How To Beat The Heat — On A Budget
The Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Canada, (the Greater Vancouver Area) can be known for its chilly winters, but we also experience hot, dry summers sometimes too.
Right now is the start of one such hot and dry summer.
Much of the Pacific Northwest of the United States is experiencing a similar heatwave and drought, and it looks like it has made its way north. Temperatures reached 40 degrees Celcius (104F) the past few days, with a couple more hot days on the way before it cools down to a much more manageable 27 C. I hope this is a one-time heat wave, but I imagine there will be more days of intense heat ahead as the summer is just beginning.
Air Conditioners Are Expensive
When it gets this hot, and an air conditioner was a bit out of our budget (not to mention impossible to find), we had to take some MacGyver-esque action and get a little inventive to beat this heat. While my girlfriend Marcia and I could probably grit our teeth and bear the heat, we felt our cat, Minou, needed a less sauna-like place in which to laze about.
What we did was figure out some little tricks to cool down the body and the home, but on a reasonable, non-airconditioner budget.
We Got A Small, Inflatable Pool
We don’t live near a lake or anything, so we got the idea to buy an inflatable pool and hang out in there. It saves on gas and avoiding getting up at 6 am to find a spot on the beach.
We went to Walmart and got a 10-foot inflatable pool. Most of our friends have commented they wish they could get one, but lack of a yard prevents them. We are fortunate to rent the top floor and front yard of a house instead of an apartment, so you might be out of luck with the pool if you are in the latter category. Sorry!
This was by far our best idea to beat the heat!
The pool we purchased was only $30 from Walmart, plus another $20 for an electric pump. The pump is optional, of course. But if you want to give your lungs a workout to save some cash, by all means.
Once we filled our pool with air, we filled it with water from the hose and viola–a pool!
The next place we went was to the dollar store for some extras:
- Giant umbrella for shade — $6
- Tarp, tent pegs, and bungee cords to cover the pool (see picture) — $20 total
- A ‘floaty’ (a floatable pool worm) — $3 We cut up the floaty into about five one-foot long pieces, duct-taped the pieces together, and then taped them to the bottom of a cookie tray so we could play cards in the pool. See picture.
A quick dip in an ice-cold pool is a fantastic way to get your body temperature back down on a hot day. It is also excellent for lounging in for a while. Be careful with the sun, though. While you are primarily nice and cool in the pool, the sun is cooking whatever is exposed, and you won’t feel it until it’s too late!
We Also Tried Some Other Tactics To Beat The Heat:
- I made cold-brew coffee simply by putting the drip coffee pot into the fridge (I later bought a fridge-safe plastic jug for about $3). Cold-brew coffee seems to stay cooler longer than water and other drinks. I prefer decaf so I can drink it anytime I want. I love it.
- We bought a styrofoam cooler, some pipe, and a fan and made a pseudo-air conditioner. We cut a hole for the fan in the top of the cooler, blowing downwards, then two holes with “L” pipes coming out the top, blowing the cool air outwards. Then you fill the cooler with ice or ice packs and turn the fan on. Theoretically, the fan blows the air down and gets cooled by the ice, then is blown out through the pipes at the top. It kind of worked. Here’s a link.
- We put our fans on the window sill, pointing inwards to blow the semi-cooler air inside. We could only do this later in the evening and when the sun isn’t on the window.
- We closed all the windows and blinds in the house during the middle of the day and then opened them up when it was a little cooler at night. My instinct is to open all the windows when it’s sweltering, just like in a car. This is a mistake, as is opening the car window. The house will stay cooler in the shade, and blocking the direct sunlight into the house will keep it cool.
- We tried to tape a box to the fan and fill it with bags of ice. This process involved taping the pool’s box to the fan, filled with ziplock bags of ice, and propped up with books. It also kind of worked.
- We bought ice packs and made bags of ice. These are great to rub on your body for a quick cool down. They’re only a couple of dollars in your local pharmacy section.
- We soaked our bedsheets with cold water. This is an advanced technique and only used in extreme heat. The reason it’s advanced is that it’s rather shocking!
- We put our water bottles in the freezer. This is an easy one to do. Fill a plastic water bottle about ¾ full of water and throw it in the freezer. When it’s frozen, top it up with water and then drink the ice as it melts for cold water.
Extreme Heat Can Be Dangerous
The heatwave that hit the Pacific Northwest was no joke. There were record temperatures set in many states in the US and British Columbia, Canada.
In BC, a little town called Lytton set the Canadian record for the hottest temperature ever with 49.6°C (121.3°F) after breaking its own record three days in a row. Heat like this can be dangerous and if you have to get a bit creative with ways to stay cool, then do what you have to do. Many stories of long waits for ambulances and overworked paramedics came out recently because so many people suffered from heat exhaustion, heat stroke, or other heat-related illnesses. Don’t let this be you!
Unfortunately, climate change, more intense storms, droughts, and hotter temperatures are probably the new normal, and the summer is just beginning. If you aren’t careful and don’t take precautions, the heat could get you.
Not everyone can afford an air conditioner, so just get a little creative and you will be just as cool, if not cooler, than with A/C!
I hope these tips help you stay cool this summer.
Leave me a comment with any other heat beating tips you might have!
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