Tuesday, June 8, 2010

At least it's a dry heat

It is so hot. It's only the beginning of June and yesterday it was 87 degrees in our house, all day long. Swamp coolers work here, very well; the climate is incredibly dry and there are no issues with mold. And they don't cost very much. We are scrimping every penny but I'm beginning to think that installing a swamp cooler, if we can do it for like $600, would be worth it, even if it means our savings won't last quite as long. Because we are both dying in this house right now, and summer hasn't even officially started.

Damn it, why didn't we do this LAST summer when we had two incomes and could have easily afforded the expense? Then right now the house would be cool and the money would be long gone and we wouldn't miss it.

But having a cool house would be worth every single one of the sacrifices we've already made. The trips we haven't taken, the meals out we haven't eaten, the stuff we haven't bought, the Christmas bracelet I returned, the concerts we haven't attended, the luxury groceries we haven't cooked with. The too-big clothes, the siding and windows that need to be replaced, the trips to the library and months-long waiting lists for books I'm dying to read, the budgeting, oh the FREAKING budgeting.

It adds up to way more than $600 in savings, WAY more, and I would happily keep doing it for as long as I need to, and possibly even after that, if only it didn't feel like my body was on fire every time I stepped away from the fan even for a second, and I could touch my husband when we were lying in bed at night without both of us feeling like we're going to melt on the spot.

It is just so HOT in here. I can't even remember how I survived living in Senegal for five months, with even hotter conditions, and more humidity, and certainly no AC, and only the crappiest of fans. I survived, I did, but I also sweated like nuts. And there was an end in sight. And apparently I'm wimpier now.

And the funny thing is, I LIKE the heat. I hated the heat in North Carolina where it was intolerably humid round the clock, but I like it here in Denver where it's nice and dry. Really, I do. But I like it outside my house. I want the house to be a nice cool sanctuary. I want to step in the house and feel noticeably cooler air compared to outside. And I don't. There is hardly a difference between inside and out. Except at night, when it's hotter inside, even with all the windows open and the ceiling fans on.

Is it worth $600 to have a cool house? Objectively speaking, absolutely. But when you have no money and you carefully consider every dollar before spending it? Then it's a harder question.

In the meantime, I'll be camped out in front of the fan.

25 comments:

  1. Yuck. I hope it cools down a little soon.

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  2. Oh that's awful. We don't have central air either, and when I was on vacation (read: HOME for the first time in EVER for 24 hours a day if I wanted) it was in the mid-90s ALL WEEK. It was HOT in our house. Maddie and I ate a lot of popsicles.

    If you can spare the expense I would do it, just for the comfort of sleeping easily. It's so miserable when you can't even do that.

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  3. I would definitely consider sparing the expense, if for no other reason than so you don't start resenting Torsten for it. Not wasting money eating out or traveling is one thing - not being comfortable in your own home is another.

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  4. I have no advice on the swamp cooler, I don't know much about them so can't say if I think it's worth it. How's the basement during the day? We were moving things up for the garage sale last weekend and I couldn't believe how cool our basement was.

    It's cooler today and this weekend looks downright chilly! Open the windows as long as you can!

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  5. Ugh. I feel your pain. My first apartment was sharing an old house with three other people and there was no air conditioning. I had a water bed at the time and even the water in that felt hot at night. I took a LOT of cold showers.

    $600 is a lot, but it's something you will use for years, so...I dunno.

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  6. I have no air conditioning and no cross breeze and I'm wondering if I can survive a second Chicago summer--plus we have humidity. I say buy the swamp cooler--you don't want to be miserable in your own house all summer, especially since you work from home.

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  7. Hey Jess, are you hot? ;)

    I forgot how dry it is in Denver. My "stuck my finger in a light socket" hair remembers though! Go for the swamp cooler. Being hot is awful. It makes me so cranky. That said, I've forgotten what hot is since we've had 22 of the last 23 days with rain. On target to be the rainiest June on record, and May was the 3rd wettest. Oh Portland.

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  8. ugh, i hear ya! we're in ft. c. and it's humid (to me) and hot. my husband for some reason found it necessary to get an air conditioner and NEVER USE IT. it's taunting me. at least there was wind last night to blow through the house...oh yes, and severe thunderstorms

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  9. It's been something like 95 degrees here every day for the past week (although it really only gets that hot from about 2-4) but it gets cooler at night, and we have three $20 box fans in the windows that we turn on the second the air temp outside is cooler than inside, and it makes a HUGE difference. We haven't had to turn on the AC yet. If it gets cooler at night there, like it does here in Sacramento, this can be a really good strategy.

