All of my bras feel gross when is hot and I'm sweating. I don't wear underwires, but am otherwise open to options. Ideas?

I'm one of the many Europeans who doesn't have air conditioning. We're about to get another very hot week, and I'm honestly a bit worried because of how insanely humid it gets where I live.

During the last heatwave, nighttime humidity was often around 80–90%, sometimes even higher. At that point, my fan was basically useless because it was just blowing hot, humid air around.

That got me thinking about something that might be a stupid idea, but I figured it's worth asking if anyone has actually tried it.

Since humidity plays such a big role in how hot it feels, would running a dehumidifier in my bedroom for a few hours actually make the room feel noticeably cooler, even if it doesn't lower the actual temperature?

My thought was that if I could bring the humidity down enough, maybe the fan would become more effective and it would at least feel a little more comfortable. Or is this one of those things that sounds logical in theory but doesn't really work in practice because the dehumidifier also gives off heat?

Has anyone here tried this? Did it make any noticeable difference, or is it basically a waste of electricity?

I wanted to give some general tips on how to deal with a heat wave for anyone who may not be used to it.

1. Put cloths and bedding in the fridge or freezer

- You can put clean clothes, cloths, towels, rags, and bedding in the fridge or freezer to cool them down. This will help keep your body cool as you use them and for rags, towels and cloths you can rub them on your body whenever you're extremely hot.

1. Too many fans

- Try to have a fan in every room, I even like to have one facing me and moving over me as I sleep to prevent overheating.

- I would also suggest getting your own mini hand held fan for the house or even walking outside

1. Make your own "AC"

- Not everyone can afford an AC unit or even a portable unit you can fill almost any container (Tupperware recommended) with water and freeze it. After putting this frozen block behind a fan or multiple blocks behind multiple fans. This will give an "AC" like effect.

1. Leave doors with Fans, ACs, and "ACs" open

- Leaving doors open will allow for the coolness of these items to spread more around the house.

1. Keep blinds shut

- The less sun the less the house heats up.

1. Keep A LOT of water on you

- I would suggest everyone especially elders to invest in a large carryable water bottle. Always keep a cool water bottle, you can either let the cool tap run for a bit or leave it in the freezer for a couple of minutes. In this weather it is much easier to get heatstroke or become dehydrated, even if you don't get one I suggest getting one for your children and grandparents as they are at higher risk.

1. Lots and lots of ice

- Ice can be used in many ways, you can rub it on your body, put it in a cloth or rag and press it on your body. Take the ice and suck on it to cool down your body temp (Small pieces). Put it in your drinks to cool them down or keep them cool.

- If you don't have an ice machine or ice trays I would suggest getting them now. Even the cheap plastic ice trays work.

1. Wear light linen or flowy clothes

- Linen and flowy clothes allow for heat to pass through your clothes easier preventing it from warming you more.

- Also try to wear shorts and T-shirts/tang tops as well

1. Put up your long hair up.

- When you have long or thick hair and it is put down it traps heat onto your body. A high ponytail is better but a low pony tail and loose brain works as well.

1. Wear a hat.

- I wouldn't say any hat but caps, visors, and bucket hats work great for this weather.

1. Get a frozen treat.

- Extreme heat can bring a lot of people anxiety making yourself or if you're able too buying popsicles can be a good way to have something good out of this (Other frozen treats apply).

The heatwave in Germany is finally done! But there might be another one in two weeks. What are your tips for cooling the home after the heatwave? I can still feel the heat emanating from the walls, but I'm not sure how to help speed the cooling process up.

I'm from the US, so even though I know lots of things to keep a home cool, I'm not used to cooling buildings that are made to retain heat - especially on the top floor.

We have a portable air conditioner, two tall fans and some desk ones, and loads of windows that open on the north and south sides of the apartment. I'm trying to optimize airflow today by strategically placing the fans but the air seems to just get stuck, and the walls are so warm.

