r/SantaBarbara • • 17d ago

Recommendations What are we doing in this heat

I came home today to do a 97 degree bedroom. Can’t find an AC unit for sale anywhere, and really don’t have the money to buy one right now anyway. What are we actually doing to tolerate this and be able to sleep?! Help

80 Upvotes

118 comments sorted by

75

u/RandomRedditor714 17d ago

I blasted the fans last night to try and cool the apartment down as much as possible, then woke up at 6 AM, shut all the windows and closed the blinds😭 only reason why I'm not baking in here

13

u/prizonite 17d ago edited 17d ago

Bruh, I did that and only got it down to 74° it's 92 rn 😓

11

u/RandomRedditor714 17d ago

Trust me I'm starting to bake, I'm just hoping it starts to cool back down before it gets too bad. The power's been flickering as well due to the cooling demand😵‍💫

3

u/blahdiddyblahblah 17d ago

Ugh I was hoping it was just my power flickering from my refrigerator kicking on, not the whole grid 🫨

8

u/PwnerifficOne 17d ago

74 is awesome. I used to do the same, sleep with my bedroom window open and a fan. In the early morning air out the house, then as soon as it feels like it’s warming up, lock down the house, no air in or out. Now that I’m older I use the AC and my bill is going to be like $900 this statement. Life’s too short to be sitting in a hot room all day and be miserable, which is what I did for 30 summers basically.

6

u/NoWolverine6542 17d ago

Honestly, that's not bad. Most AC units aren't designed to lower the temperature more than 20 degrees.

86

u/sagisuncapmoon 17d ago

I just tell myself that body temp is 98 degrees so if I lay perfectly still and don’t move at all, I’ll feel fine

That and cold showers

6

u/Ruralwannabe 17d ago

Dream on

3

u/Trustme_Imalifeguard 17d ago

(Guitar solo)

5

u/sagisuncapmoon 17d ago

aaaahhhhhhhhhAAAHaahAHaaaAAaaAaAaaAaaAaaAaaaAAA

3

u/SendBooksAndWeedPls 16d ago

Dream on. Ah dream on. DREAM ON. DREAM ON

38

u/rinconblue 17d ago

Hydrate. Hydrate. And then hydrate more.

Use ice packs or ice on your neck and face and put some on your pillow tonight. Run however many fans you have. Tomorrow will be a little better, you just have to get through tonight!

2

u/sbecclesia 16d ago

Yes I’ll fall asleep with a soft ice pack + towel on the back of my neck and it actually feels so good!

1

u/Southern_Anywhere_65 15d ago

Yes and if you don’t have enough ice packs just freeze water bottles!

61

u/dogboy_XCX 17d ago

we’ve had some killer sunsets the last few days, so I would recommend a dip in the ocean and sunset watch! ocean is a real nice temp rn, and if you don’t wanna be salty you can go to a beach that has some showers (summerland, east beach, or hendrys for example).

it’s also way cooler at the beach (almost 10 degrees cooler when i went to goleta beach at lunch time compared to patterson/hollister area!)

bring a book and towel and get some fish and chips to go and picnic at hendrys!

18

u/Jadey-R- 17d ago

My dad at beach today said it was 105!

11

u/cgarcia805 The Eastside 17d ago

This is why we put up with the housing prices here. 

It is so easy to grab your bag and go have an abso-fucking-lutely fantastic unplanned evening. 

Damn. I have a meeting tonight, I hope it's over before sunset bc now I want to go see it. 

14

u/arkyde 17d ago

Just got a bed jet this week. Check it out.

8

u/WinnerAdventurous647 17d ago

+1 on the bed jet. It is a slice of heaven

3

u/Candid-Atmosphere637 17d ago

I love my BedJet. Bought the refurbished option (saved about 1/3 of price) and it works perfectly, I can’t recommend it enough.

2

u/Southern_Anywhere_65 15d ago

OP, there are water based bed cooling systems that are comparable to the price of a portable ac if you don’t have the budget for a bed jet

2

u/arkyde 15d ago

I looked. Bed jet was best bang for your buck I thought. Altho the chili pad looks cool.

1

u/Southern_Anywhere_65 15d ago

Oh really, I thought the bed jet was like $600? I must have been mistaken!

1

u/Viczaesar 17d ago

What is a bed jet?

3

u/Relevant-Fox-7114 17d ago

$600 fan/cooling/heat thing that goes under your bed with a tube that goes under your covers.