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  10. I had to find a converter to tell me what 87 degrees is, and yes, you are wimpy. I've never understood the American obsession with air conditioners. My converter told me 87 as about 30 degrees C, and except for the last couple of days, it hasn't gone below 30 in Montreal since mid May. People here love this shit. They'll start whining a bit once it gets up to 40 and stays there for a month or two, but still only the most wealthy, money-wasting Canadians have air conditioners.

    Suckers.

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  11. i can deal with a hot house during the day (i mean, not HAPPILY, but i can) but at night I CANNOT DO IT. i cannot sleep when i'm all hot and awful and uncomfortable and sweaty and NO NO NO NO.

    which is to say, i hope you find a way to get the swamp cooler :-)

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  12. Last summer, we sweat our butts off at a baseball game. Sweets used the term Swamp Crotch. I didn't know what he was talking about until everyone got up and started walking. It was pretty funny at that point. '

    I don't know how you do it (other than by force). It's one thing when you can just lay around in the heat. It's another thing when you have to be productive and work all day through the worst of the heat.

    I can't answer the $600 question for you. But, also make sure to add in any additional energy costs (extra electricity to run the thing, extra water on your bill, etc.) when thinking about making that investment.

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  13. Definitely worth it. I get super cranky in the summer. I HATE being hot. I hate worrying about my kids being hot while the sleep. Air conditioning, or some sort of cooling is not optional for me. Plus, this isn't just a one summer investment. $600 over the life of the swamp cooler - priceless.

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  14. Six hundred sounds like a bargain. It is going to be about $6000.00 to replace our ailing AC, but at least I can keep it around 80 in my house. 87 just seems like too much.

    This might be a REALLY good thing to get done before pregnancy/baby time rolls around.

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  15. Get thee to the AC store and buy one! Seriously. It's a quality of life issue.

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  16. I'm used to the very hot, very dry summer heat in Montana (which we're FINALLY experiencing a little of).

    What I couldn't stand was Phoenix. I spent a summer there when I was 12, and it NEVER dropped below 100 degrees. The family I stayed with had AC, but the second you walked outside it was like you were suffocating.

    Hope you feel cooler soon!

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  17. I cannot live without A/C. I am not kidding.
    Granted, it's about 100% humidity here every freaking day, but I cannot live with A/C. Did I mention that already?

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  18. Hardly anyone in this area has AC because during the non-summer months we completely forget about the heat. But it can get pretty hot here during the summer and our apartment is unbearable. Luckily we live across the street from a movie theater, Barnes and Noble, Target and several other businesses, so that's our little getaway. But we can't sleep there! :-P I sleep with the windows wide open even in the dead of winter, and I still get hot. Summer's are awful for sleeping.

    GET THE SWAMP COOLER. It's totally worth your sanity.

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  19. It's been hot and humid here, but our house is very well-shaded from huge trees, so our house hasn't been too bad. If you think you can swing it, get something for relief. I personally am not a fan of a/c (we didn't turn it on at all last summer), so that swamp cooler looks like an interesting alternative.

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  20. I think that would be a great investment for you, because it'll last you not just this year but all the years you are here in CO. When you expense it out over a couple years it winds up being a good choice :) Plus, your comfort is important!

    I'm so thankful that 1. it's dry heat and 2. my apartment never gets direct sun. We don't have central air either and it gets hot and uncomfortable upstairs but stays cool downstairs. I hope this continues throughout the summer.

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  21. I can't even imagine. I start getting incredibly crabby when I'm overheated and this is just the beginning of summer. Honestly? This is something I would invest in AND then just make up for it later. You guys are good savers - why wait until summer is over?

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  22. Is it worth $600? That and more! Can you get some of the cost back from tax if you're working from home - it's partly so you can work in a cool office environment? Even if you can't (not sure of US tax law) I still say go for it.

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  23. Before you get the swamp cooler, try to take advantage of the Denver weather, which usually gets to reasonable temps overnight. Get some box fans for the windows (if you don't already have them), especially your bedroom. Run them on the "in" setting (pulling air in from the outside) as soon as it's cooler outside than inside, then turn them off by about 8AM when it's getting hot out again. Then, work to keep that cool air in-- close the windows and shades during the day. Using this technique, we stay noticeably cooler inside.

    Of course, take this with a grain of salt, as we're in Denver and are itching to get our broken AC fixed as soon as we can!

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  24. I grew up in the south (TX) without a/c. We did, however, have a swamp cooler and it didn't do that great of a job. Granted it is always 90-100% humidity here, with 100+ degree temps (and 110+ heat indexes).

    Another suggestion: how about a room/window unit a/c? You could buy a small one for around $100-$200, invest in a few extra fans, and only run the a/c when you feel like you absolutely need it (like at night).

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