summer heat

[ej0820]

Hey all.

I have some pretty bad asthma on top of <50% lung function. My fiance and I recently just moved into a new house (inherited from my grandmother) that has no central A/C. It never has had A/C. The first night we moved in, I was in tears b/c it was so hot and stuffy. We went and got a room air conditioner that sits on the floor and hooks up to the window. We keep it/use it in the bedroom and it works nicely. However, it of course only cools off the bedroom leaving the rest of the house still pretty unbearable for me, lung wise. A simple solution is to just hang out in the bedroom on scorcher days (we have a TV, my meds, computers in there), but the MINUTE I open the door to go out of the room to either eat, leave, go to the bathroom, etc. it feels like someone's holding a pillow over my face.

I do not handle heat or humidity well AT ALL. We don't have a whole lot of spending money for another window unit (or central A/C) for maybe the living room, and even if we did, I would still have this problem in the rest of the house where the window unit couldn't reach. The pillow over the face thing happens of course as soon as I get up in the morning to feed the cat or use the bathroom, or just start the day with breakfast and other things, too--I can't live in our bedroom for three months, but I can't breathe otherwise! Do any of you have heat issues and how do you deal with them???

 

[ej0820]

Hey all.

I have some pretty bad asthma on top of <50% lung function. My fiance and I recently just moved into a new house (inherited from my grandmother) that has no central A/C. It never has had A/C. The first night we moved in, I was in tears b/c it was so hot and stuffy. We went and got a room air conditioner that sits on the floor and hooks up to the window. We keep it/use it in the bedroom and it works nicely. However, it of course only cools off the bedroom leaving the rest of the house still pretty unbearable for me, lung wise. A simple solution is to just hang out in the bedroom on scorcher days (we have a TV, my meds, computers in there), but the MINUTE I open the door to go out of the room to either eat, leave, go to the bathroom, etc. it feels like someone's holding a pillow over my face.

I do not handle heat or humidity well AT ALL. We don't have a whole lot of spending money for another window unit (or central A/C) for maybe the living room, and even if we did, I would still have this problem in the rest of the house where the window unit couldn't reach. The pillow over the face thing happens of course as soon as I get up in the morning to feed the cat or use the bathroom, or just start the day with breakfast and other things, too--I can't live in our bedroom for three months, but I can't breathe otherwise! Do any of you have heat issues and how do you deal with them???

 

[ej0820]

Hey all.
<br />
<br />I have some pretty bad asthma on top of <50% lung function. My fiance and I recently just moved into a new house (inherited from my grandmother) that has no central A/C. It never has had A/C. The first night we moved in, I was in tears b/c it was so hot and stuffy. We went and got a room air conditioner that sits on the floor and hooks up to the window. We keep it/use it in the bedroom and it works nicely. However, it of course only cools off the bedroom leaving the rest of the house still pretty unbearable for me, lung wise. A simple solution is to just hang out in the bedroom on scorcher days (we have a TV, my meds, computers in there), but the MINUTE I open the door to go out of the room to either eat, leave, go to the bathroom, etc. it feels like someone's holding a pillow over my face.
<br />
<br />I do not handle heat or humidity well AT ALL. We don't have a whole lot of spending money for another window unit (or central A/C) for maybe the living room, and even if we did, I would still have this problem in the rest of the house where the window unit couldn't reach. The pillow over the face thing happens of course as soon as I get up in the morning to feed the cat or use the bathroom, or just start the day with breakfast and other things, too--I can't live in our bedroom for three months, but I can't breathe otherwise! Do any of you have heat issues and how do you deal with them???

 

[Melissa75]

If it is still cool at night where you live, you can pull fresh air (allergen-dependent) into your house with a window fan or, more expensive, an attic fan. Attic fans are powerful, huge fans that sucks a whole day's worth of hot air out of your house and brings in the night air. You open specific windows throughout your house to direct airflow.

Then in the morning, close the all the windows and curtains--blocking out the sun can help reduce the heat in your home quite a bit.

Can you bring your room unit to other rooms with you or is it too heavy?

Put a damp or not towel in a plastic grocery bag in the freezer. Once it is crunchy-cold put it on you. Make sure you always have one getting ready while you use another.

Cool baths.

I wish I had more advice. I have lived in no-central AC places in the NY area for a while.

Oh, the other thing you can do is ignore your upstairs for the summer. Close the bedroom curtains and shut the doors to trap your AC downstairs, make downstairs your living space. It is easier to cool the ground floor. Well, basements are even colder and nicer if you don't have mold issues. My basement is tiled and cold, but I still couldn't sleep there w/o asthma being a big problem.

Hope some of this helps.

