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My apartment is a goddamn oven

FatsFats Corvallis, ORRegistered User regular
edited August 2009 in Help / Advice Forum
Allow me to share with you a picture of the thermometer I have hanging in my bedroom, circa 6:30ish this evening when I got home:

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The high outside was 108, so between the black roof cooking in the sun and the units below me I guess I collect all the heat. I thought closing all the windows and blinds in the morning would help, but, well, it didn't.

Anyway, I have two fans and three windows, what's the best way to cool this place down? Blowing in or out? Bowls of ice water? Should I pull everything out of the fridge and climb in?

Do those stand-alone air conditioning units work well? I never thought I'd need A/C in Oregon, but this sucks.

Fats on
«13

Posts

  • saltinesssaltiness Registered User regular
    edited July 2009
    I would set one fan next to a window blowing out and another by a different window blowing in then I would go sleep outside.

    saltiness on
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  • TrillianTrillian Registered User regular
    edited July 2009
    I am so glad I left Eugene today, holy crap, that is terrible.
    Open windows on opposite sides of the room to create a cross draft and begin crying when it doesn't work.
    The floor is cooler than the bed so get some cardboard and do it up hobo-style in the living room.
    That's how I've spent the past few days.

    Trillian on

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  • Blake TBlake T Do you have enemies then? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.Registered User regular
    edited July 2009
    If they are sliding windows open them up and leave them partly open during the day and getto lock them by placing a dowel in the runner so it can only open part way.

    Talk to your landlord about air conditioning.

    If you have a chest freezer go sit in that.

    Blake T on
  • SaddlerSaddler Registered User regular
    edited July 2009
    Most likely, you're simply fucked six ways from Sunday. You definitely need an air conditioner, but it's going to have to be a powerful one even to cool a small room.

    Personally I don't like the stand-alone air conditioners. You'll have a big, ugly exhaust tube running out of a window, and the units are pretty bulky. I would get the most powerful window air conditioner I could afford for the bedroom, and give up on the rest of your apartment. If there's anything in your place that could be damaged by excessive heat, move it to the bedroom.

    Saddler on
  • NotYouNotYou Registered User regular
    edited July 2009
    buy a TON of ice, put it it the middle of your room. Put a fan on it.

    NotYou on
  • The_Glad_HatterThe_Glad_Hatter One Sly Fox Underneath a Groovy HatRegistered User regular
    edited July 2009
    My bedroom gets unbearable in the summer, and what i do is cover the windows in aluminum foil. that has SEROUSLY improved the temperature there.
    And i find it gets even hotter there if i leave the window open during the daytime... I only open the window on the shadowy-side of the building, unless there's a good breeze, in which case i'll open windows on opposing side to creat a lil' draft.

    The_Glad_Hatter on
  • mtsmts Dr. Robot King Registered User regular
    edited July 2009
    its all about blinds/window covering management. cover and shut your windows during the hottest part of the day, open when its cooler

    edit: plus its 108 outside, thats fucking hot as it is. 8 degrees warmer is not that crazy. i mean its hot when its that hot outside, but its isn't out of th eordinariry

    mts on
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  • cooljammer00cooljammer00 Hey Small Christmas-Man!Registered User regular
    edited July 2009
    I've seen those "home made" air conditioners in those catalogs that get mailed to people's houses. It's basically a bag of ice taped to the back of a fan. Not sure how well they worked, but you could try it.

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  • matt has a problemmatt has a problem Points to 'off' Points to 'on'Registered User regular
    edited July 2009
    I've seen those "home made" air conditioners in those catalogs that get mailed to people's houses. It's basically a bag of ice taped to the back of a fan. Not sure how well they worked, but you could try it.
    An easier way is to get a cookie sheet and put a layer of ice on it, then set it in front of the fan. Then set yourself in front of that.

    matt has a problem on
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  • Mojo the AvengerMojo the Avenger Registered User regular
    edited July 2009
    cold water is fairly cheap. Turn your shower on as cold as it will go. Close the door. When the bathroom is down to about 70 degrees or as cold as it will go open the door and set up a fan. Ghetto swamp cooler.

    Depends on how you feel about wasting water.

    Mojo the Avenger on
  • Grid SystemGrid System Registered User regular
    edited July 2009
    Until you get an air conditioner, there's not much you can do to cool the apartment. Blowing air over ice may work temporarily, but you need to remember that in order to create the ice in the first place, the freezer needs to pull heat from the water, and that heat gets pumped back into your apartment. Covering your windows will help a bit though, so do that.

