Or "How To Survive Summer In Texas."
What do you need to do to take care of yourself and your loved ones during a heatwave? Every year people struggle as the temperatures climb higher, and we dream of when winter will come. There are ways to take care of yourself and your loved ones and make the summer heat bearable, if not enjoyable. These are as much about taking care of your home as taking care of yourself and proper precautions against the temperatures.
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Be Smart Dealing With Heat
` Know when to get a cool shower or hop in the pool to cool off and prevent overheating
Keep Your AC System Working Right.
Ideally, like many other things we've discussed on ARS, you'll have your air conditioning system checked yearly. This can be at the beginning of Summer or come winter. But either way, you want to get it checked and serviced consistently; this way, it doesn't fail in the middle of summer. This includes ensuring that the filters are cleaned regularly, that the units are secure, installed the weather stripping is in good shape, and the part of the unit outside the window isn't clogged up with debris if you have a central AC system. You want to vacuum the dust from the registers and trim vegetation around your outdoor condenser to at least a 2 ft circle around it, in addition to having a professional look at it yearly.
Be Smart When Using A Ceiling Fan.
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A ceiling fan is great for keeping cold air moving and increases how fast your sweat evaporates from your skin. Unfortunately, it's not something you can rely on by itself when temperatures have reached the upper 90s.
Change Up Your Wardrobe
Your wardrobe should reflect not just your personality but also the temperatures around you. by having options that you can switch in and out paste on whether you're better prepared to not melt under the Texas Sun. this should be evident to many of us. Yet, you hear about people passing out because they weren't prepared every year. So ditch the polyester. Transition your wardrobe to cottons, linens, and fabrics that allow your skin to breathe and for air to move around you and keep you cool.
Stay Hydrated!
We know staying hydrated isn't the easiest thing. You're constantly on the go, and plain water is boring for most people. And as you get older, water might not even taste that great; fortunately, there are several different ways that you can get around this without adding sugars or sodas or energy drinks to your diet, all of which are going to dehydrate you rather than keeping you hydrated.
Add fruit to your water.
Adding fruit to your water is one of the best things if your issue is flavor. strawberries, lemons, limes, cherries, oranges, and watermelons. (We believe mint should also be on this list, but sadly it is not a fruit .)
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Add fruits and vegetables to your diet, such as watermelon, strawberries, celery, spinach, and cooked squash. These are amazing options to get more water into your diet without feeling like you're having to chug gallons upon gallons of water. All of them are roughly 90% water, so adding them to your diet, even a fistful here and there throughout the day, means you're taking care of yourself.
Try a smoothie
If you absolutely cannot stand that last option, take some of those and turn them into a smoothie instead. We'll cover a couple of different smoothie options later this month for how to work that into your diet without having to take on a ton of sugar.
Sunscreen Is Amazing
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Every year, a slew of articles talk about the importance of wearing sunscreen and how not doing so can cause wrinkles, age spots, and cancer. At this point, most of us have accepted this as fact, yet many choose to still forego putting it on. Even if you choose to go with a "you only live once" mentality, we can all agree that sunburns suck. Even more importantly, getting a sunburn brings you closer to getting sick from the heat. To avoid both of these things, put on 50 SPF sunscreen before you go out for the day. Throw it on your face, your hands, your shoulders, whatever is exposed, and you're good. If you want more in-depth discussion and research, we advise checking out this great article from two dermatologists over on GoodRx.
Check The Heat And Humidity Daily
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We're not saying that it has to be the first thing you do in the morning, but eating breakfast or getting dressed for the day would be a good time not only to check the high for the day but also the humidity index. How humid the day will be will directly impact how hot you feel, and it can even affect how well you can breathe, depending on how high the humidity is. Much like during winter, you'll see a wind chill of 30 degrees; during the summer, the temperature can be only in the 90s, but that humidity makes it feel like you're well over a hundred and five.
Keep an eye on those at higher risk end know what higher risk means.
Know The Signs Of Heat Illness
Signs of heat illness, according to the CDC, include:
a high body temperature of 103 degrees or higher
Hot red dry, or damp skin
Headache
Fast, strong pulse
Dizziness
Nausea
Confusion
Losing consciousness
Courtesy of RoadLight
These are the signs related to heat stroke specifically. If you or someone near you is experiencing these symptoms, get them inside or under air conditioning immediately end call 911. Do not, give them anything to drink as that can be dangerous at the stage.
We hope that these tips help you in dealing with the heat this summer and that you stay safe whether you're here or traveling. If you have any tips or tricks for dealing with the summer heat we missed, let us know in the comments below or over on our Facebook page.
If your appliances are the ones having trouble with the summer heat and aren't working quite right, that's where we come in. you can reach out to us at ((214) 599-0055) or by going to our contact page. We'll work with you to find a time that suits your schedule and send one of our techs out to solve your appliance problems.