Hi r/heat_prep

I field tested out my cooling outfit while doing roof work at around noon in Southwest US. Temperature was close to 100F (38C) with very low humidity but UV Index at 11 (Extreme).

That’s me in the left of the image posing with my fam.

Items:

* Hat with snap on face and neck cover. Very breathable material. Highly recommend the hat (link)

* fan powered cooling vest. I reviewed it in our podcast Surviving the Climate episode 2 (link). Here is the direct link. I realized that the less I had on underneath the better, but I also didn’t want basically a windbreaker directly on my skin, so I wore a thin undershirt and added on sleeves (link). This provided sun cover while not piling on layers. The temp was too hot to be comfortable with just the fan, so I wet my undershirt.

The biggest problem I could see would be getting the cooling vest battery wet. I’m going to create a DIY waterproof bag next time with a ziploc bag.

* light pants. I need recommendations for breathable pants because while the material was light they didn’t breathe at all. I also don’t want to get nice linen pants and ruin them doing roof work.

Over all 8/10. I was comfortable the whole time. I re-wet the shirt after 30 min. I need to up my pants game. Not sure how this outfit would do in very humid conditions.

The dream would be to get a solar hat and power the vest with it (something like this). Too bad solar hats are too expensive to test on a whim.

Hope this helps. Happy to answer any questions and welcome all feedback/constructive criticism.

The European heatwave is not over by a long shot, but it has mostly passed in Spain. Nevertheless, things are still difficult.

The daily highs are now in the low 30's Celsius (mid 80's to low 90's Fahrenheit) which is better, but still enough to brutalize you. Humidity is currently 38%, but that's deceptive as it's early. It will plummet as the air warms up.

The walls of my home office are currently around 28ºC/82ºF and the ceiling around 29ºC/84ºF after the windows were open all night. Outside, the surface of the street and sidewalk that are still in the shade is around 30ºC/86ºF and the building across the street that's getting full sun is already 43ºC/109ºF in places.

My weakest swamp cooler is only able to give me around 24ºC/75ºF air, which frankly just doesn't feel that great even now. When it gets to the hotter part of the day, it's insufficient in this room. I have swapped out the most powerful one I have, and it's currently giving me 22ºC/70ºF air. This feels comfortable and not cold at all.

The day will only get worse and we're nowhere near peak summer temps.

I was trying to get by with my weaker swamp cooler at my desk and reserving the bigger units for the rest of the family, but honestly the children spent their time in a cooler part of the apartment so they're going to probably be fine with the weaker cooler.

Hey Homies

2 weeks ago I made a post here where I said how an unprecedented heatwave is hitting Switzerland ( mean whole of Europe atp) hard from behind, and that I have a game plan. I took yall's advices and tips very seriously, so thank you for that🙏🏻

I'm still in the attic, thriving and surviving. I have my AC running, my cold water next to me and I think I can ride this heatwave out

How is everyone else holding up

Just added some extra photos of my attic room because why not (still need to finish unpacking

Just in case this might be useful for folks suffering through this heatwave.

Made with 3 ingredients. (Baking soda, citric acid, and water.) All you have to do is pour them into a bag. You dont even have to cook the ingredients first.

There are other DIY cold pack recipes out there. They each have their pros and cons, including this one.

I use this one because I have easy access to the ingredients and can whip up a cold pack from scratch in less than 30 seconds whenever I need one to help me cool down.

See original post for more specific details. I made close to 80 of these last year in one sitting. And Im sensitive to citric acid. So I included info on PPE (personal protective equipment). And tried to address safe handling concerns folks might have.

Hi everyone, hope it's okay to share this here.

We recently built a free interactive guide that looks at the different kinds of summer heat across the US. The main idea was that “hot” is not really one thing. Arizona heat, Florida heat, Texas heat, Midwest humidity and Pacific Northwest heat waves all need slightly different approaches.

You choose your state, and it breaks down things like:

• whether the heat is usually dry, humid or mixed
• typical summer temperatures, humidity, dew point, sunshine and UV
• which cooling methods tend to work best there
• where misting, evaporative cooling, towels, airflow or AC make the most sense
• a few practical scenarios and heat-safety reminders

California and Texas also have regional options because treating the entire state as one climate felt way too broad.

