BS: How to survive the heat wave

Subject: BS: How to survive the heat wave
From: Alice
Date: 06 Jul 07 - 09:08 AM

Today we will have at least 100 f temps in my town in Montana. We are at almost 5,000 feet
in the mountains, and August temps in the first part of July are not good news. I open
the windows at night to cool down the house, but last night it didn't cool down much...
we don't have airconditioning, as most homes here have never needed it.
I am supposed to be out working today, driving around calling on ad customers, but
I'm probably going to switch to phone and fax contacts and work in the basement!
My poor Samoyed is really not comfortable in this heat.

Take care, all of you in the heat wave!

Alice in Montana

Subject: RE: BS: How to survive the heat wave
From: Rapparee
Date: 06 Jul 07 - 09:18 AM

One of the two airconditioner compressors that cool the second floor of the Library went out yesterday. This is a 10 ton unit and is the primary; it weighs about 500 pounds and will have to be lifted by crane up the roof for installation. In the meantime I've told the staff to crank the temp up to 78F and run electric fans -- we can't put too much pull on the secondary unit or it too will fail.

Damn architect put both a three-story glass-fronted atrium and a two-story glass-fronted foyer in the building, and they faces east! Catching the solar heat is fine in the winter, but in the summer it's pure stupidity. All the hot air from the first floor, all the solar hear gain, and all the heat hitting the roof concentrate on the second floor.

Ten thousand bucks or so. Hell, we didn't need any books....

Subject: RE: BS: How to survive the heat wave
From: Alice
Date: 06 Jul 07 - 09:23 AM

When I bought this house 20 years ago (wow doesn't seem that long)
I planted aspen trees on the south side of the house along a big concrete
driveway that used to be a bare area of concentrated solar heat. The trees are
mature and have added Mountain Ash and chokecherry that the birds "planted".
Having that shade on that driveway and side of the house
in the summer helps, but the West side in the afternoon really
gets a solar beating.

Subject: RE: BS: How to survive the heat wave
From: Sorcha
Date: 06 Jul 07 - 09:23 AM

Put room darkening cling film (hardware store),drapes, blinds, etc on the windows.

Get a small room size window air conditioner and cool off one room. Stay there, or use floor fans to move the cooler air thru the house.

Keep indoor lights OFF as much as possible. Light bulbs put out heat.
Cold showers.

Subject: RE: BS: How to survive the heat wave
From: Rapparee
Date: 06 Jul 07 - 09:30 AM

The neighbors cut down the linden tree that was shading the SW side of our house. We're going to plant a new tree there this fall, but on our side of the property line.

Subject: RE: BS: How to survive the heat wave
From: Grab
Date: 06 Jul 07 - 09:37 AM

Don't spose you can channel some of that across to the UK? April was nice, but it's rained practically continuously for two months now...

Graham.

Subject: RE: BS: How to survive the heat wave
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 06 Jul 07 - 09:43 AM

Learn to swim...

Subject: RE: BS: How to survive the heat wave
From: Rapparee
Date: 06 Jul 07 - 09:43 AM

Swap ya for some rain. It's another "red flag" day here for wildfires.

Subject: RE: BS: How to survive the heat wave
From: Wesley S
Date: 06 Jul 07 - 10:02 AM

Here in north Texas we should have hit 100 weeks ago. But with all the rain our highs have been in the 80's. But we're ready to build an Ark.

Subject: RE: BS: How to survive the heat wave
From: Little Hawk
Date: 06 Jul 07 - 12:26 PM

It's been quite a bit cooler than usual in Ontario for the last couple of months. Funny how the weather patterns move around, isn't it?

Subject: RE: BS: How to survive the heat wave
From: JennyO
Date: 06 Jul 07 - 12:36 PM

You could send some of that heat over here to Oz! The days are sunny but the wind is icy. Well it IS winter. We're doing okay for rain too, so you guys with rain can keep it - for now anyway.

Subject: RE: BS: How to survive the heat wave
From: wysiwyg
Date: 06 Jul 07 - 04:17 PM

When I was a little girl and our non-air-conditioned house got too hot, I'd go down in the basement, fill up the big laundry sink, hop in and spend hours in there reading a book.