    The other thing to do is focus not on keeping the whole apartment (or a whole room) cool, but on keeping yourself cool. The best thing I found for this is a big bucket of cold tap water. Put your feet in it, and it'll keep you pretty comfortable for a decent amount of time (how long depends on the size of the bucket and how cold the water is). Cold showers are good, too, but you can't spend all your time showering. The portability of a bucket is its greatest advantage. Even that only goes so far though. Since you can't take the bucket to bed with you, when you want to sleep, take a damp washcloth and put it over your face. You can use more than one on other parts of your body if that's not enough.

    Grid System on
  • ImprovoloneImprovolone Registered User regular
    edited July 2009
    On that note, this seems appropriate.
    http://lifehacker.com/search/keep%20cool/

    Improvolone on
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  • ViscountalphaViscountalpha The pen is mightier than the sword http://youtu.be/G_sBOsh-vyIRegistered User regular
    edited July 2009
    Fats wrote: »
    Do those stand-alone air conditioning units work well? I never thought I'd need A/C in Oregon, but this sucks.

    ASK YOUR LANDLORD ABOUT ANY RESTRICTIONS ON AC UNITS! I had to spend 200$ for 6 months of renters insurance because it was required. Still worth every damned cent.

    Go get a big block of ice, Or better yet get some dry ice underneath the big block of ice to extend its usefulness for a time. Get some sort of soaking tub like they have to soak peoples feet in for drainage when the ice melts and then place a fan on it. I know the fred meyers in (hillsboro at least) carries dry ice. Baskin robbins also usually carries it.

    So Block or multiple blocks of ice with dry ice on the bottom and a fan. That should help a bit. Fans are in high demand right now too so hopefully you have something to at least circulate the air.

    I too feel your pain though. I knew what was going to happen come summer and went out and bought an AC unit in june. You will know for next summer.

    Viscountalpha on
  • KalTorakKalTorak One way or another, they all end up in the Undercity.Registered User regular
    edited July 2009
    Ye gods, man, that is horrifying. I can't stand heat.

    If you have a water-safe floor, lay wet towels down, or hang them from the walls. There are guides to building your own air conditioner out of a fan, a cooler of icewater, some rubber/copper tubing, and a pump, though that might get expensive.

    KalTorak on
  • ViscountalphaViscountalpha The pen is mightier than the sword http://youtu.be/G_sBOsh-vyIRegistered User regular
    edited July 2009
    I've seen those "home made" air conditioners in those catalogs that get mailed to people's houses. It's basically a bag of ice taped to the back of a fan. Not sure how well they worked, but you could try it.
    An easier way is to get a cookie sheet and put a layer of ice on it, then set it in front of the fan. Then set yourself in front of that.

    You would need a pan or a some sort of shallow bucket because ice doesn't exactly last very long at 100+ degrees.

    Viscountalpha on
  • AiouaAioua Ora Occidens Ora OptimaRegistered User regular
    edited July 2009
    I've been getting my tshirt sopping wet with cold water and wearing that. Works well as long as you dont't mind the furni getting a little damp.

    Aioua on
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  • SatanIsMyMotorSatanIsMyMotor Fuck Warren Ellis Registered User regular
    edited July 2009
    Dude, you need to get an air conditioner. If you're on a budget I'd suggest getting one and move it around (ie: living room in the day, bedroom at night). Even if it's not super powerful it will still help, it just might take longer to cool things down.

    Living in that much heat cannot be healthy. Good lord do I ever feel bad for you.

    SatanIsMyMotor on
  • CoJoeTheLawyerCoJoeTheLawyer Registered User regular
    edited July 2009
    I always went with the bowl of ice cubes and fan trick in my ghetto fabulous apartment back in the day. It may not last forever, but it will keep the place cool until the heat wave breaks.

    CoJoeTheLawyer on

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  • AsiinaAsiina ... WaterlooRegistered User regular
    edited July 2009
    Take ice cold showers. Just a few minutes, and don't really dry yourself too much after. The heat will dry you.

    Repeat as often as necessary and definitely take one immediately before bed.

    Also remember that cooling your feet will cool the rest of your body. If you don't want to take a full shower, just soak your feet in ice water for a while and you'll feel cooler.

    Asiina on
  • FiggyFiggy Fighter of the night man Champion of the sunRegistered User regular
    edited July 2009
    Even a cheapy window unit will make a huge difference in a small apartment.

    I have a small window AC unit (was like $89) in my upstairs office, and if I crank it full blast the entire house (2 storey, 3 bedroom) is noticeably comfortable, instead of sticky and humid.

    Mind you, it's not nearly as hot here as it is where you are. Still, grab a window unit for under a $100.

    Figgy on
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  • Cptn PantsCptn Pants Registered User regular
    edited July 2009
    I went and got a window unit AC at home depot for $150 a week ago and, god damn, it keeps my house COLD, like cold enough I wanna put on a sweater on. Granted the highest temperature this year has been 95 where I am.

