we would simply go swimming in the ocean every day. From sun up to sun down, that's basically how we stayed cool.

Now if there is no ocean to take a dip in, then you are out of luck. Cold drinks will be difficult if there is no ice to chill your beverages. In a situation where there is no electricity, the only thing I can recommend is stay out of the sun and wear lite fabrics, stay hydrated at all times, preferably cold drinks, and if all else fails you have to fan yourself manually.

 

Even going to a river and splashing your face helps against the heat.
We have not used air conditioners that much maybe because the climate in Northern Germany is never that warm...
In case it was warm and we were outside then we would always try to stay close to the shadows and not stay in the sun too much.
I have been in UAE during the hot summer months where it was really really hot. The only thing that helped was staying inside somewhere to stay cool.
Cold drinks are definitely important but if you do not have any maybe other places do. Sometimes you can find water fountains in the malls or in parks.
The only thing is that you might not know if they are really that clean or not.
Creating your own fan manually out of paper, a booklet or something is definitely a good idea!

 

Using water on your skin helps, yeah. Another one that is underrated is to dig down a bit and kind of roof it off, even a few feet below the surface is usually naturally cooled year-round. Rig up a little roof and make a little trench cabana

 

Staying under the shade of trees is for me the best and cheapest way to cool down. Staying inside the room or house where the heat cannot easily escape from because of the roof makes it more hotter. Wind cannot easily flow through the house because of the walls.

 

Another way is to drink plenty of water. All day long, drink water! That's like putting water in your radiator, literally, when it is hot. If it can be cold water, all the better. But if not, then just water would still really help!

 

To get cool, wet or freeze a washcloth. When you get hot, place cloth around your neck so that both carotid arteries are covered. The carotid arteries keep the rest of the body cool. A tip from an EMT.

 

I find cold shower quite effective in summer. The fact that is lowers your body temperature below normal makes the high temperatures feel comfortable, because it takes a while for the body to reheat. I think wearing white clothing is also pretty effective in the summer (as happens in the Arab world), as well as taking care not to over work during the warmest part of the day

 

I have seen instances in some countries that when it get very hot they have to open the fire hydrants so that there is this gush of water which people get into to be cool. Therefore, if you are at home with no electricity and the heat is getting unbearable, you could utilize the water hose in a sprinkler mode to cool you down.

 

You can always go swimming. Going swimming is a great way to keep cool on those hot summer days. There's also the matter of keeping a properly ventilated house. No one's gonna get hurt if you crack open a window instead of keeping the AC on all day long. Of course there's the matter of drinking cool water, which is good. Wiping off your sweat regularly, and putting a cool washrag to your forehead can also help out a ton.

 

I feel fortunate that I live in a place which is less crowded so less pollution and our house has a space for planting plants. Plants around the house lessens the heat during summer and the air is fresher too! I will just have to open the windows, take a bath twice or thrice depending if it is too hot and use a paper fan to cool myself if there is no electricity. A higher ceiling is a good choice too to lessen the heat in our house during summer.

 

Many people will be shocked by this statement, but cold water can actually make you hotter. Surprising, right? The reason for this mysterious tidbit is that the way your body works is that it uses your sweat glands to stay cool and releases heat in the form of evaporating water vapor. This process is why your shirt gets wet on hot days. Well, when you take a cold shower, your body has to warm up because you decreased your body temperature. The body has an excellent surviving mechanism in place. This reaction is what causes hypothermia because your body is drawing heat to your core and away from your extremities to warm you up on a cold day. When you take a hot shower, your body has to cool down to get your body back to its normal temperature. Therefore, you feel cooler and you sweat less too. So next time on a hot day, take a hot shower, kids.

 

The worst time of having mp electricity is during night time, and it's raining! Man it sucks. That just happened to me last night. What I do mostly is I get a tupper ware's lid and use it as a hand fan. Haha. Gets the job done but sometimes it's tiring but hey, you gotta do what you gotta do.

 

there are alot of ways to really stay cool during hot weather without electricity. And this your trick is definitely one of such. But personally i like going to bird shirtless, open my windows when its very hot at night. i think this is a cheap way to survive the hot weather.

 

I just ate a long popsicle and it instantly cooled me. Honestly, I felt like just laying it on my forehead as it is 90 plus out there and going to be hotter in the coming days. The washcloth thing is a good idea, but I have to keep it somewhat cool in here due to my cat. If I am hot, I can just imagine what he feels like in his fur coat! Making a swamp cooler with a fan and ice is a good idea too.