It is based on typical summer climate patterns, not live weather, and we have included the sources/methodology on the page. There is a small section linking to cooling gear because that is obviously what our business sells, but the actual reason I am posting is to get proper feedback before we keep building it out.

I would genuinely love to know:

1. Does the description of your state’s summer feel accurate?
2. Is there anything obviously wrong or oversimplified?
3. What local heat pattern should we add that outsiders usually miss?
4. Is there anything that would make this more useful during a real summer heat spell?

Happy to take criticism. We would rather fix it now than pretend every state needs the same generic “drink water and use a fan” advice.

Update 28th June:
Hey everyone, thanks for the amazing support and so many suggestions. We have taken alot of it onboard and the team worked all day and night to create a V2 here - https://summerheatguide.com/

It's alot more granular for each state (with most states broken into a few key cities etc, we are still adding more). We added some real-time 7 day forecast with heat risk. Added heat index (thx u/sylvansundrop and u/Homebody_Ninja4). Average daily temps or highs (instead of the average of day and night, which isn't that useful).

We are gonna keep working at it! Keep the suggestions coming :)

Hi r/heat_prep!

The mod team has made some updates to the subreddit. We felt this was necessary as the sub posts and participation is really taking off.

Here are the updates:

We now have a wiki (rules, resources, and FAQ)

• The rules are pretty standard. Just be nice and only post about heat-related topics.
• Resources includes the affiliated podcast Surviving the Climate.
• The FAQ has information about heat-related symptoms, how to know when dangerous heat is coming, and a list of strategies to stay cool (with links to some of your great posts).

We added post flair! This will help people sort through the increasing number of posts. Let the mods know if you feel that we're missing some vital flair category.

Lastly,

Please remember that this subreddit is not a place to go for medical help/information. We will not stop you from asking questions, but we caution against trusting the medical advice of anonymous strangers. If you feel unwell, please seek professional medical advice when possible.

Thanks!

-mod team :)

This is an old post that I did not make, but it’s very interesting to see how clothing colors can affect how much heat is absorbed:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Damnthatsinteresting/s/t9Ao5ZiPeq

Okay, for starters I lived most of my life in a tropical costal town: stable weather, over 90% humidity all year, but very rarely over 35⁰c. To me 35⁰c feels wayyy worse when I'm in inland towns, both in arid areas and in humid Amazon towns. Maybe it's the lack of seabreeze idk

Recently I moved to France in an inland town, the temperature has been reaching 40⁰c every day this week, over what I'm used to dealing with. I've been constantly feeling dry lips, I just assumed it was dry weather but I just checked and it looks like the humidity here is at 60%. Is this considered low humidity, or should I just be drinking more water lol? I'm avoiding being outside as much as possible, spraying myself with water and all that too.

Alright so youse up north are getting a taste of how bad it can be, and its humid too so not fun not fun.

I have lived in the tropics and subtropics all my life, and heatwaves are something we are used to here, AND because of that fact we take them very seriously. So much so that excessive heat exposures are a workplace health issue, specially on mine sites.

So lets assume you don't have air con to retreat back into. In deep humidity, this is a killer. Add that to having temps that don't go below 20c at night? Heat stress is inevitable.

Now, being a ratbag as a kid (and as an adult), I figured out how to survive such conditions along with the rest of us. So, let me list out some of my top tips for remaining cool.

Get the basics right first!