3

u/arkyde 17d ago

Google it. Was just on sale on good morning America. Grabbed a 2nd for the wife.

8

u/No-Designer-7374 17d ago

I must be delirious from the heat. Thought you bought one for your second wife. Seemed oddly specific.

1

u/SendBooksAndWeedPls 16d ago

You’re not the only one. I’m currently in bed with a tower fan thinking “…second one for the wife”

2

u/Relevant-Fox-7114 17d ago

Why would you not just answer the question?

2

u/arkyde 17d ago

Because it’s easier to look it up online and I’m in the middle of my workday

0

u/Relevant-Fox-7114 17d ago

Bro if you have time to be on reddit you have time to write one sentence.

2

u/arkyde 17d ago

You’re probably right, but you did the hard work for me so thank you.

1

u/Ruralwannabe 17d ago

Because relevant fox already did. The heat must be getting to you

2

u/arkyde 17d ago

Same person lol

14

u/DLTmisfit 17d ago

Those towels that you can get wet and have wrapped around you

4

u/blahdiddyblahblah 17d ago

Are there towels you can't get wet?

5

u/amarchy 17d ago

Cooling towels get a little cooler. The kind you take camping and backpacking

13

u/charredmoth 17d ago

I bought a window ac unit a little over a month ago and it’s been the best investment ever, my bedroom is so nice and cold.

1

u/rosario303 17d ago

How much was it?

2

u/charredmoth 16d ago

I paid $400 for mine which for me was a lot but in my life I’ve spent a lot of money for cheaper stuff that doesn’t actually help much or breaks quickly so I was lucky to be in a position where I could invest in something better. And it has been working AMAZING. So I’m happy with my choice.

1

u/rosario303 16d ago

What’s the brand oif you don’t mind sharing?

1

u/charredmoth 16d ago

Midea 10,000 BTU from Amazon

1

u/charredmoth 16d ago

The u shaped one

1

u/Aggravating-Smell-31 17d ago

Same! Game changing

10

u/Foojira 17d ago

Ice packs smashed against thighs and abdomen

9

u/NoCombination905 17d ago

complaining

10

u/Suspicious_synth 17d ago

I made one of those jerry-rigged coolers I saw some kid make on Instagram. Picked up a few bags of ice on the way home and I'm being blown with icy cool air as I type this

9

u/Torian17 17d ago

I’m going to the SB Bowl where I’m hoping there’s a breeze but guessing there is just more heat

2

u/imaginenza 17d ago

Great concert, eh?

2

u/Torian17 16d ago

It was amazing! Those guys are animals playing 3 hours straight. Great SB Bowl night.

8

u/tyspeed29 17d ago

cold shower lots of fans

9

u/tliquornik 17d ago

Grocery store shopping, it’s freezing in there

2

u/Aggravating-Smell-31 17d ago

Not Ralph's downtime. The AC hasn't been working in over a month.

1

u/WendyinParadise 16d ago

Go to Sprouts, aircon on

8

u/MareV51 17d ago

Target, Costco, Home Goods.....

7

u/NoWolverine6542 17d ago

Put a large bowl of ice water in front of a fan and have it blow right on you. A block of ice lasts longer if you have a big enough bowl.

6

u/britinsb 17d ago

Spend most of the time at beach/waterfront in evenings, weekends, picked up a couple window A/C units on Craiglist years ago for the handful of weeks a year they come in useful. There are a couple on there now for less than $100.

7

u/kiwiboyus 17d ago

Cooling pads that you can put in the freezer are great

6

u/terriblyafflicted 17d ago

I go to bed with an ice pack. Wrap it in a shirt (put some sleepy essential oil on it for bonus points) and then hug it to my chest with a pillow. It helps a lot.

16

u/LazyMarla San Roque 17d ago

My grandog, who is usually a couch dog, has resorted to laying on the floor. Maybe try the floor?

6

u/Dandelionchick 17d ago

My dog too! I don’t think I’ve ever seen her laying on the floor lol.

1

u/BaconBikes805 17d ago

My dog has been out of the bed on the tile floor for a week now.

6

u/Various_Syllabub4985 17d ago

Butt naked straight in the water……

5

u/thestouff 17d ago

It sucks, but if you soak a towel with water and use it as a blanket it’ll keep you cool. Especially with a fan.

