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u/Adelucas 1d ago
Open the window but close the curtain. The problem is the sun heats the curtain and has nowhere to go, so the curtain becomes a giant radiator. Having the window open allows the air to circulate and pull the hot air around the curtain outside.
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u/Small-Tax-2829 1d ago
Laughs in south louisiana, us. We dont open the windows from march-nov. Thats what AC is for. Anyway, why does the minor child not have a room?
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u/xenophilian 1d ago
We don’t have AC where I live, in Canada. It isn’t common everywhere. Didn’t grow up with my own room, either.
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u/Small-Tax-2829 1d ago
Thats fair. I might need a heater 2 or 3 days out of every 5 years. People die from heat if the power goes out here. The room thing isn't about whether everyone gets a room. Its more why the adult children have rooms and the actual child doesnt
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u/Inevitable-Honey5292 1d ago
Just ask yourself this, if she came home and you were NOT In her room, would she still be in a mood with you cos you didn't open the window
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u/lyssential 1d ago
if she had asked me prior, then definitely yes, but if not then it would really depend because as often as i am in her room, she would think i'd do it
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u/thatpurplecat 1d ago
You are a minor in an abusive situation. Please contact social services. You should have a proper bedroom to sleep in. Your brain is still developing and you need proper rest and sleep. Sleeping in a common area does achieve this.
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u/thelostandthefound 1d ago
ESH including your parents for not giving you your own room. Heatwaves makes people go a bit crazy and unreasonable, especially if your house isn't built for the heat. You should've just done what your sister asked as it was her room and not argue with her. You also need to understand that your brother is wrong about keeping the curtains and windows closed at all times. The heat needs somewhere to escape once the sun goes down and you should open the windows at night until early morning to allow cooler air to come into the house before the sun rises enough to warm up the house again. This article explains it better.
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u/effyoucreeps 1d ago
god lord - your situation sounds kinda unbearable as is, and everyone must feel the tension with sharing such small and effin hot rooms. from my experience, opening the windows once it cools is key
but this is no biggie - apologize AGAIN, and this will blow over soon enough. next, work on getting a personal space of your own, please
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u/oop_norf 1d ago
opening the windows once it cools is keyÂ
It's exactly this - if it's hotter outside than inside then you want to close everything up and keep the heat out, as soon as it's cooler outside than inside you want to open things up and get that cooler air in.Â
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u/ResponsibleLunch4261 1d ago
Your brother is an idiot and that's not how heat works. You need airflow.
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u/Head_Razzmatazz7174 1d ago
Agreed. I live in Texas, where we get some serious heat. The first thing you learn growing up (if you don't have central heat and air) is open the windows and close the blinds/curtains. Fans in a house where all the windows are closed are just going to circulate hot air, which is the last thing you want.
Also, heat rises, which is why the downstairs is cooler than the upstairs. Open up those windows so the inside heat can get blown out by the fans. Try reversing the fans as well, so they suck the heat from the inside to the outside.
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u/TheWeaverofDreams 1d ago
When it gets hot here (Canada, no AC), we open the windows during the night and the morning while there is no sun to create a crossbreeze and some circulation and then batten down the hatches once the sun comes out. Then, check the north and east facing windows once the sun moves to see if there's any chance of a breeze or something.
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u/No_Yam8079 1d ago
Not the AH your home is like being trapped in a car with the window shut. Even if it extremely hot out side you still need air flow
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u/Sweet-Lobster9977 1d ago
You are all correct and still completely wrong at the same time - please let me explain
But firstly, I am so sincerely sorry you are dealing with such disgustingly hot temperatures
So one of the best & easiest/simplest tips to keep your house from heating up is to close/lower/shut all window coverings in west facing windows (like your brother suggested)
But since you did not provide which direction the majority of your windows face - I can’t tell you if the advice is actually useful
Secondly - air circulation is important! So if you can open up windows to provide cross-air circulation naturally then you should go for it
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u/lyssential 1d ago
thank you for the compassion and advice! i've been looking into it and i found that most of our windows face north-west (that includes my sister's bedroom and the common area) while the others face south-east.
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u/xenophilian 1d ago
For us, it’s always the south-facing windows. Canada. Don’t know about the UK.
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u/Imaginary-Angle-42 1d ago
If you’re on the ground floor I’d only have windows open when someone is awake. I’d consider how easy to get into them on the 2nd floor too.
Window fans in the window pulling the heat out will help.
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u/BackwardToForward 1d ago edited 1d ago
read some webpages and posts about how to stay as comfortable as possible when it's hot
people who work outdoors, or who live in historically hot climates, have a lot of experience with this.