When I was a bigger girl (a few years ago) and rehabbing, I adapted this memory for the back yard with a series of large children's splashing pools. The first turned out to be the one I liked best, in retrospect: 24" deep, inflatable sides and large enough to stretch out in, for lounging or for fast-kick horizontal workouts. I put up a large screen room over it for shade and the illusion of privacy. It held enough water to stay cool for weeks, but not so much I couldn't dump it for fresh water a couple of times over the summer. The breezes through the shaded screen room, and the cool water, were damn fine. One year I popped up our little tent-camper next to this and had a very nice cabana/supplies/changing room.... I'd come home from a stressful work day and just not even go in the house, but immediately soak my head.

Now that my basic rehab phase is done and my fitness is coming along, I've replaced that backyard puddle with several local swimming lakes-- I'm just back from today's workout where I spent a delightful hour with my waterproof MP3 player pacing my zippy kick, aqua-jogging. The surface water is a comfy temp and the deeper water by my toes is quite cool.

~Susan

Subject: RE: BS: How to survive the heat wave
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 06 Jul 07 - 04:56 PM

If we ever get one, we'll let you know!!

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: How to survive the heat wave
From: katlaughing
Date: 06 Jul 07 - 05:23 PM

Alice, I'll bet your Samoyed would enjoy and appreciate a "kiddie" pool.:-)

Subject: RE: BS: How to survive the heat wave
From: Donuel
Date: 06 Jul 07 - 07:31 PM

Wear galloshes filled with water and throw in a baggie of ice.

Subject: RE: BS: How to survive the heat wave
From: Alice
Date: 06 Jul 07 - 07:31 PM

I have a small goldfish pond about three feet wide by the deck, and he likes to drink
out of it. He isn't a swimming water dog... too much fur!

Well, I did have to go out and drive around town in the heat calling on people's offices
and getting contracts signed. I'm not looking forward to going back to Billings
to work in a few weeks, where it is always hotter than here in the mountains.

I have frozen blue plastic ice blocks in a big bowl in front of my fan!

Subject: RE: BS: How to survive the heat wave
From: Alice
Date: 06 Jul 07 - 07:36 PM

This hot weather will soon be moving east. Watch out mid-west and coast!

Subject: RE: BS: How to survive the heat wave
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 Jul 07 - 01:26 AM

For several years here in North Texas we had a drought, and last summer was the hottest sustained one I remember in years. I have two dogs and made sure that I kept an area in the back watered (mornings and evenings, never in the heat of the day, it will cook the grass as well as evaporate most of it away) so they could cool off. In the evenings they would get on that lawn and happily roll in the cool grass. The pit bull loves the water and she has a child's wading pool that I refill every couple of days and drag from one shady spot to another (and this way my trees and large shrubs get a good watering every couple of weeks). The blue heeler won't go near the water except for a drink, but she's good at staying well back in the shade (and they have a lot of shade). Water around the foundation to keep the house from cracking is a must (haven't had to do it this year--like my neighbor Wesley says, we're building a raft for Just In Case.)

I put ceiling fans in almost every room in the house, and the kids are supposed to use task lighting so we don't have the gain from lots of light bulbs. I try not to use the A/C too much, usually keeping the temperature around 78 to 80. I actually have it set cooler right now so the house doesn't get mildewy from all of the rain. Today is the first day we didn't have a huge downpour in a couple of weeks (after a very wet spring). It only drizzled early in the day.

I have trees in the yard that will eventually shade the house (I moved in five years ago; it was rental property for 15 years before that and no meaningful landscaping was done in all of that time). I didn't plant them close to the house, but at 10-20 feet distant they will still manage to provide good shade when they get bigger. I planted trees like that at my first house in town (the one my ex is in) and he's getting the full effect of trees planted 17 years ago. Closest to the house they're deciduous (so they'll provide shade east and west in the warm months and let the sun through during the cold). Further out they are pine for year-round noise abatement and privacy.

In my attic last year I had a layer of "Lo-MITT II" sprayed in, one of several sorts of solar barriers available today. There are also aluminum barriers that lay down on top of the insulation in the attic (that system has some problems, according to some research I did, but you'd want to check on what is available in your area). My painted attic roof decking is supposed to reflect back 75% of the heat that hits the roof. If you put up the coated decking when you install the roof some of those barriers reflect back 90%. When my neighbors were complaining about electric bills double the amount the year before, mine stayed the same. Still plenty high, but it was at least kind of manageable. The paint was applied by an insulation company and for my 2500 square foot house it cost about $1500. Hopefully it will pay for itself in about three years. At the rate energy costs are rising, it may take less time than that.

