Heat Wave
The morning should be cool as the sun begins greeting those who shine in the glaze. This would be a perfect time to water your outdoor plants, lawn or flowers. This not only saves the plants from being dehydrated, it also is better due to the fact that watering a plant in blazing sun can indeed kill that plant in short time. It is smarter to water an outdoor plant before the determined sun reaches high temperatures. After this one can also do some preparations inside of the home such as replacing ice trays so that the ice box is full and all trays are full of water ready to freeze. Why do this? Heat waves sometimes cause havoc for the electric company and there are those times when the electric goes out due to a heat wave. The ice will be ready in case that may occur later that day. Just remember to keep emptying the ice once they are frozen until a large amount of ice is at your disposal. Making sure that you have enough batteries in case of the loss of electric is another intelligent task to complete as well as making sure that you are stocked up on toilet paper and other needs. This would be a nice way to prepare for the day.
Morning walks encouraged for many reasons. Dogs have hair that can make it warmer for them and just as you, they can become overheated in long walks in high temperatures. Be good to them and yourself by walking them in the am hours. For the walker with sensitive skin, this may be idea for you as well. It only takes ten minutes in a blazing sun by simply walking to gain sun exposure. If you have children that need the exercise, it is advised to walk the child in the am hours as well. Placing sunscreen upon the child, parent or caregiver is not out of the question in the am hours.
All things accomplished in the morning meaning all laundry, cleaning and daily chores whether inside or out should be on everyones list of things to do in the morning hours. When doing the chores in the morning, not only are you being good to your appliances, you are doing much favors for yourself. If you wish not to do laundry in the morning, they can do this at night since it costs less to do laundry after 9 pm in most areas. The sunlight can draw heat out of a body and lower energy levels in a person. If one waits until the afternoon to do chores, they are pushing themselves if they are tired which is not good for any person. Also if doing chores outside, one avoids the heat of the afternoon.
It is all about the morning when it comes to a heat wave for the rest of the day should be focused on lighter things. Another idea for the morning is if you have to go shopping for groceries. Purchase your groceries before the sun hits that pavement and make sure that you pick up any batteries or needs that may help in case of the loss of electricity. Paper plates, disposable cups, plastic forks or spoons and a couple cans of food such as tuna fish. Peanut butter, bread and chips makes for a great fast non cooking lunch. Purchasing fruits and vegetables can help the body maintain the regulation of temperature in a body. You are what you eat and digesting a steak sandwich that is dripping in grease during a heat wave is not advised. Try to stay away from greasy foods or deep fried foods. Eating fruits and vegetables is the source of nutrition a body needs to over ride most obstacles. The body does have its own cooling system and this is a great way to keep your ‘car’ running so shop for with health at mind.
It is not only a favor to your time to shop early but it also is a saving grace for your car tires when it comes to driving over hot sticky black tar. A car runs smoother with the absence of extreme heat. It is known that driving in cooler air is less strain on gas usage and the air conditioning unit in the car. Purchasing gas for your car should be done in the morning as well, perhaps on the way back from the grocery store. One not only avoids the rush, they also are prepared should the shortage of electric occur creating pump malfunction or the restricted use of. As for those who carry groceries from a warm driveway into the house, they can agree that unloading groceries in cooler times of the day is much more comfortable to them.
So far one has taken the walk, froze the ice for the day, completed their chores including shopping and purchased gas. A busy morning as the temperatures rise in digits. This is the moment that the air conditioning unit cries for help. Help the unit by keeping the level at 72 degrees. It not only saves on money, it also saves on possible future maintenance of your unit. Fans placed in your home is a great idea. Heat rises so placing the fans upstairs to circulate the heat sounds silly yet it does help. Whether heat spins or air, the flow is there which is better for the body in the long run. Stagnant flow of air can cause all kinds of problems as well as the dust mites who seem to love stagnant air. It also is advised to crack an upstairs window for a total of twenty minutes to release some of the trapped heat upstairs by way of ventilation.
Do you remember the old days where the bartender had a fan blowing in the background slowly from side to side as sweat falls upon his forehead while he wipes it off with an old hanky he grabbed from his pocket? You may have thought to yourself as to why would he suffer in the heat as such. People work to survive financially and it is a way of life. For those who work outside, these next morning tips can help keep you cool. Cooler of ice is a must as the ice may melt anyway due to the opening and shutting of the cooler. Fill the cooler with ice and water to take with you to work. You may be able to find a one person mini cooler at your local Walmart store.
