Hello,
I have just moved to another part of the country which is warmer, and more humid. I have been adjusting to the heat nicely, as the summer advances. I have noticed that air conditioning often'hurts'. Its a strange idea to the relatives of my partner. They came home with an a/c to install in my room so I don't have to 'suffer' at night. They had been pestering me for weeks to get an a/c, and I have been pretty silent about why I haven't bothered whenever they ask and push.

I just didn't have the energy to try to explain. I was surprised to hear that they got me one. I let them install it to be 'nice' and 'thankful' for the thought. But after one night of using it my goldfish died, and I didn't sleep well. I didn't even have it on that low. 78F. I tried to use it last night, but ended up during it off. I feel like I'm in a meat locker,and I also feel like I am pent up with all the windows closed, and seperated in a dungeon from the rest of the world. I am considering insisting that they remove this thing and return it.

I don't have any evidence that air conditioning is harmful, as it is a common thought that one needs it to prevent heat stress.Which as I understand it is really only a problem for people who are ill. Have any of you noticed the strange smell, and feel of air conditioned air? It often feels 'acid' to me, although I have no evidence as of yet as to what I am observing. Its probably too subtle of a sensation for the general population to notice. Any help or insight would be great. Certainly its my mistake for not being clear that I don't need a/c, not physically or emotionally. I guess the only thing I worried about for a moment was the sweat on the sheets, and the families judgement about that.

My respiratory tract often gets irritated at night when the a/c is on. I wake up with a sore throat and stuffy head. Unfortunately my fiance is pregnant so she is always really hot. Not unfortunate she is preg., just that is causes her to be so hot and "need' the a/c. What I would prefer to do is maybe turn on the a/c a hour or so before bedtime to cool the room then turn it off, open another window and stick a fan in it blowing in the cool fresh night air...only problem with that at my house is my bedroom only has one window. I would prefer fresh air over a/c anytime of the week. I drive with my window down about 99% of the time. Even when really hot out or in dead of winter. I just crank up the heat and roll the window down.

Never had one, never will. That "canned" air is nasty to me, and the being so cold in the summer? Not so into that either. It's good for the body to feel the real weather, how can you deal with being outside if you're in a fridge the rest of the time? Such a shock to the system.
You can tell them you don't like it you know, they might not feel the same way but surely they'll respect your decision. Ask for a small window fan instead, it will cost much less and probably use less energy too. Some people love to be cold, some prefer to be warm, we're all different. I wouldn't want to suffer with an AC unit blocking access to fresh air because I was afraid they wouldn't understand that.

If your ductwork is squeaky clean, it shouldn't cause a problem. It's called an air conditioner because it dehumidifies and cleanses the air, as well as cooling it. I prefer to have the windows open and to let the cross breeze cool the house, but when it's really humid, I do run the air overnight and open the windows in the am if it's cool. This is a good balance.

i just keep a fan going by the 3window and a small bowl with some water and a washcloth to wipe over me .. the air flow and damp skin is more then enough to keep me comfy

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

I am with you. I have air conditioners but won't use one unless there is a major heatwave where a fan isn't enough. And where I live right now is buffered by trees on the side where we sleep

It bugs me when I go to a public place and the AC is cranked up. It is so uncomfortable! I actually try to remember to bring a sweater with me--just in case. And it's really irritating when it's Whole Foods doing it! The produce stand is right inside the entrance door and I get socked by the too-cold air and I finally asked the man why they do this (it was winter at the time). So one day I realized that they had stopped having such cold air in the produce section and that it was actually comfortable to enter and walk there. And recently, I found out that it's back to the Arctic Circle...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/26/2010 07:43PM by banana who.

It's the humidity that I find unbearable and need air conditioning. My job consists of being on a computer/phone all day....and it's basically impossible to type with sweat constantly dripping off of your fingers sliding around the keyboard.. Sucks! I also hate waking up soaked in sweat. I know some people like to take advantage of sweating and detox but to me there's a time and a place for it. If I'm outside enjoying the sun/weather/beach wherever then I don't mind sweating and breathing in fresh air. But while I'm trying to sleep, work, or drive then I don't want it.

I also have pets and they can't tolerate it either. They slow down, they lie around panting and breathing heavy and find the coldest spot on the floor to lay on..etc. I don't have pain or breathing issues that others mentioned with it. People's tolerance for it probably depends on where you're from too. If you live in California, you don't experience the season changes you would on the other side of the country. I know people who talk about how beautiful Florida is..but in the summer they sit in the AC all day or they drive up north so the temperature goes down a few degrees.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/26/2010 07:59PM by BackAgain.