Hope this helps.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: How to survive the heat wave
From: Alice
Date: 07 Jul 07 - 08:27 AM

Some rain clouds rolled over town and cooled things off last evening.
We had rain here in the foothills, but my friends in the valley are still parched.
Record temps all over the state yesterday, even making the national news.â€"

Subject: RE: BS: How to survive the heat wave
From: Bill D
Date: 07 Jul 07 - 12:32 PM

yep...we on the east coast are about to get that heat. It is projected to be 98 here Sunday & Monday...but then easing off a bit again. So far, in the Wash DC area, we are still lucky...

Subject: RE: BS: How to survive the heat wave
From: Ebbie
Date: 07 Jul 07 - 12:50 PM

I have switched almost entirely to fluorescent bulbs. They put out a fraction of the heat as incandescent ones do, last much longer and nowadays come in several wattages.

Subject: RE: BS: How to survive the heat wave
From: Bill D
Date: 07 Jul 07 - 01:43 PM

Yep, Ebbie...we are about 90% fluorescent now...(there was a big sale at the grocery store recently, and I got 10 more for $1 each)..

But there are places where I LIKE having a dimmer.

Subject: RE: BS: How to survive the heat wave
From: wysiwyg
Date: 07 Jul 07 - 02:17 PM

Didja know it's been calculated (for bomb shelters) that a human bean gives off the same heat as a 100-watt bulb? That's why AC can't keep up in a crwoded room, as our Diocesan Convention learns every year when we all pile into that nice.... cold.... meeting room and soon leave puddles of sweat under our chairs.

~S~

Subject: RE: BS: How to survive the heat wave
From: Ebbie
Date: 07 Jul 07 - 02:32 PM

I experience a touch of claustrophobia, Wyzzy; one of the factors is realizing that in a closed room with sufficient warm bodies eventually the temperature in the room will reach 98.7 degrees! With high humidity, in addition.

Subject: RE: BS: How to survive the heat wave
From: wysiwyg
Date: 07 Jul 07 - 02:36 PM

Yup, humidity too, and mmm! So fragrant!


I'm thining even a non-swimming Samoyed might appreciate standing in shallow, cool water on a really bad day. You can get very low splashers that are hard plastic, not claw-punchers. Cheep, at garage sales.

~S~

Subject: RE: BS: How to survive the heat wave
From: open mike
Date: 07 Jul 07 - 03:32 PM

drink lots of water and fluids
cuz your body cannot cool itself
from the inside without adequate
supplies...fire fighters often have
to remind each other of this...i have
been in out doors work situations where i
easily consumes gallons of liquids in a day.
some fire stations have colored posters inside
the toilet doors with descriptions of the color
the toilet water should be if you are getting enough
to drink. the lighter yellow the water is the better you
are hydrated. if you are feeling thirsty, it is past the
time that you should have something to drink. Hydration is
one of the best defenses against heat-related injuries such as
Heat Cramps, Heat Exhaustion and Heat Stroke. Drink!

Subject: RE: BS: How to survive the heat wave
From: ard mhacha
Date: 07 Jul 07 - 04:55 PM

Visit The UK and Ireland, rain and more rain, is our lot, June has been the wettest from records began, and it is real cool, in the proper sense of the word, roll on Winter.

Subject: RE: BS: How to survive the heat wave
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 07 Jul 07 - 06:47 PM

Those suffering with an unusual hot spell that perhaps doesn't justify a permanent install of a normal air conditioner should not overlook the potential of the "evaporative cooler" if the relative humidity isn't extremely high.

Friends and relatives in norther Texas still have used them quite recently, and with proper shading of windows and minor control of "venting" to hot air outside a temperature drop of 15 or 20 F (8 - 10 C) can be achieved pretty easily.