Some construction companies and field croppers do their work here in the south in the early mornings before 10 am due to the early heat. Water is always stocked for those workers. They never drink extremely cold to frozen liquids due to possible health risks. Completely freezing water was said to not be as healthy since the plastic bottle can shed its container in the process of expansion during freezing which can end up in a persons system so it is not advised any longer to completely freeze water in bottles prior to melting and drinking them. There were no indications so far that partially freezing a bottle of water causes any health risks so one can try this next idea. Place a couple bottles of water into the freezer. It takes up to three hours for that bottle to freeze so only place it in for thirty minutes to an hour. This will bring ice shavings into the bottles which is perfectly safe to drink. Place the bottles into a cooler of ice and you have prepared your refreshing drinks to bare the heat wave. Another important message to add would be that the human body should not have frozen items tossed into it when the heat is raging. A body can go into a certain amount of shock when doing so. I came into this world thinking that it made no sense as to why someone would eat an ice pop while in the haze of the sun yet one would be advised that it was a quick way to ‘cool’ the system and lightly regarded. The facts are coming out with reports of warnings when consuming frozen foods or liquids in extreme heat. Think cool, not frozen and everything should be much more comfortable.
One may need to think in safer measures when it comes to chemicals, cleaning solutions and products. Being in an enclosed garage simply draws the heat and usually does not receive air conditioning. Chemicals, cleaning solutions and products such as painting mixtures, cement mixtures or spray cans may be very dangerous in a heat wave. Some of these mentioned could change into a gas value creating dangerous inhalants. It would be wise at this moment to make a plan to move these to better storage areas. A pantry is not a good place to store these in so at times you must have avenues that are unconventional such as a locked cabinet to place closest to the house and out of the garage. Another path could be a well ventilated shed that has much more ventilation than the garage. Perhaps throwing away anything that could possibly be dangerous during a heat wave is an option offered. One must ask just how many times will they use the two year old paint. Those around you may be effected should the house blow up which concludes that this is not worth the chance by far. A person should not take in exposing lighter fluid to over 120 degree temperatures for the warning is right on the side, ‘warning : do not expose in over 120 degrees temperatures, may ignite’. With this said, one can understand that keeping dangerous chemicals, solutions, cleaning products and fluids in safer storage is smart preparation and should be done prior to a heat wave and not during. If one did not have the chance to do so during a heat wave, remember that doing this in the morning is far safer than doing this in the afternoon.
As the morning trickles into early afternoon, you may be tired from all the work you had completed. This is the moment that you turn on the news and see just where the temperatures stand. See for any severe weather that may be headed your way. When there is a heat wave, there are those moments for a potential storm that may include a tornado warning. As you have already prepared and stocked up when you went grocery shopping, place the items where they are easily accessible. We place ours inside of a huge cooler as storage and toss things in throughout the year until we need to actually use it. Always prepare but do not turn into a fanatic. Know your limits and never panic and gather enough food, drinks, and items to last three days without electric.
Most heat wave related storms can pack a punch yet it is rarely known that they cause electric to go out for three weeks in duration. Heat waves occur mainly in the south yet in the recent years, the heat has crept more north. To be in a heat wave while in a city most of these morning things do not help much in the lawn avenue yet the other ideas mentioned can help immensely. No matter what, just think in the am hours. If one does, they can not only survive a heat wave, they can be healthier afterwards and prepared should the electric go off.
To wrap this up, one can do many little things to add to a comfortable day in a heat wave. Water bottles are great to use. Fill the bottle with water and spray on your hair to help maintain moisture of the shaft and the many hair strands. Lightly spraying your face can be very refreshing. Some spray bottles have fans on them that run off of batteries. These water bottles seem to be a waste of batteries to many since they use the batteries energy up in little time. With all these great ideas mentioned, those who try some of these during a heat wave will notice the joys of the afternoon since most things are done in the am hours. If one can not accomplish this in the am hours, the other safe way to do such things would be at sundown. Either way, they contribute to a safe and healthy day while in the blistering heat wave.