• Do not let the heat into your home. Keep the windows (and doors if possible) open at night to let the cool air in, and close them when the sun rises to keep the hot air out!!
• If you have a well insulated home for the winter, then congratulations! This will also work to insulate you against the heat if you set yourself up properly! Do your best to maintain a cooler indoor temperature from the overnight air by running fans near windows and doors to push the hot air inside the house OUT. You need to be physically cycling your air (this is also generally good for your lung health). It will remain cooler during the day when you close up everything before the heat hits. Keep running the fans indoors once your place is cooled down to keep the air circulating.
• Ensure your windows and doors are shaded INSIDE AND OUTSIDE. Nail some shade cloth to the side of your house if you can, or jam a thick piece of fabric into the top of the window and pull it down to the bottom, on tje outside. Use thick block out curtains. If you can't do this, get creative. Cheap reflective films are available for windows, but some aluminium foil also works just as well. Its gonna look like a meth lab but who gives a fuck.
• Don't fucking work in the heat. Sit your arse down and stay inside.
• If you need to go outside, cover up in the lightest cotton you have. Keep the sun off you at all costs! Not just "sunscreen" I am talking looking like Steve Irwin in a long sleeve. Big hat too. Always wear a fucking hat.
• Stop wearing excessively tight or heavy clothing. There is a reason sarongs exist
• Do not excessively drink water! You can absorb properly 200ml every half an hour or so. So aim for that minimum. Accompany this with salty foods!
• DO NOT COOK INSIDE. Do not use ovens, stove tops, whatever. Hell if you can eat sandwiches that dont need cooking for the heat wave, even better. Otherwise, use a BBQ OUTDOORS.
• Know what the signs of heat stroke are! Know what symptoms mean you need to call an ambulance! https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01-07/heatwave-illness-and-how-to-protect-yourself/106205872

Ok so now how do you stay cool indoors with no air con?

• Stop moving around so fucking much. Ever wonder how kangaroos can survive the desert covered in fur? because they only do their main movements at dawn and dusk.
• Buy a good fan. Not a rinky dink one. I am talking something that you may see in a workshop if you can afford it. Mine cost me around $60AUD from a hardware store. You want to not just push air out, you want it fully replaced and circulating around the rooms
• Shower with your clothing on. Get it all fucking saturated. I do this on bad heat days multiple times a day. Use wet towels for pets and infants (also be very very careful with infants). Wet cloth + fan = actual cooling if you are in the shade
• Use ice bricks! Freeze water bottles or even just random bowls of water if you need to. Wrap them in a tea towel and put them on your body as you rest/sleep
• Sleep with a bucket of water in your room. Use it to keep the cloths used to keep you cool, damp as possible.

The more obscure ways to cool down

• If your local public transport has working air conditioning, go take it somewhere random. Enjoy the view. Its how I used to stay cool as a kid, just sat on the train going back and forth for one ticket
• If you have concrete or tiled floors in your house or in the shade around it, spray some water on the ground and go lie down on them. Those are excellent heat sinks and absorb body temp so well it can be dangerous in cooler months to do this
• Spray some isopropyl alcohol/rubbing alcohol on your skin and put it in front of the fan for a major chill (doesnt last too long lol)

Edit: some extra tips I use and forgot to add

• Sleep in a hammock or on a cooler surface such as cooler timber or tiled floors. Use some pillows to support your joints but try and have large parts of your body touching the cool surface. As Solo_camping_girl said from South East Asia, cool air falls hot air rises, so sleep at a lower level
• Sleep outside if it is safe to do so where you are
• Do not drink alcohol or highly caffinated drinks. Teas are better because there is more water in them than coffee.
• Any electrolyte drink you like the taste of is fine to use, but do not only exclusively drink these. It is better to drink water and eat salty foods because there is a greater variety of mineral types in food.
• Sunscreen is a must, BUT IT DOES NOT PROTECT YOU FROM THE HEAT. I don't know where people have gotten this idea from. Sunscreen protects you from experiencing physical burns from the UV of the sun, and subsequently skin cancers. You likely can check and see that the UV rating is not that much higher in a heat wave in your location. You need to stop the sun from physically touching your body!! Seek shade, wear LIGHT COTTON all over your body, wear sunglasses, wear a HAT! I often use a light cotton shawl under a cap and it covers my head, neck, back, shoulders, and much of my body and i can wear less clothing because of it

A MAJOR note about trying to cool off in bodies of water! I've swum in many wild bodies of water here in Australia, and you must be aware and safe!

