In Texas, life sucks without air conditioning

[derby378]

Compressor went out on our A/C unit a couple of days ago. Replacement won't be in until tomorrow. In the meantime, it's 97 degrees F inside, and really humid, too. I am so loving this experience. NOT!! All we have is this one little window-mounted unit that's chugging away as best as it can, but it's only taking the edge of our little corner of Hell.

It's amazing how quickly extreme heat will sap your strength. I have a new blog I've got to work on, but I simply cannot muster the mental energy to do it. Maybe I can once the compressor is installed and the place becomes habitable once again.

[u4ic]

1. Gack!

It even sucks way up north when the temperature gets into the 90's.

I can't even imagine Texas heat without a/c. :scared:

[everythingsxen]

2. That's an easy fix...

Trust me on this, 26 years in Florida and having no AC for 10+ of them, I have a few solutions...

Either use cooling packs (like for when you hurt yourself) or take washclothes and soak them and freeze them. Put them on your major heat points (temples, back of the head, jugular, back of the knees, inside of elbows, wrists, ankles; maybe even armpits) and let the cool take over. Also recommended - cold shower. If you do the shower thing though, start it off warm and gradual decrease the temperature; it's less of a shock to the system that way.

Something else you can do is set up a makeshift Aztec AC system. If you have a local store that is open, go buy yourself either a big block of ice, a big bag of ice or a block of dry ice. Stick it behind a fan and blammo - you have Air Conditioning.

[derby378]

4. I've got plenty of gel-ice freezer packs

They do help. One of my favorite spots is the back of the neck.

Sent a big box of them down to Camp Casey last year to help Cindy & Co. keep their cool. When we finally made it back down there, the gel-ice packs were being used in the medical tent to prevent or treat heatstroke. They were quite popular.

[Aristus]

3. In Texas, life without air conditioning is called "death".

;-)

Used to live in Houston, so I know whereof I speak.

[AlCzervik]

5. eeeeeekkk! I used to live in Houston, you have my sympathy.

[texanwitch]

6. When I was growing up years ago, pre AC for most people we had

a window fan. It worked very well.

During the the day the fan pulled the heat out of the house and at night the blades were reversed and the fan would pull in the cooler night air. Also homes were built for the weather, not like now.

If you don't have a proper window fan a box fan will do, just turn the fan around at night.

[w8liftinglady]

7. back in my poor days,we has an inflatable pool

my ex,my son and I would "waller" in it until we had enough cash to buy an a/c.It sucked.

[Broken_Hero]

8. same in sw missouri

I spent most of my day running electrical lines, and my shirt weighed more than I did, almost. Felt like I jumped into the ocean, thats how wet I was...Damn humidity...without AC, I would be one cooked turkery

[Floogeldy]

9. I can't stand it.

I feel for you, all over. It was 100 degrees today in OKC. Hell.

Thank the stars that my bedroom window unit is still rocking.

[lavenderdiva]

10. how well I know how you feel....

we live in Houston. bought our house in 2002. the AC went out in 2003. we haven't had the money to buy a new one since then, so we've been living with fans everywhere. did I mention that we live in Houston? with fans. You do get used to it, but I can't say its pleasant. Mostly, I go without makeup anymore, except for super special occasions, because it just isn't going to stay on. Maybe one day we will win the lottery and the first thing on my list is a new air-conditioner!!

[flamingyouth]

11. Ugh - I don't know how you can stand it

My SO's parents had to go a few days without AC around Hurricane Rita last year. I feel for you!!! Take care. :hug:

[mykpart]

12. Summer of 1980, when it got to 114 in Dallas,

I had no A/C. The only way I could sleep at night was to lay on a plastic beach lounger in my undies, cover up with a damp beach towel and lay in front of a fan.

[derby378]

18. You still live in Dallas?

Me, I'm tempted to try the same thing, but stark naked. I live on the top floor, and we have a trellis in front of our patio for privacy, so Peeping Toms shouldn't be a problem. But I might get some strange looks from the cats.

[mykpart]

30. I live in a small suburb just south of Dallas on I35.

Red Oak. Between Dallas and Waxahachie. It's actually cooler if you wear wet clothes.

[Misunderestimator]

22. I remember that summer. Last summer I ever spent in Texas right before

going away to college. We had 45 days of 100+ degree temps and a lot of people died. It really was unbearable.