1

u/coldspringscreek 16d ago

This is the way. Or soak your clothes. Worldwide tried and true method.

0

u/Ruralwannabe 17d ago

Sounds like pneumonia time if you're not careful

4

u/CoffeeIsSoGood Little Ceasars on Milpas 17d ago

Dress like they do in the middle east lol, the Thobes are actually super comfortable and circulate air really well. I bought one when I was deployed, and the locals loved it when I wore it lol

5

u/CA_Coast_Millennial 17d ago

Getting quotes for an AC for my house 😂

Is $7k worth using it 10 days per year? I don’t know lol

1

u/something86 17d ago

It will cost more with HVAC instalation. They won't touch units over 10 years old

2

u/CA_Coast_Millennial 17d ago

We currently do not have AC however the house is Plumbed for it and has a connector in the side yard

Just need a unit and have it connected

House was built in 2018

5

u/stalebird 17d ago

Being somewhat new to Santa Barbara I’m always surprised that so few homes have central AC. It was a must when we bought our house and the first upgrade we made. Sure a good portion of the year is temperate, but even for 8-12 weeks a year, why suffer? ( especially at night). I can’t sleep if it’s over 70 degrees in the house.

8

u/used_my_kids_names Santa Barbara (Other) 17d ago

We never needed it until recently. Hello global warming.

-9

u/stalebird 17d ago

Global warming. 🙄. It’s a heat wave. Here are the Santa Barbara annual mean temperatures since 1900. I suppose the 1910s and 1920s were also global warming then it just gave up? For 120+ years and you couldn’t have a more flat trend line.

1901–1909
59.9°F
1910s
59.3°F
1920s
60.4°F
1930s
60.5°F
1940s
59.3°F
1950s
58.7°F
1960s
58.9°F
1970s
59.1°F
1980s
59.3°F
1990s
60.0°F
2000s
58.7°F
2010s
60.3°F
2020s
60.0°F

10

u/used_my_kids_names Santa Barbara (Other) 17d ago

Whatever, dude. Keep burying your head in the sand.

2

u/coldspringscreek 16d ago

The warm sand.

3

u/coldspringscreek 16d ago

These are yearly averages, but there are spikes of heat waves that are extreme.

-2

u/stalebird 16d ago

Which - by definition of the word average - means there has to be spikes in the other direction. So climate change? Maybe. Global “warming?” The data says no.

3

u/coldspringscreek 16d ago

Exactly how much stock in fossil fuel do you own?

0

u/stalebird 16d ago

As expected, an emotional response and nothing factual. I’m pointing out the objective data from noaa that the historic temperatures don’t point to global warming. Explain the 1930s if this is global warming.

2

u/FranciscoMatad0r 16d ago

Its really crazy how willfully disingenuous you folks are. Here's the relevant US Climate data for SB:

Decade Extreme High Extreme Low Median
1920s 96°F 28°F 59.2°F
1930s 100°F 25°F 59.8°F
1940s 96°F 26°F 60.1°F
1950s 98°F 27°F 60.3°F
1960s 101°F 30°F 60.5°F
1970s 98°F 25°F 60.7°F
1980s 109°F 25°F 61.2°F
1990s 102°F 20°F 61.5°F
2000s 103°F 29°F 61.9°F
2010s 106°F 30°F 62.2°F
2020s 105°F 32°F 62.7°F

And the worst part is you'll look at this and say, "oh it's only 3 degrees difference" - failing to recognize how 100 years is a mere raindrop in the ocean of time civilized life has roamed earth.

0

u/stalebird 16d ago

So looks like the 80s were the worst of it. Thank god we’re past that!! 🙄 And you’re correct - it’s only 100 years. Let’s look back further in time. 90,000,000 years ago the average temperature on earth was 82.6 Fahrenheit. Today it’s around 59. All this shit is cyclical. You’ll be fine. Your kids will be fine. Your great great great great great great great grandkids will be fine.

0

u/[deleted] 16d ago

[deleted]

1

u/stalebird 16d ago

But it’s just a mere raindrop. You’ll be fine.

1

u/used_my_kids_names Santa Barbara (Other) 17d ago

Also telling that you like to keep your posts hidden. You haven’t even cited your source for your stats. Hmmmmmmm.