I think that the issue though is how much AC. I just find that most places crank it up too much and it actually becomes irritating and uncomfortable. A little is okay but too much is hard to bear. And even fans bug me when I am trying to sleep. I don't like anything blowing on me at night.

You can set the fan to blow out at night (just turn it around in the window) and leave another window in the house open, that creates a vacuum and draws cooler night air in. If you close the windows during the day and shade the sunny ones while in direct sunlight the house may stay on the cooler side all day long. I have a fan run at night in the bedroom window but it doesn't point right at me, I never get sweaty. We live in southern most ontario too, it's on the same longitude as northern california so it's Really hot and extremely humid here in summer. I don't mind, that wet wash cloth trick really works! That or a dip in the lake .

AC should only cause breathing issues if there is Mold that has grown in the unit, unlikely in a new unit, very likely in a window unit that hasn't been cleaned in a long time... under normal conditions an air conditioner cleans allergens out of the air, as well as other particulates, and runs the air over a cooled surface to cool it down, and blows it into your room...it should be far fresher technically than what youd get outside, which would contain allergens and smog and other similar stuff... But if a person doesnt like it, a person doesnt like it... I myself, dont like it, except when there is a heat wave and it gets over 90 I have to have it, or I just cant breathe or sleep...

Coco: Lucky duck that you have a lake near you! Thanks for the suggestion about turning the fan around. My boyfriend loves to do that but he puts it in the window and that seems a bit much. I also like the suggestion about closing the windows. Sometimes I have done so by accident and it was better than leaving the windows open!

banana who,

My mom grew up in Argentina, where, on the coast, it gets scorching hot and humid. She put off getting A/C until I was in my late teens when the floorboards just couldn't take the humidity anymore! She always handled summer the Argentine way: on the east side of the house, the shades were kept down and the drapes closed until afternoon, whereupon they were opened and the shades and drapes on the west side of the house were closed. All were raised toward sunset when evening breezes came through the windows.

Oh yeah! Natural air conditioning. Cut a couple of vents in the bottom wall on the North side of the house and on the top of the wall on the South side of the house (in the Northern hemisphere anyway) and this creates a natural convection which moves the cooler shaded air on the North side into the living area and pushes the warmer air out the South side-)

Awesome idea ediblecity it would probably work even better too if ones house was built specifically to take advantage of that...

banana who,
I agree, the amount of a/c makes a difference. I actually used it last night and today. There was a formal family event, and I wanted to stay clean and dry, so as not to need to shower again right before the event. It sure helped. Just enough to take the edge of the heat and not sweat, for me only down to 75-78 was enough. There is still that freezer sort of smell that comes out, does that mean the unit is bad?

The local drug store really cranks the a/c, its painful to walk in, even for a few other family members who like ac at home. Also we (about 40)had a meal in a resturant, they had the ac up quite a bit. My mother in law was actually cold, and she LOVES ac! I don't know how I made it through the meal.

Coco,
You reminded me of some coworkers that I worked with at a certain office place. In the summer they couldn't take anything over 65-70 insisting that it was hot. So of course they cranked the ac up to what seemed like 45-50. I don't know if it was that cold, but I remember feeling relieved whenever I got a chance to go outside.

In the winter....wouldn't you know it, these same people couldn't take anything under 45-50 even! and of course cranked the heat up to 80-90. Doesn't make any sense! Again I was relieved to go outside when I could. The worse complainers had such health problems. I don't know if using the ac in heater in such extreme manner causes health problems. Or if health problems make heat regulation more difficult. I thought that there would be ONE season where these folks would be comfortable, but none.... I was also out voted and also judged pretty harshly if I ever said anything about it being nice outside.

dang, during the winter I prefer inside temps of around 60, during the summer I seem to be perfectly happy and comfortable with temps around 70-80, we dont have A/C where I live though, its uncommon in my area, as it doesnt often get very hot, but when I visit my mom its usually over 90, often over 100, so we set it to 78,lol... oh, and your Unit probably isnt bad, thats kinda normal, but if you start smelling mold, or a really funky stale kinda smell, then it may need to be cleaned... i dont know anything about your particular model, but my grandpas window unit was pretty easy to clean.

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Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?

I don't like AC until it gets dangerously hot. At that point, in a pre-modern era where everyone was a farmer and could set their own hours, everyone would be spending the day down at a creek or river keeping cool, an option we don't have these days. Has technology REALLY improved our lives, I mean everyone (well 80-90%) used to work for themselves, and everyone slept with their co-workers back then to because they were married to them.

I think modern technology is a mixed blessing, some has of course improved our lives, some seems to have made some things almost worse...

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Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?