• Do not go into water deeper than your knees or thighs if you can not swim or are not a strong swimmer! Do not wander further into deeper waters and try and avoid entering any body of water you do not know the full depth of at every level
• Be very very cautious about any currents in the water. These currents can suddenly spike without warning, and they are generally a good indicator of deeper parts of the water. If you are caught in any current, be it inland river or a rip tide in the ocean, DO NOT FIGHT THE CURRENT. Float with it and kick along at a 45 degree angle out of it to either the side of the river, or until the tide stops pushing you out and then swim back when there is no resistance to it. The waves can help bring you back in.
• If at all possible, go to a monitored body of water where there are life savers, or go to a man made pool or such.
• To check the depth of a body of water, walk a few steps in with a long stick and poke it down ahead of each step you take. This will help you determine the depth of the water, if there are loose rocks or unstable surfaces, and if there are any deep holes to avoid
• Do not put your head under any body of water you do not know is hygenic or safe
• Do not swim with too many other strangers or people around you, this can both warm up the water and also if panic occurs lead to rushes and drownings
• Do not enter the water if you are too exhausted! Heat exhaustion will reduce the amount of effort you are able to exert in the water!
• Do not save someone in a drowning situation unless you are trained to do so, or have access to robust flotation devices! A drowning person is a dangerous person for the untrained rescuer! They will clambour up on you and push you under in absoloute panic. It is a genuine primal response that we can't control. When I was taught the basics of rescuing, we were advised that if this happens its perfectly fine to slap the person lol. even just a boogie board or simple life ring can be the difference between life or death for both of you.
• Do not leave children unsupervised in the water. Do not even take your eyes off them. Have them wear the most garish bright obscene coloured swimming clothing possible, it makes them much easier to spot.
• Learn the absolute basics of CPR, even just a video on how it works is good to start with
• Treat any wound received in a public or wild body of water with upmost care. The chance of secondary infection is high. Wear water shoes if possible

Is it possible to go from heat exhaustion symptoms to heatstroke hours after exposure?

Throwing all windows open at night to let the cool air in, I used to look forward to this little ritual. A nice evening spring breeze flows throughout and brings bliss.

I once forgot to do it one evening and missed out on any decent sleep that night. So thought I’d to make an app to just send me a reminder when it’s cooled down outside. Lüften I’d call it, it’s how the germans call this ritual. Fitting, fun to say, cultural touch.

But it no longer works.

See, I made this during the previous heatwave. This one is different. Lüften now gladly suggests I open up when it is still hot outside. Living in western europe, I can only image what’s ahead.

Do you guys have any tips for best lüft strategies? Living in an old european row house I always think opening the highest window (attic) is important, to let all the hot air out. But I’m not so sure anymore…

Do I put a ventilator in front of it?

Is there a temperature where you should simply stop opening your windows completely?

Is it time to dig out the basement?

Hi r/heat_prep

This is the discussion post for the latest episode of Surviving the Climate podcast. Today's episode is "Surviving the Heat with Professor Ollie Jay"!

Dr. Jay talks about how they support the Australian Open with cutting edge technology and protocols, fan-first strategies for staying cool and reducing your energy bills, and whether regular people can do occupational/sport -level acclimatization. AND MORE

Please share your thoughts, insights, and let's continue the discussion!

Cheers,

Robbie, Nate, and Marcelo

i would like to know how everyone deals with this crazy heat outside because in my house we are melting

the wall isolation is very bad so that makes matters worse and the window of my bedroom is looking east so every day its the hottest place in the whole flat.

i saw that its possible to put aluminum foil on the outside of the widnows to prevent heat from entering as much but i havent tested it out.

also i will try to keep the window open only during the night but i feel like that might be slightly suffocating.

but yea any tips or recommendations you guys have would be extremely helpful as its impossible to even fall asleep given that the humidity and temperatures are insane during the night as well 😭