Coping with hot weather

For anyone who needs cool drinks in warm weather and can't keep visiting the fridge, I recommend these ice packs.

Bottle cooler.jpg

Earlier on I'd been out in the hot sun for more than four hours, but I was still drinking ice-cold water. I've just taken the second bottle out of my rucksack (more than 10 hours since I packed it), and the water's quite cool even now.

They can be a bit hard to find, when I wanted to gift some to a friend recently I only came across a single listing on eBay. Worth hunting down, though.
 
Wonko said:
My epoxy resin, that was supposed to be here on Thursday, to repair a free evaporative cooler, was announced as 'irretrievably damaged' by the courier last night. This is after amazon stating that delivery had been attempted twice, when the courier said it was still in a distant hub......

So my chances of getting this cooler working in the next week or so seem....slim.
......
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My epoxy resin was received last night, thanks to an employee of the company that sold it via amazon - as amazon were still being 'unhelpful'. By 'unhelpful' I mean total gits, or so the media tells me in modern parlance 'basic'.

Which surprises me I thought the term basic became itself 'basic' about 5 or 6 years ago lol.

The cooler water tank was patched (resin, rough side of a vacuum sealer bag, more resin - after sanding the tank base inside) and 8 hours later, after a 30 minute test filled with 6L inside over the sink that it passed, it seems to be watertight.

The epoxy has a curing time of around 12 hours but it's supposed to be waterproof after only 30 minutes or so, and I have to being preparations to go out soon, so I got....impatient.

I'm running the cooler now, sat on top of a towel just to see if it is in fact watertight. If it leaks any water then I will also epoxy and mesh the underside of the tank, and do another layer inside - but it's only 6L it shouldn't be heavy enough to impact it at all.

After the last several summers I am going a bit overboard with cooling this year - so far my collection stands at 4 USB/battery hand fans, 2 USB desk fans (one of which is actually rather good), 2 USB/battery neck fans, several 'cooling' towels (wet them, flick them, and wear around a neck), 4 USB/battery slim fans (only one of which passes the non irritating airflow test) and my old big fan on a stand which cools everything somewhere else, but just to show it's working, blows everything off my coffee table).

I also have several window nets, more expensive than the cheap things I traditionally use, to see if they can, as advertised, keep mosquitos etc out - but just in case they don't (or if I'm not up to fitting them) I also have 2 fly zapper lights and an allegedly 4000V anti fly tennis racket.

I is going to war against summer people ;-)

(The recent summers have nearly written me off).

I have my eye out for more - I'm fed up with being far, far too hot in summer.
 
Drink Hot Drinks in Hot Weather to Cool Down Faster

Though counterintuitive, the science of sweat tells us that drinking hot beverages when in a hot environment will actually help you cool down.
However, there is a critical caveat to this finding and it has to do with how our bodies dissipate heat: by sweating. As Jay put it, “If you drink a hot drink, it does result in a lower amount of heat stored inside your body, provided the additional sweat produced when you drink the hot drink can evaporate.” So, if you are in a highly humid environment, say a sauna or a rain forest, or submerged in water, where your sweat already can’t evaporate well, an increase in your sweating rate won’t have a cooling effect.

https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/did-you-know/drink-hot-drinks-hot-weather-cool-down-faster
 
Wonko said:
'cooling' towels (wet them, flick them, and wear around a neck)
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Do you happen to have any recommendations or advice on what to look for in a good 'cooling' towel? I want to order one, but not sure how to choose which one.

I ordered a so called 'cooling' blanket (arc chill fiber) the other day, that was delivered today. Looking forward to trying it out :)

My "equestrian gear" was delivered today as well. I'll put them in the freezer later tonight, if I can find the energy needed to wipe them off and make room for them etc :)
 
mango said:
Do you happen to have any recommendations or advice on what to look for in a good 'cooling' towel?
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I find the ordinary sort work okay, specially as cotton holds cool wetness very well. I've got some old bar towels that I dip in a bowl of iced water from the fridge, wring out a bit, and place around my neck or drape over my head. They do drip, though! But it's partly the sensation of my skin being wet that seems to help, and as I can sit in a plastic garden recliner on a tiled floor, the drips don't matter.
 
mango said:
No worries! I'll just pick one at random, then :)
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This is one of the packs I have, but as I haven't tested them yet I can't actually recommend them.
Amazon product ASIN B0CWGG66Z7
Code: 
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sukeen-Cooling-Towels-Breathable-Microfibre/dp/B0CWGG66Z7/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8&th=1
Somewhere I have another pack of a different make, but I haven't tested them yet either.

All of the ones I have seen are basically a very similar thing, a thin microfiber towel of limited size, that are all probably clones of someones original idea. I came across a similar concept a few years back when I got a 'cobber' which was the same idea (wet thing on neck to cool down by allegedly cooling down the blood going through the carotid arteries and theferfor cooling the blood in the entire body - or so the story goes). Cobbers where a thin cloth tube filed with some form of desiccated jelly, that when water was added absorbed it and gradually released it pretty much ensuring that there were no drips or free water.

Cobbers used to be quite expensive, £20+, I haven't seen a genuine one for several years, I suspect that all the cheap clones killed off the company.
 