    Cptn Pants on
  • mystikspyralmystikspyral Registered User regular
    edited July 2009
    A window AC unit will work wonders. My mother has one in her bedroom and when I was staying with her in Washington I almost never left that room. It has been up to a hundred degrees there and the thing just keeps providing sweet relief.

    mystikspyral on
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  • TL DRTL DR Not at all confident in his reflexive opinions of thingsRegistered User regular
    edited July 2009
    If any of your windows are higher than the others, set up an outtake fan there and an intake somewhere lower. The less dense hot air tends to rise, and will be evacuated. Otherwise just keep a breeze coming through the apartment.

    Try spritzing a few shirts with water and freezing them. You can suspend a towel with one end in a bowl of ice water and position a fan blowing across it while you sleep. A quick cold shower does wonders as well, especially before bed.

    Are you dealing with humidity or dry heat?

    TL DR on
  • TL DRTL DR Not at all confident in his reflexive opinions of thingsRegistered User regular
    edited July 2009
    TL DR on
  • HypatiaHypatia Registered User regular
    edited July 2009
    Make sure that you've got some good white paper or aluminum foil going on your windows to reflect out the sun during the day. Also, it sounds like you're on an upper floor, I'd recommend stuffing a towel under your door or in any other cracks where everyone else's hot air might be leaking up into your apartment.

    Hypatia on
  • ReitenReiten Registered User regular
    edited July 2009
    How bad is the humidity? High humidity prevents many of the DIY options from working. As others have said, cross breezes work well. If you can't get a natural one, there are window fans with two separate blades that you can control separately.

    Reiten on
  • WileyWiley In the dirt.Registered User regular
    edited July 2009
    I'll second the aluminum foil option. It will look ghetto as hell, but you'll be amazed at how much it will help keep a room cool. Also, the idea of getting a small unit and shutting up in one room is what I've done before. You can get an AC unit that will keep a decent sized room ice cold for less than what the portable units cost.

    Wiley on
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  • Bionic MonkeyBionic Monkey Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited July 2009
    Dude, you need to get an air conditioner. If you're on a budget I'd suggest getting one and move it around (ie: living room in the day, bedroom at night). Even if it's not super powerful it will still help, it just might take longer to cool things down.

    Living in that much heat cannot be healthy. Good lord do I ever feel bad for you.

    Yep. Even a cheap unit can help immensely. I bought a ~$100 unit a couple years ago, that doesn't exactly keep my apartment frosty, but it does keep everything about 10-15 degrees cooler than outside, as long as I keep all the windows drawn, and close up the bedrooms to reduce the amount of space it needs to cool.

    Bionic Monkey on
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  • AphostileAphostile San Francisco, CARegistered User regular
    edited July 2009
    Hmm, clothes in the refrigerator while you're sitting in underwear to cool off?

    Aphostile on
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  • TL DRTL DR Not at all confident in his reflexive opinions of thingsRegistered User regular
    edited July 2009
    The 'reflective material over the windows' route is effective, though some apartment complexes have regulations against it. I wouldn't use foil though, since it has poor reflective efficiency. Mylar is much better. It's what they use in grow houses to maximize light efficiency (aside from flat white paint, which also works).

    TL DR on
  • ViscountalphaViscountalpha The pen is mightier than the sword http://youtu.be/G_sBOsh-vyIRegistered User regular
    edited July 2009
    Dude, you need to get an air conditioner. If you're on a budget I'd suggest getting one and move it around (ie: living room in the day, bedroom at night). Even if it's not super powerful it will still help, it just might take longer to cool things down.

    Living in that much heat cannot be healthy. Good lord do I ever feel bad for you.

    Yep. Even a cheap unit can help immensely. I bought a ~$100 unit a couple years ago, that doesn't exactly keep my apartment frosty, but it does keep everything about 10-15 degrees cooler than outside, as long as I keep all the windows drawn, and close up the bedrooms to reduce the amount of space it needs to cool.

    I went with the 250$ energy saving unit. I don't regret going with that at all. Has a nice remote so I can use that while I'm laying in bed. Also, another roommate was moving so I told him I would buy his unit for what he paid for it. I slapped that into the living room and it again, was worth every damned cent. Without that living room unit my apartment would be an oven also, except for my room.

    Viscountalpha on
  • EncEnc A Fool with Compassion Pronouns: He, Him, HisRegistered User regular
    edited July 2009
    Two problems with all of these: Danger and practicality.

    If you think about it, your house dosen't need to be cool, you need to be cool. Rather than go wild trying to cool down your house in a place where this level of heat is not the norm, I'd focus on cooling yourself. Wear light clothes while you are lounging about, preferably light cotton. Have damp bandannas or scarves in (damp, not sopping) in your fridge. When you feel hot, wrap one around your neck and one around each of your ankles (if you have leg or wrist warmers, these work great.

