It's been so hot where I live this week that 30c sounds nice. It was 36c during the day yesterday but felt like well over 40c. It felt like an oven. It's 27c right now at 1:30 am. So here's some tips- Drink a lot of water. Stick to the shade. Keep a wet towel around your neck. I wet a baseball cap and wear it. Don't be in direct sunlight light for long. If you don't have a/c, I know most don't in UK, open two windows on the opposite side of the house to create a drafted. Hang and secure a wet towel over the window where the wind enters and it will act like a natural a/c. Won't do a ton but it will lower the temps inside a few degrees. That's all I got.
this post was submitted on 11 Jul 2026
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Blimey where are you?
Texas!
If you live straight under the roof and it's hotter inside than out: close the blinds, open the windows.
Otherwise, keep everything shut, close the curtains, get some stick on sun shades for your windows. Open everything at night, then keep an eye on the heat in the morning and shut everything when it gets hotter outside than inside.
Have lukewarm (NOT COLD) showers. If you have a bath, fill it so you can cool down every now and then. Also fill a washing up bowl to put your feet in.
Get a fan. If it's not too humid, hang a wet towel in front of it or pile some of those bricks you use to cool a cooler in front of it.
Wear linen, viscose or modal. Don't wear trainers.
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Evaporative cooling.
Cool, damp cloths, especially to place around your neck or on your face and wrists.
Cool showers.
Avoid any use of the oven and minimize use of the stovetop or any other device which produces a significant amount of heat.
Keep blinds/curtains drawn while the sun is out. Open these and the windows at night.
If there is any breeze and your home's layout is amenable, open windows to promote cross-flow. And, if safe, doors.
Lightweight, breathable clothing.
Avoid going out during the hottest part of the day unless it's to somewhere air conditioned.
If you drive, try to park in the shade and cover your windows when parked to reflect sunlight. If public transit, heavier on the avoiding going out during the hottest part of the day.
Hydrate. This means electrolytes, not just water.
Cotton sheets can feel cooler than not using any bedding at all.
In rural Japan, they usually damp a small towel and put it in the freezer. Once done, they carry it around the neck, that works too for a while.
Evaporative cooling doesn't really work in very humid environments.
Exact, but heatwaves in Europe at least are dry enough to make it work.
Not much real relief without A/C. Go somewhere with A/C until the sun goes down.
I live in the US, and the forecasted high for today is 39°C 🫠
Eeep good luck
live in the US
°C
COMMUNIST SPY /s
International/Scientific communications should be in SI units👍
Put up exterior shades on the south side of your home or at least outside your windows. It keeps the direct heat from the sun from baking your walls and windows, and you on the other side. Yeah boy, window awnings and sun shades are in.
Some people put those reflective life saving blankets on the windows to reflect a maximum of sunlight. You could probably put them on the sunlit walls too if you have enough ...
Air conditioning
Solo wet T-shirt contest.
Keep the windows open or you will end up in a solo sauna.
If you live in low humidity area then a evaporative air cooler might help. Cheaper than an AC unit for sure.
Adding to other suggestions: wear loose fitting clothes, ideally of natural fibers (cotton and linen are best). Wet your hair and neck when outdoors.
If your house is humid, decreasing humidity can decrease the feel of heat as well
Get a spray bottle with a big enough neck to fit ice cubes in, then fill it with ice & cold water. It feels amazing spraying yourself with ice water every 10 mins!
Lived in a hot and humid place my whole life. Wear as little clothing as you are comfortable with and build a swamp cooler if possible. Also try filling the bathtub with cool water (use ice if you have to) and chill in it
Don’t be overweight, don’t drink alcohol, stay indoors, have a portable fan with you always, drink lots of water
Loose, light clothing. You want air close to your body to be able to move, but also serve as insulation to an extent.
Down here in the US south, the old school default was cotton seersucker. It really is better than other types of fabric, but it's harder to find nowadays. But any clothing that's got a bit of room to breathe is going to be better than something close fitting.
Any of the methods of cooling an area are going to be improved if you dress for heat in the first place
Linen. So light and airy. Wrinkles like crazy, of course.
- for office-jobs, a USB-ventilator blowing over the keyboard and hands
- spray bottle to wet feet & back, it's auto-regulating too!
The trick with the latter is, the body doesn't even get in the uncomfortable zone (i'm not even flaccid). But careful or you'll get a cold. Others also mentioned a foot bath for the same effect.
Ice packs, fans, portable ac units, misting yourself. It's not so bad after you're 35+
Fans are cheap and effective. The ones that stand on a pole. One in every bed room - point it at you while you sleep. You'll get used to the noise pretty quickly. Koreans think that pointing a fan at you while you sleep will kill you but ignore them.
Carry an umbrella for mobile shade. Do not leave the house without it.
Hammocks. Preferably a mesh one for ventilation.
Do not go outside in the middle of the day. Have a long nap instead, then stay up late and party. The Spanish know how it's done.
Unfun fact; the "died with the fan on" was a polite euphamism for suicide :|
An umbrella didn't occur to me! Nice one thanks
Some options in approximate order of increasing effort:
-
Drink iced beverages.
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Have fan blowing at you.
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Cooling vest, possibly with with ice packs.
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If low humidity (probably not in the UK), evaporative cooler.
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Air conditioner.
Move slowly, be slow
Walk without rhythm.
No, this is how you avoid Shai-Hulud
Enjoy it, soon enough it'll be cold & grey again... in fact it's quite overcast in the east this morning, I'm thinking about putting a jumper on
My studio has been stuck at 32°C for the last two weeks. Today it's finally as hot inside than out. I haven't closed my windows in a month.
I am constantly searching for a mobile AC unit that is neither sold by scalpers (found a weaksauce one at the price of a fixed unit) nor delivered in 3 to 6 months.
(I am currently praying my ten years old desktop fan won't crap out: the plastic is now very brittle and it's pretty out of balance.)
So I mostly get by by being so lacking in restful sleep, I'm too out of it to notice the heat. Oh, and cold showers.
Soak a wet rag and drape it over your neck.
firefighter/medic taught me this trick. make a solution of seabreeze (or similar alcohol based astringent face cleaner) with 1/1/1 water and ice. soak the rag in that and drape it over your neck. the alcohol and menthol in the face cleaner has a multiplying effect on the cooling.
Oh, right, alcohol has a lower evaporation point. Smart. Menthol by itself just tricks your nerves into feeling cold without actually being cold, but the alcohol is a good idea.
A simple cold foot bath does wonders for me.
If I'm going to bathe in feet I would prefer they be warm, personally.
Evaporative towels - made of a thin pva foam that holds water, and as it dries from your body heat it drags away a considerable amount of warmth
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