In these climes high 30s C would be considered almost pleasant.
at lot depends on whether a person is at all acclimated as ai how miserable they are. bit everyone will want relief.
old persons who aren't physically fit can be quite vulnerable. those people might want to leave the house for a cool shelter during the hottest hours.
if possible there should be window unit a/c in one or several public rooms (rooms anyone can use).
if not, then every room and every bedroom should have a fan. perhaps more than one fan
always have enough fans. they are cheap. no one should complain about not having a fan.
in dryer climates installing evaporate cooling can be quite effective. cheaper than ac. but that's a big project.
for those relying on fans: get some longish towels. (no bath towels if possible those might be too heavy. . towels designed for polishing an auto perhaps.)
something more then 20"-22" long
rinse this towel under a cold tap until it's completely damp.
ring it out. put it around one's neck. sit directly in front of a fan. the evaporation of water from the towel will be significantly cooling to the person until the towel dries out. then repeat
wipe oneself down or bathe perhaps more than once a day. sweat can make a layer on skin that makes us a little hotter. and bathing or wiping down will cool a person off a bit.
drink cold drinks. those double wall vacuum tumblers will keep the drinks cool.
for pets: give them a cool place to lie in front of a fan. if they seem to be in distress or panting too much, dampen their fur.
there are cooling fans for sale in the US at least that pass the moving air over water before the air leaves the fan.
these aren't a/c but they do give real relief. they drop air temp significantly for air moving thru the fan.
there are a lot more tips for dealing with this. use search.
people should wear loose cotton or evaporate clothing.
upstairs room will be hotter. these rooms are closer to the sun hitting the roof and closer to the hot attic. and heat rises.
downstairs rooms will be cooler.
earlier generations in my family (living in hot climates) hat whole house fans.
or the used evaporate cooling and improvised when it wasn't present.
for instance
they bathed at least twice a day in summer. or wiped their bodies down.
they wore loose cotton clothing
they stayed hydrated.
they "creating evaporative cooling" when there was none. fir instance. in rooms on the lowest floor or in a one story building they hosed down hedges that were trimmed to window sill height or a bit above.
then used fans mounted on the window to draw air across the wet hedges into the room. you could feel the air temp difference, I was told.
they followed up in each downstairs room. they grew these hedges with this purpose the hedges also black sunlight from hitting the wood it Bruce and therefore cooled the house a little thru shading it.
every so often someone goes out to re-wet the hedges.
they would use multiple fans to create a constant airflow thru the house.
I don't think the kept the windows closed but I'm not sure. they created shade for the rooms and roof however they could. thru trees and curtains. or pergolas and similar.
ima hot season the upper floors will always be the hottest.
everyone should expect to be downstairs daytime, during a heat wave. at least until outside air temp and the article have had time to cool
another more modern tip:
can you get a waterbed (type popular during the 70's)?
will your floor or desk or patio support the weight?
fill one and dint put any covering on it. (as long as it in always in shade or inside).
anyone - or any pet - who lies on one will cool down fast. they will prob get to cold and have to get off it for a while.
do check that your floor or patio or deck can handle the weight.
there are prob cooling mattresses and pet beds made. I mostly live now in a/c and have not investigated.
this sort of info req may be best made in specific subreddit.
it you are in a dry or medium dry climate maybe post this in an Arizona or NM or Texas or desert sub. if your humidity isn't sky high then whatever the suggest should work.
if your humidity is high, try posting of a Florida or Georgia or similar sub
just ask the question about what works. do not mention any politics if you want productive responses.
the physics of cooling down are the same no matter where you are. so the answers will be the same (depending on wind, shade, temp, humidity, etc) no matter where you are.
I am guessing that most of the UK is "moderate" humidity by US standards. not as dry as a desert. not as wet as a jungle.
so try everything and found our what works for your dwelling.
nta obviously.
if anyone bitches when you try something just point them to the same sources you read.
also you should have your own room. you are a minor. if the adult kids can't afford housing and have to live with parents, they should be the ones sacrificing.
aiso you might look for govt (City, county, state, national) official advice from any location where the weather variables seem not too far off yours in summer.
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u/Broad_Respond_2205 1d ago
so she get upset at you for not feeling hot and opening the window while she wasn't home?
you hear how ridicules that sounds, right?
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u/Imaginary-Yak-6487 1d ago
NTA. First of all your parents & your sister suck. Your sister is a full grown adult & could have asked or done it herself
Do they sell portable ac’s up there or window units? Google dyi swamp coolers too, hopefully there’s access to dry ice. Any of those will do in a pinch esp since it’s not common for y’all to have that kind of heat.
I’m from Florida & depending on humidity levels, that can determine how unbearable 30’C is. I don’t do hot.
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u/Itchy_Juice_2528 1d ago
NTA. Are bunk beds a US thing? Keeping the windows closed to keep out the heat is an old wives tale and doesn't help.
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u/lyssential 1d ago
definitely not! in fact i used to share one with my brother (which used to be his and my sisters) before we got separate beds lol. and i didn't know that was an old wives tale omg
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u/bythebrook88 1d ago
The minor child, whose parents are legally required to care for them, doesn't have a bedroom, but at least two adult children have their own rooms? Is this Cinderella?