    The cold bandannas will cool your blood, and make you feel cooler. It's much cheaper, and works better than a swamp-fan rig (which can cause electrical fires) or buying an unnecessary AC unit.

    This is what we use in Florida when our AC goes out in Summer. This and cheap $5 desk fans creating circulation.

    Enc on
  • FatsFats Corvallis, ORRegistered User regular
    edited July 2009
    Trillian wrote: »
    The floor is cooler than the bed so get some cardboard and do it up hobo-style in the living room.
    That's how I've spent the past few days.

    I did this, with a fan to keep me from floating off in a pool of sweat, and it was surprisingly comfortable.

    Anyway, I got some mylar this morning and covered my windows, which made an almost immediate difference. The wet bandana I stuck in the fridge smells like left-over lasagna but feels awesome. Thanks all for the great suggestions.

    Enc, I agree with you, A/C still strikes me as a luxury. Still, I'm going to go look at window models this weekend. I've been interviewing at schools down in California as well as the east coast, so having one I could take with me would be nice. I thought a stand-alone model would be simpler to set up, but the window mounted ones don't look too hard to deal with.

    Thanks again all.

    Fats on
  • EncEnc A Fool with Compassion Pronouns: He, Him, HisRegistered User regular
    edited July 2009
    Central Air and Heating is one thing Floridians really take for granted. Most every house in our state has it, and when it goes out it sucks (and you cant really afford to buy a backup reasonably).

    The small units can be cumbersome to move, and window units can be easily stolen, keep that in mind when you buy. Swamp coolers (at least the non-nice ones) are dangerous too and wont work if there is high humidity anyway.

    Best of luck to you!

    Enc on
  • FiggyFiggy Fighter of the night man Champion of the sunRegistered User regular
    edited July 2009
    Enc wrote: »
    Central Air and Heating is one thing Floridians really take for granted. Most every house in our state has it, and when it goes out it sucks (and you cant really afford to buy a backup reasonably).

    The small units can be cumbersome to move, and window units can be easily stolen, keep that in mind when you buy. Swamp coolers (at least the non-nice ones) are dangerous too and wont work if there is high humidity anyway.

    Best of luck to you!

    Window units can be stolen? I'm not sure how you install your window AC units, but you'd have to rip out my window frame to take it. You screw them in at least two places for safety.

    That, and they're plugged in.

    Figgy on
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  • ImprovoloneImprovolone Registered User regular
    edited July 2009
    Fats wrote: »
    Trillian wrote: »
    The floor is cooler than the bed so get some cardboard and do it up hobo-style in the living room.
    That's how I've spent the past few days.

    I did this, with a fan to keep me from floating off in a pool of sweat, and it was surprisingly comfortable.

    Anyway, I got some mylar this morning and covered my windows, which made an almost immediate difference. The wet bandana I stuck in the fridge smells like left-over lasagna but feels awesome. Thanks all for the great suggestions.

    Enc, I agree with you, A/C still strikes me as a luxury. Still, I'm going to go look at window models this weekend. I've been interviewing at schools down in California as well as the east coast, so having one I could take with me would be nice. I thought a stand-alone model would be simpler to set up, but the window mounted ones don't look too hard to deal with.

    Thanks again all.

    You haven't moved a lot have you?

    Improvolone on
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  • FatsFats Corvallis, ORRegistered User regular
    edited July 2009
    Never with an air conditioner, no. I'm not planning on sticking it in my backpack or anything, but I can move 100 lbs. around periodically.

    Fats on
  • Lindsay LohanLindsay Lohan Registered User regular
    edited July 2009
    Stupid question - but how long is that heat expected to last? If it's just a day or two it may be cheaper just to get a cheap hotel room for a night or two - get ac, possible pool access... Standalone AC units are kind of pricey afterall...

    Lindsay Lohan on
  • DeadlySherpaDeadlySherpa Registered User regular
    edited July 2009
    We use these on our horses to reduce inflammation, but they're really nice to sit on or wear when it's crazy hot out-

    flexible ice packs

    It doesn't solve your complicated oven room problem but maybe it'll help out with the result

    DeadlySherpa on
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  • Jebus314Jebus314 Registered User regular
    edited July 2009
    Hooray for c-town. I don't really have anything to add, getting an ac unit would be good, buying blocks of ice from fred meyer and making an ice cold foot bath seems reasonable. When I lived in corvallis I did ok by just covering all the windows with dark blankets during the day and having them open with a fan blowing in at night. Course it was never 42 god damn degrees outside. Mostly I just wanted to point out that corvallis is awesome and I wanted to express my appreciation that more corvallis folk are on these hear forums.

    Jebus314 on
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