Kitty said:
I find the ordinary sort work okay, specially as cotton holds cool wetness very well. I've got some old bar towels that I dip in a bowl of iced water from the fridge, wring out a bit, and place around my neck or drape over my head. They do drip, though! But it's partly the sensation of my skin being wet that seems to help, and as I can sit in a plastic garden recliner on a tiled floor, the drips don't matter.
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Thank you, Kitty :) I need to be able to use mine in bed though, so I'd like to avoid dripping if possible. I do have some regular microfiber travel towels from years ago, maybe I'll try it with one of them? :)
 
Wonko said:
This is one of the packs I have, but as I haven't tested them yet I can't actually recommend them.
Amazon product ASIN B0CWGG66Z7
Code: 
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sukeen-Cooling-Towels-Breathable-Microfibre/dp/B0CWGG66Z7/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8&th=1
Somewhere I have another pack of a different make, but I haven't tested them yet either.

All of the ones I have seen are basically a very similar thing, a thin microfiber towel of limited size, that are all probably clones of someones original idea. I came across a similar concept a few years back when I got a 'cobber' which was the same idea (wet thing on neck to cool down by allegedly cooling down the blood going through the carotid arteries and theferfor cooling the blood in the entire body - or so the story goes). Cobbers where a thin cloth tube filed with some form of desiccated jelly, that when water was added absorbed it and gradually released it pretty much ensuring that there were no drips or free water.

Cobbers used to be quite expensive, £20+, I haven't seen a genuine one for several years, I suspect that all the cheap clones killed off the company.
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Thank you! :) Cobbers sound like a great idea! I do find that cooling down areas like the neck and the wrists can be surprisingly helpful.
 
I just use the physio gel pack that I put in the freezer wrap it ina cotton scarf and put that on the back of my neck. Works really well for me and it isn’t wet just a bit damp. Also if very very hot a large size one on the torso helps cool down body core simultaneously. Usually at night but when uk had that ridiculous for us heat 2 years ago I used them in the daytime as well and kept refreezing.


Also for cooling I think I mentioned before the spherical air circulator type fan which is really hardly any sound yet very effective on the low setting. It moves up and down and side to side so creates a good breeze.
 
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One pair of the cooling towels (Com-Four) I ordered was delivered today :)

I'm pleasantly surprised, they are really lovely! They are actually cooling, there's minimal dripping, the fabric feels really nice against the skin (thin and light-weight but not flimsy, soft, no seams except for on the very edges), perfect size for me, and I love the colour too.

It actually gets much cooler again when you stretch it a few times after wearing it for a while, really fascinating! It's different than a regular towel, and different than the microfiber travel towels I've used before too.

I ordered the cheapest one that came up in the search results. It's a set of two, each in a small plastic bottle with a lid, so it's perfect to take with you on the go. Would be nice as gifts too.

I obviously have no idea how they hold up over time, but based on first impressions I'd be happy to recommend them :)

ETA: I think I'll order some more of these! I can imagine wrapping one around each wrist and ankle would feel amazing on a really hot day..!
 
mango said:
Thank you so much, Mij! Very helpful :) They seem to be exactly what I need, and very good ratings and reviews too, overall. I've ordered one now!
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My The Frogg Toggs Chilly Pad Cooling Towel arrived today :) I'm looking forward to trying it out! It says it needs to be properly washed before use, but I don't have the capacity to do that at the moment. (I have to prioritize putting up my mosquito net over my bedroom window, because the first mossies of the summer showed up today!)

This "towel" feels very different than the other one that I tried the other day. It is very rubbery and spongy and thick, doesn't drape very well. Doesn't feel like a towel to me, because it isn't cloth/textile. It feels like a slightly thicker version of a Wettex dishcloth, if you're familiar with those? Or one of those rubber mouse pads?

It arrived wet, and you're supposed to store it wet.

Also, it says on the packaging that the cooling side can cause skin irritation, rash etc? Hmm.

I think maybe this is a different product than yours, @Mij? Google informed me that there is another product called "Frogg Toggs® Chilly Pad® PRO Microfiber Cooling Towel", that looks more like the other one I tried the other day.

Anyway, looking forward to trying it out as soon as I've managed to give it a good wash :)

(Edited to fix spelling mistakes.)
 
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@mango

I'm not sure I have the same one you ordered based on the link you sent. Perhaps they changed the packaging since I bought mine over 8yrs ago. Mine came in a plastic tube like this one I wear it around my neck and upper back lying flat. When the towel warms up I take it off and 'snap' it into the air to cool it off again and re soak it when it gets dry.

mango said:
It feels like a slightly thicker version of a Wettex dishcloth, if you're familiar with those? Or one of those rubber mouse pads?
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Yes, I have a thinner version of this material to wash dishes. The Froggi material is thicker so that it can retain water longer without dripping water on yourself which can make it feel uncomfortable. It might take a little time getting used to it on your skin.

mango said:
I think maybe this is a different product than yours, @Mij? Google informed me that there is another product called "Frogg Toggs® Chilly Pad® PRO Microfiber Cooling Towel", that looks more like the other one I tried the other day.
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This is not the one I have. This looks like a new thinner version.

When I first got mine I just let it soak it a basin of water. I didn't need to 'wash" it.

I hope this works to cool you down and that you don't find the odor of the rubbery material too off putting.
 
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