[LanternWaste]

23. I remember that summer!

I remember that summer! 21 days of 100+ temps. But I was only 14 or so and my dad had a 36,000,000 BTU window unit (O-kay, not really that big-- but it seemed so at the time) he'd bought to supplement the central system.

My pal's and I would hike to the local HS swimming pool (50 cents for an all day swim-a-thon) and down mom's home-made ice-tea by the gallons.

[billyskank]

13. What did they do before people had A/C?

:shrug:

[texanwitch]

14. Sweat, a lot.

I grew up without AC, we lived. I don't remember feeling hot.

[RebelOne]

15. Yes, I grew up on South Florida without a/c.

I can't bear the thought of being without it now in the summertime here in Georgia.

[derby378]

19. Hate to say it, but the "weak" ones died

Air conditioning should never be taken for granted. It greatly enhances quality of life for all.

[Skittles]

26. I can't figure that out

not only did they not have AC, they WORE A LOT OF CLOTHES....they must have stunk it up pretty badly

[TommyO]

16. BLECH!

I went through a similar experience a few summers ago. I'm in Pennsylvania, my unit died, but that was fine, it was in the mid-70's, almost no humidity, and wonderful breezes (this was after some warmer weather). Contacted my HVAC guy and they ordered the replacement, delivery time a few days, no problem. The new unit came, and was one inch too big for the fenced-in space my condo allowed for the unit, so they had to order a different one. The temperature soared into the high-90's, topping 100 on two of the days, with high humidity. The interior temperature in my condo reached almost 120 at some points, causing candles to droop! Needless to say, I'm glad there were quite a few movies that my ex and I wanted to see at that point - three movies on one of the Saturdays, along with plenty of eating out.

[begin_within]

17. Fans can help, and only cost 2 to 4 cents per hour, A/C 30 to 45 cents/hr

[Bridget Burke]

29. Fans can help, but they DON'T do the job.

In Texas, that is.

However, we save energy in the winter. Houston hasn't had a hard freeze in years. North Texas is colder--but South Texas is even warmer.

[Avalux]

20. I just went through that about 6 weeks ago.

I'm in San Antonio; had to replace the entire unit, which left us a couple of days without AC. The worst part of it - even after the new one was installed and started cooling, it took FOREVER to get the temp down, especially upstairs. Hang in there, I feel for ya! :hi:

[WolverineDG]

21. Try 2 weeks in South Texas

100+ each day, no a/c.

I learned 2 things from that experience:

(1) I know now why most violent crimes happened during the summer before folks got a/c. You couldn't sleep or get enough sleep at the right stage to really feel rested up.

(2) I learned that the house stays pretty cool until just after noon when the sun hits the roof directly, & stays cool enough at night to keep the a/c off if the a/c is turned on at the right time during the day. I've saved a bundle on the electric bill. :thumbsup:

dg

[bmbmd]

24. Mine is out, too.

In Denison, Tx. Our upstairs unit, fortunately, is still working-so we are all living in about four hundred square feet of space. Should be fixed tonight.

[Skittles]

25. in my poorer days I drove a car for three years in Texas w/o AC

yup

[azmouse]

27. Boy do I ever understand what you are going through!!!

I live in the Phoenix area. Temps are over 100 all summer long.
The compressor died on my heatpump almost 3 wks ago and we didn't have AC for 5 days. I thought I was going out of my mind with the heat. We had a lot of problems with the unit so we replaced it. It was worth every penny it took to get AC again!

Hang in there the best you can and know, mercifully, this experience will come to an end! :hug:

[Taverner]

28. Quick solution

Pack a bowl, light up, kick back
You'll still be hot but you won't give a rats ass

[mike_c]

31. you bunch of poofdas in this thread....

I haven't had AC in more than a decade! But that's nothin'! You want to talk about suffering? My hot tub is broken! It's 58F outside dammit!

[last_texas_dem]

32. Oh yeah

That's definitely an awful experience. When I was a teenager, the AC at my house would always go out for several days in late July/early August and it was always horrible, especially considering I "lived" upstairs. Short periods without AC can sometimes be slightly "cleansing" or something (sweating it out sometimes feels alright) but after an hour or so it just becomes hell. And it can't really be fixed by going outside when it's in the nineties out there! (I live in southeast Texas where the temperatures generally don't get quite as high as the Dallas area, but the humidity is usually worse.)

I hope that compressor is fixed soon and you can get back to living your life normally again!