All that's required is "something wet" that you can blow air through, across, or around with a fan. Most of the "installed" ones hooked up to a water line, but you can replenish a tank or bowl periodically to make that optional. To keep the medium wet, you'll need a small pump to recirculate water, even if you tap onto a faucet, since it won't all evaporate in a single pass. Small aquarium or "waterfall" pumps are plentiful in my area fairly cheaply and should work quite well.

They do raise the humidity, but usually not enough to offset the cooling provided. The higher humidity might make them "not useful" for the library, but for living spaces in a home they may work quite well, especially for a "limited use" method.

For outdoor use, small "misters" have been popular here, although they do tend to muddy the areas where used. The ones common in the garden shops here attach to a garden hose, and the water doesn't recycle, so it accumulates somewhat. Used with a small pool they can create a nice "cool spot" for relaxing if one happens to see them easily available.

When under "heat stress" it's usually a good idea to cut back a little on the coffee, perhaps the tea, and in extremes even the alcohol¹, as they all have diuretic effects. Of course the cup'a can be countered by adding to the intake of clear liquids up to a point.

¹ Reducing the alcohol probably is the most effective, but is perhaps an extreme measure, even for the benefit obtained, for some.

John

Subject: RE: BS: How to survive the heat wave
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 Jul 07 - 06:59 PM

I didn't think to mention those light bulbs, I changed out my lamps and lights years ago. I have both the curly fluorescent ones and some of the little enclosed bulb halogen ones. I think the later fell into disfavor because they don't last as long as the packaging promised. I found a bunch on sale and picked up several packs. They're more accommodating about rheostat usage.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: How to survive the heat wave
From: Alice
Date: 07 Jul 07 - 07:54 PM

Good rain storm going on now... cool breezes coming in the door.
The valley got the one happening now, too, even though it missed them last night.

Subject: RE: BS: How to survive the heat wave
From: open mike
Date: 07 Jul 07 - 08:01 PM

unfortunately here we have predicted dry lightning..
which is not welcomed when the temps are triple digits
and the humidity is down and the wind is up!

Subject: RE: BS: How to survive the heat wave
From: katlaughing
Date: 07 Jul 07 - 10:29 PM

Heard a song on Hober, "Tube Timing Son of a Gun" by Spook Handy...has the right idea of how to handle a hot day. Here are some of the lyrics:

"Tube Timing Son of a Gun." A wonderful way to spend the day, if you ask me! "So, when your boss isn't looking / grab your fishing gear. Get bookin' / You's a Tube Timing Son of a Gun."

Subject: RE: BS: How to survive the heat wave
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 08 Jul 07 - 09:57 AM

A bandana soaked in water, folded, and laid across the neck does wonders.

Subject: RE: BS: How to survive the heat wave
From: Alice
Date: 08 Jul 07 - 10:11 AM

I have a bandana with those water soaking up crystals sewn into it
(the kind you add to potting soil) and when you soak the bandana
in water, it swells up like a sausage. You tie it around your neck and it keeps you cool.

Subject: RE: BS: How to survive the heat wave
From: Donuel
Date: 08 Jul 07 - 10:20 AM

Our basement is always in the 60s.

20 to 30 feet down most of the earth is 55 degrees F.

A mile down it is 100 F.

Alice those are the same crystals that are in disposable diapers.
People have even proposed using them to dimish hurricanes.
Too bad the amount needed is staggering and clean up is unimaginable.














Dick Cheney's secret bunker (built during his office holding) is so deep it is below the water table.

a pipe fitter sworn to secrecy told me.

Subject: RE: BS: How to survive the heat wave
From: Alaska Mike
Date: 08 Jul 07 - 12:18 PM

Things are really heating up here in Alaska too. Nearly 70 F today in Anchorage and we are down to a single comforter on the bed at night. Whew!! The salmon are thick in the streams, though, so I might just wander down to the local river to cool off a bit.

Mike

Subject: RE: BS: How to survive the heat wave
From: Ebbie
Date: 08 Jul 07 - 12:32 PM

Well, Alaska Mike, that may be true in Anchorage, the near-tropics of Alaska (I understand that Talkeetna is the official tropical center), but here in Southeast I still have two covers on my bed and in the early morning the cat appreciates the heat turned on in the kitchen.

We are expecting a high of 61 degrees today and it's supposed to cool off tomorrow for a high of 57.

My family in Oregon think it is ludicrous!