I wanted to start visible a thread about ways to cope with the extreme heat [View all]

[FedUpWithIt All]

especially for those who may lose power in the storms that have been rolling through many areas.


My family lived off grid last year and we would often set up a wet sheet in the doorway to bring through some cool air. It really works, especially if the ambient air is hot and dry. Evaporation also helps to cool off a body when a damp tee-shirt is worn. It isn't the most comfortable but it really helps keep a person cooler and helps prevent heat related illness. A small cloth can be dampened and placed on the neck as well.

Food can be kept longer in a shaded, or (even better) buried, cooler and in extreme power outages with intense heat a zeer pot can be made. It requires nesting clay pots with a layer of damp sand between. The item to be cooled is placed within the inner pot and the top covered. As the moisture evaporates it removes the heat from the inner pot. Like all evap. set ups, hot, dry air works best.

These things may seem simple and obvious but there are always some who suffer during extreme heatwaves, especially when their typical coping mechanisms are offline.

If anyone has other coping ideas, please feel free to share them here.