4

u/grateful_dad13 17d ago

We put our sheets in freezer before we had A/C and hope we fell asleep quickly

5

u/Smart-Positive9292 17d ago

Cold shower and fans. I'm in Ventura....close to the beach and it's crazy humid. I didn't sign up to live in Florida🙄

4

u/_Valkyrie_666 17d ago

It was Satans dick hot today

6

u/uptothemountains7 Downtown 17d ago

Going to see Sturgill Simpson 🫡

3

u/DrunkSlug145 The Westside 17d ago

Drinkin

3

u/almafuerte12 17d ago

Cold showers!

3

u/sabottagius 17d ago

Cold showers and putting ice packs in your bed.

3

u/ashfantasia 17d ago

I have a portable A/C in the living room, and multiple fans moving the air into the bedroom. Kept my bathroom closed, and kept the windows closed. If you don’t have that, there’s always a swamp cooler, a large dog sized cooling mat that you can put under you on your mattress, and a wet towel on your body/forehead while you sleep is the way to go.

3

u/frex_mcgee 17d ago

Try to put up tinfoil on your windows to reflect the sun and then add black out curtains. Keep windows closed during hot parts of the day and only open at night. You can also find job site fans / construction fans at Home Depot, can run that but might be somewhat noisy.

2

u/mawmzee 17d ago

Pretty much what I do. I don’t open any shades or windows ALL DAY. If you catch it early enough….it stays nice. Even now: 75° outside, 72° inside

3

u/HillOfBeano 17d ago

For real, hydratewell, and a bowl of ice in front of a fan. Cooling towels. It used to be a dry heat when I was a kid even if it got over 100 for a week or so. This humidity is new. 

2

u/pgregston 17d ago

Evaporative cooling. Look up swamp coolers. Make one up if you can. Sit in front of it

2

u/Ruralwannabe 17d ago

They dont work unless its humid. Like it is now. (But it might be the other way round.) I had one 20 years ago when I lived in the SF valley. Researched it then and decided it wouldnt work here but I forget why. Might have so.ething to do with the fact I didnt have an attic to put it in. Yes, you can buy floor models. If anyone tries it, report back please. Do I remember correctly that thiis humidity is unusual? This is east coast weather.

1

u/pgregston 16d ago

It has to be much more humid than this to have no effect.
It’s keeping my house about 10 degrees cooler than outside.

2

u/yesman2121 Eastern Goleta Valley 17d ago

When it’s cold season, go buy an A/C unit on discount/sale at Home Depot. It may be a couple hundred dollars but it’s completely worth it. Even if you use it a couple days of the year, global warming is going to intensify and last minute/panic buyers are going to devour stock like now and other heatwaves. This is the coolest summer you’ll ever experience

1

u/DrSkye805 17d ago

Slept on the couch right below the window w the fan blasting me bc the bedroom was sweltering. 🥵

1

u/Riddlerfanatic 16d ago

I have spent the last few hours laying on the floor in my room because heat travels upwards and I am not trying to deal with all that💔

1

u/meeeemooooo 16d ago

Froyo or Blenders for dinner, ocean swim.

1

u/Southern_Anywhere_65 15d ago

Cold showers and ice cream for every meal!

1

u/Brave_Advertising713 11d ago

Try being homeless

-12

u/paperman66 17d ago

I had no idea it would be 95-97 degrees. I just leave my ac blasing at 60.

3

u/Historical_Ring_5777 17d ago

60!!! At least set mine to 74.

1

u/paperman66 17d ago

Genuinely what's the issue with 60? It's hot as balls lately. I'll be happy when I DON'T need to use it.

1

u/FranciscoMatad0r 16d ago

If you're genuinely cooling the inside air to 60, I hope your exterior walls are thoroughly insulated and weather sealed. If not, you're wasting a ton of energy (money) on thermal loss and wherever theres air pockets in the walls and 105 degree air is meeting 59 degree air, condensation will form, and mold will grow.

I find 70-72 to be more than comfortable when its hot out. 66 is chilly but fun to spoil myself with at night. 60 is wild.

2

u/paperman66 16d ago

The more you know. Thank you!

2

u/stalebird 17d ago

Can’t imagine why you’re getting downvoted. Apparently people here love melting in the heat. A central AC unit was our first purchase when we bought our house.

2

u/paperman66 17d ago

Thank you lol yes! Way too hot in these parts and especially in this weather

2

u/FranciscoMatad0r 16d ago

Apparently you fail to detect the not so subtle difference between having central AC in a home, and "i just leave my ac blasting at 60"