Beat the Heat

Time to beat the heat!

Remember when the weather was like this?

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Me neither…
Summer is in full swing and this heat is not letting up. Here are a few Harbourview tips and tricks to beat the heat this summer.

Get to the source:
When you’re over heating your body reacts by sweating. Your skin gets cooler as the water from your sweat evaporates. When our crews are out working up a sweat and it still isn’t enough, we encourage them to cool to the core by running their hands and wrists under cold water. It will quickly cool the large amounts of blood that pass through these appendages and in turn cool your core. Applying a cool wet cloth to you neck or forehead will have a similar effect.

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Speaking of Sweat…
Beat the heat by making your own artificial sweat. When you know it’s going to be a scorcher, brew a pot of peppermint tea, then cool it in the fridge. Once it’s cooled off add some ice and put it in a spray bottler/mister. When sprayed on the skin the cooling sensation from the menthol will change your life. Drinking chrysanthemum tea has been shown to lower your body temperature as well. Much like over the counter medication can help break a fever.

Time for bed?
I don’t know why I haven’t tried this before. If you have some extra room in your freezer, gather up your bedding, fold them and place them into plastic bags. Now place the bags into your freezer a few hours before bed. I do the opposite in the winter by putting my bedding in the dryer to heat them up; this is a no brainer.

Hot car solution:
It’s a real shock to get out of an air conditioned grocery store only to get into an oven on wheels. The air inside your car on those hot days can rise to dangerous temperatures. Here’s a trick that will quickly beat the heat in your car before the air conditioning kicks in. Roll down one window all the way. Now rapidly open and close (watch your fingers) the opposite door. The rapid change in air pressure will expel the hot air while pulling in the cooler air from outside. It won’t be an ice box, but it won’t boil you like an egg either.

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Give these a try to beat the heat this year. Remember to keep your kids and pets out of those hot cars. Stay hydrated, and stay cool.

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