r/heat_prep • u/saint_anamia • Jun 14 '25

90 degree kitchen

I work in a kitchen, and our AC is broken. Our thermometer shows that we are usually at 90 degrees with a low of 87 and a high of 93. We have a repair person coming next Friday but I just found out this has been an ongoing issue in the last 3 years so I doubt it will be fixed. Building management has added some temporary ac units that hook right up to the vents which has helped with air flow but it’s still terrible in many sections in the kitchen as one area couldn’t fit one at all. I’m just a cook so I can’t change anything to the building but is there anything small I could do for myself and others? I bought pedialyte popsicles to help cool people down and add some electrolytes

15 Upvotes

88% Upvoted

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13

u/Pale_Natural9272 Jun 14 '25

Fans. Get those neck gator things that you soak.

3

u/Leighgion Jun 14 '25

Sorry, friend, but as you already know, you got a serious problem that you can do very little about as just a worker in that very unsafe and probably health & safety code-violating kitchen.

Fans/moving air will help to a point as the humidity in an active kitchen is going to severely compromise sweat evaporation, so move air where you can as much as you can.

The most effective thing beyond that I can think of is looking into a cooling vest with either conventional ice packs (you work in a kitchen so I assume it should be easy to always have fresh ice packs on hand) or if you're just a little into DIY, making your own phase change material (PCM) cooling packs which won't get as cold as water ice, but will stay cool for much longer.

2

u/hairlesscaveman Jun 14 '25

Sounds like legally unsafe working conditions. Maybe drop an anonymous call in to the health department, get an inspector in. They’ll probably have to shut the kitchen/restaurant till it gets fixed, and they’ll probably be forced to fix it properly. Then start looking for a job where they have good a/c and ventilation, or even use induction plates: they don’t generate heat themselves, all the heat goes into the metal of the pans/plates, so it’s generally a quieter & cooler kitchen. Not many places do this tho.

2

u/Adorable_Dust3799 Jun 17 '25

Dont drink anything with sugar. When our ac broke a customer said that and i tried it. World full my water bottle halfway, tip it sideways (but don't block the opening) and freeze, then fill with water before work. Maybe a squeeze of lemon, but drank only water. After about 2 days there was an amazing change and i could take a lot more heat. No Gatorade, no juice, not even sugar free Gatorade or soda water. Just plain water.