How are you keeping cool?

[CottonTALE]

In this hot weather, the Middlesex-London Health Unit has advised everyone to stay hydrated and don't go out if you don't need to. So as a way of helping to battle the heat, what are your ways of staying cool on the hottest of days?

This year, Mr.TALE and I are in a new apartment without any form of air conditioning (if you want air conditioning, you have to buy it yourself AND pay a $200 CAD fee per year to have it out.) And my body has issues with cooling down and I often pass out if left unmonitored in the heat. So we have one window open to let in some fresh breeze and a fan set up in the living room where it is shady for most of the day and faces the waterfront of the Thames River.

On extreme days, Mr.TALE and I hop in a cold bath together and just hang out for a few hours to help us cool off. It really does help and it allows us to socialize a bit as well to take our mind off the heat.

So, how do you cool off?

[lovesbabysquirmy]

I wrap wet cloth around my head, keep my hair wet, drink lots of water, and go as  naked as possible. 

[StoryDreamer]

We have window air conditioners rather than central air, but this place is situated so the back rooms get the least sun, so we run the fans/acs for a bit, then turn them off. I wear my hair in a ponytail, and try to use cold packs. My wife can't get overheated cause of MS, so she has a cooling vest. I have a few cooling wraps you wear around your neck.

[kaoskat]

We use lots of fans and eat lots of popsicles/ice cream/smoothies.

[Eviecorn]

I'm on vacation, so I just jump in the pool/ocean.  At home ... I'm that guy in the kiddie pool in the shade in the front lawn. 

[Corona]

When I lived in Vermont with no air conditioning in the house during the summer we made our own AC system with strategically placed box fans from Walmart. Same strategy when I was in AC free dorms in Indiana along with as little clothing has possible.

Now that I'm back home I have full AC so I can relax comfortably. I also stock up on cold sodas and iced royal milk tea (when I can find them at Asian markets.)

[BlackCurtains]

We have a pool, although the water is a bit warm at the moment since it gets full sun. I've been going swimming at night to avoid getting burned.

[invaderhorizongreen]

We hook up the air conditioner in one room and close the doors and shades that way we have a cool spot to hang out in.

[banditpony]

Can you get one of those little portable AC units? Like, one that you hook up to a window. (Not the boxes that sit in the window, but the other kind).

We have one of those, and it's really nice. Only is hooked up on the really bad days. The doggie needs the AC more then us humans do, because she easily overheats.  (And we had a close encounter with near death once, so not taking any chances with her).

Otherwise, cool water on your neck... very loose clothing.... and just plain getting away during the hottest hours.

[CottonTALE]

Can you get one of those little portable AC units? Like, one that you hook up to a window. (Not the boxes that sit in the window, but the other kind).

We've looked into getting one of those, but we can't quite afford it with what we earn. So cold soaks will have to do till we can afford otherwise.

[skyrocketneko]

It has been 90+ here too, so I am very lucky I can drive a half hour to mountains where it's 15degrees cooler.  I go from 6000ft to 12000ft. Otherwise I just sit around in the basement where it is cooler than the main floor.

[ashes]

Where I live it's pretty mild in the summer - only a handful of days (like 6 or 7) get into triple digit numbers, and if it gets in the 90s, it might be that way for a few days then it drops back to the 70s/80s.  Plus the evenings stay pretty cool - like in the 50s and 60s.  So I turn on all the window fans in the mornings to get our house cool (since we don't have central AC), then turn them off and close everything up.  That helps to keep the thermostat at around 70 during the hottest part of the day.  We also have lots of trees on our property (7 in the backyard alone) which really help to keep it cool.

But on the few days that we do get some mega heat, I either take the kids and myself over to my parents' house because they have AC, or fill up our blow-up kiddie pool with water and let the kids play in that in the shade.  And on those days we usually eat out because of all the rooms in our home, the dining room and kitchen get the warmest.

Or we head to the beach or to San Francisco - our beaches are pretty cool, even in the summer (the water is ALWAYS cold).  And summertime is when the fog rolls into the city, which helps to cool things off.

[Kaeldre]

It's getting to be the hottest time of the year for us.  Temps get up to 100+ with humidity. x.x  I fill gallon Ziplock bags with ice cubes, wrap 'em in a towel  and stick them between me and the back of my desk chair and sometimes I haul out my personal desk fan.

At work I just take every opportunity I can to hide in the walk-in cooler. >>

[MiRaja]

I live in Florida, where AC is required! 

Growing up in Wisconsin where AC was uncommon ( Believe it or not, class would more likely be canceled because it was too hot at the beginning of the year as most of the buildings did not have AC or weren't fully AC'd, rather than snow days. . . ) and moving to Florida. . .  I can't imagine not having AC and that was one of the things I rather didn't like when I stayed in the UK for several months.  Thankfully it was a somewhat cool summer that year over the pond, but my first couple nights in Cambridge were miserable! 

Still, it's been just too hot here in Florida, and I can't afford to run up an AC bill of $150, so I've been 'suffering,' by keeping it on 75f during the day and turning it down to 71f at night.  No, I've never acclimated, I get too hot, too easily.  I rarely ever go out and do anything outside in the summer, so thanks for dance classes inside, and working as a server that keeps me moving! 

I'm planning on getting a grill for out on the porch.  It'll cut down on the energy costs of running the oven and keep the appt cooler. . .  There's almost always ice cream in the freezer, I must admit, and that helps, and because I've adapted to some aspects of the 'Florida Lifestyle,' I have a margarita machine. . .  I do use it for things like smoothies, or I can just use it to make shaved ice, alla Japanese style, served with green tea syrup and sweet red beans.  I never drink my coffee hot, always throw ice into, and that helps to cool. 

The apartment complex has two pools, but I've yet to use them.  One, I'm entirely too self-conscious, and two, well, a lot of the 'parents,' around here think pool is synonymous with 'baby-sitter,' and there's always twenty kids in the pool with few or no adults at all around.  :Sigh:

[Honeycomb]

Good idea for a topic!
That's one thing I just love about my city in the South of China. AC everywhere! I'll be heading home next week to Germany, and I can only hope the summer won't be too hot as they don't have AC.
I also use a hand fan to fan some air to my face, really helps! And I don't drink ice cold stuff, lukewarm water or tea helps me cool my body much better. Eating lots of fruit with water in it is good too, watermelon, dragon fruit, cucumbers, ... No too heavy meals.