 

[Melissa75]

If it is still cool at night where you live, you can pull fresh air (allergen-dependent) into your house with a window fan or, more expensive, an attic fan. Attic fans are powerful, huge fans that sucks a whole day's worth of hot air out of your house and brings in the night air. You open specific windows throughout your house to direct airflow.

Then in the morning, close the all the windows and curtains--blocking out the sun can help reduce the heat in your home quite a bit.

Can you bring your room unit to other rooms with you or is it too heavy?

Put a damp or not towel in a plastic grocery bag in the freezer. Once it is crunchy-cold put it on you. Make sure you always have one getting ready while you use another.

Cool baths.

I wish I had more advice. I have lived in no-central AC places in the NY area for a while.

Oh, the other thing you can do is ignore your upstairs for the summer. Close the bedroom curtains and shut the doors to trap your AC downstairs, make downstairs your living space. It is easier to cool the ground floor. Well, basements are even colder and nicer if you don't have mold issues. My basement is tiled and cold, but I still couldn't sleep there w/o asthma being a big problem.

Hope some of this helps.

 

[Melissa75]

If it is still cool at night where you live, you can pull fresh air (allergen-dependent) into your house with a window fan or, more expensive, an attic fan. Attic fans are powerful, huge fans that sucks a whole day's worth of hot air out of your house and brings in the night air. You open specific windows throughout your house to direct airflow.
<br />
<br />Then in the morning, close the all the windows and curtains--blocking out the sun can help reduce the heat in your home quite a bit.
<br />
<br />Can you bring your room unit to other rooms with you or is it too heavy?
<br />
<br />Put a damp or not towel in a plastic grocery bag in the freezer. Once it is crunchy-cold put it on you. Make sure you always have one getting ready while you use another.
<br />
<br />Cool baths.
<br />
<br />I wish I had more advice. I have lived in no-central AC places in the NY area for a while.
<br />
<br />Oh, the other thing you can do is ignore your upstairs for the summer. Close the bedroom curtains and shut the doors to trap your AC downstairs, make downstairs your living space. It is easier to cool the ground floor. Well, basements are even colder and nicer if you don't have mold issues. My basement is tiled and cold, but I still couldn't sleep there w/o asthma being a big problem.
<br />
<br />Hope some of this helps.

 

[MCGrad2006]

We have central air upstairs only...b/c it didnt originally come with the house...so the upstairs was the only way to install it. Now we also have a window unit downstairs and if we keep the house closed up, and both central AC on and the window unit, we do pretty well. The window unit is better than you think. Just like Melissa said, close everything up, shades, doors...and put it in a central area so that it can reach.

Maybe go hang out at the local library?? Or Mall? I know that wont work everyday, but it may help with the monotony of the bedroom.

 

[MCGrad2006]

We have central air upstairs only...b/c it didnt originally come with the house...so the upstairs was the only way to install it. Now we also have a window unit downstairs and if we keep the house closed up, and both central AC on and the window unit, we do pretty well. The window unit is better than you think. Just like Melissa said, close everything up, shades, doors...and put it in a central area so that it can reach.

Maybe go hang out at the local library?? Or Mall? I know that wont work everyday, but it may help with the monotony of the bedroom.

 

[MCGrad2006]

We have central air upstairs only...b/c it didnt originally come with the house...so the upstairs was the only way to install it. Now we also have a window unit downstairs and if we keep the house closed up, and both central AC on and the window unit, we do pretty well. The window unit is better than you think. Just like Melissa said, close everything up, shades, doors...and put it in a central area so that it can reach.
<br />
<br />Maybe go hang out at the local library?? Or Mall? I know that wont work everyday, but it may help with the monotony of the bedroom.

 

[laurabrown]

Seems we have the same worries for this summer. I have asthma too and I suffer from it alot especially during hot season that's why my mom got our house fully air conditioned. But now, my mom's worries is on paying the electric bills for the AC consumes alot. Here are a few tricks to beat the summer heat and save cash on cooling bills along the way. Read on.. Tips for living without air conditioning during summer

 

[kgfrompa]

I can not be in the heat either I feel the chest tightness and short of breath. I live in my AC I am blessed to have a huge Ac in the front of my house and bought a small unit from a yard sell They have a lot of moving sales this time of year and I got one with a temperature gage which shuts off when it gets to the temp I set it at I called my Electric company and was put on a cap program and they pay a set amount which helps me so much.I keep the windows open at night but I am scared as I live alone and don't want having some one climb in at night. So I limit the windows I leave open.I some times go to the Library and or other places where I can stay cool and I love the water so I go swimming when ever I can Good luck and I hope you get ideas that help you stay cool !!