July 3, 2008
How to survive the sweltering heat of NYC's summer without AC:
I open my eyes.
Everything is a blur.
I see gray whites and pearly whites.
The softened image of peeling paint waving back and forth, echoing my movement.
The sensation of the water's coolness on my eyeballs surprises me. Feels good.
I raise my head and shoulders out of the water and lean back from the edge of the tub. I take a deep breath. Must have been 30 to 40 seconds under that cold clear tubfull.
How am I going to survive the sweltering heat and jungle humidity of NYC's blazing summer without AC?
By dunking myself in a bath of cold water every hour or so...
How to Survive the Sweltering Heat of NYC's summer without AC:
1. Stay hydrated - keep drinking cold fluids.
2. Make cold food... NO BAKING!!!
3. Make good use of your fans. Remember, hot air rises. So blow air in your APT from as low as possible and out of your APT from as high as possible. This increases efficiency and doesn't fight physics, yay!
Box fans are actually the best for this method especially if they fit in your window. Forcing air out of your APT creates a vacuum in the space which will suck air in from any other openings, preferably cooler air (uhuh). This works best at night wne the outside air cools off and your APT is nice and toasty from a warm summer day.
REFRESH:
When I am home during the day and its too hot to move across the room without beading sweat, I have a couple of ways to refresh myself.
Trying to keept the APT cool is important. I have developed a simple cost efficient method of dropping the temperature several degrees in my APT. First I try to block as much direct sunlight from entering the APT as possible. I also close all the windows. I plug the tub and turn the shower on as cold as it can go. I place a box fan as close to the tub as I can get it blowing the freshly cooled bathroom air out into the APT. This is basically turning your bathroom into a giant air conditioner. When the bath fills, turn off the water, but keep the fan blowing across the top of the water. It may take a bit, but after 10, 20 minutes you should already notice a drop in the temperature of your APT.
Now, obviously, the key to staying cool is keeping your body temperature low. One of my favorite ways of doing this is by using the already filled tub of cold water. Shirtless (depending on your preference), I submerge my head and shoulders for about 30 to 40 seconds. This is extremely refreshing and will keep you cool for a good half hour even in a sauna of a living space. It makes me feel like I was just swimming in a cool mountain stream. Don't forget to plug your nose as you go upside down.
| By lukedavidh | 3:27 AM
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