How to stay cool in the warmer months

[Gene97]

I have a question that I feel in important, due to some people that I have talked to (not here in forum) that have adviced me not to wear a wet towel around my neck and cooling my face that way, could cause a heat stroke. I know I should drink lots of water, but what is the best way to aleast survive the hottest months ahead? I of course will have shorts on and tennis shoes and t-shirt but any suggestions? A heat stroke is one thing I don't want to have pushing through grass in 100 degree weather.
Thanks for any input,
gene97

[bcg]

Honestly, I've found that a light-weight, loose fitting long sleeve shirt does a better job of keeping me cool than a t-shirt. You'd be amazed at what a difference it makes if you can keep the sun off your skin.

[kingstownquad]

buy a lazer

[GrassMaster]

Just be carefull...

I wouldn't let my guys wear tennis shoes, they had to have a watch, long pants, work boots, I only let them take their shirts off at my property or on isolated jobs where we weren't seen by others. If they didn't have the proper attire the company took them to buy them & it came out of their pay check.

You ever walk up to a mower running, mainly a rider of some type with a Hydro, one touch of the control by the operator & that deck comes toward the foot. Then it's too late.

A straw hat & sweat band is a must, check out my avatar. The more sun you have hitting that bare meat the worse it is.

Those Ray Bans I wore, I had 2 pair get the lenses busted. Neither time was I operating equipment. One time was a Acorn, the other time a rock. I was walking on property & hit by equipment operated by someone else.

As far as heat strokes go, Your Air Conditioner is one of your worse enemies, Too cold of water hurts pretty bad too. Too quick of cool down is bad for you.

I had a major heat stroke & like to not have survived it. Before I cut grass I used to work off & on in Curing at the Firestone Tire & Rubber Plant. It stayed around a 100 to 120 degrees, steam everywhere. The smart ones (Me) wore leather from the waist up, the others just had a lot of scars on their arms from burns.

Cutting grass was a lot cooler because it very seldom got much over a 100 degrees. I think I was 35 or 36 when I had my heat stroke, I was same size I was when I got out of school. I thought I was bullet proof, I learned quick I wasn't.

Be careful, a lot of people in good physical shape has gotten heat strokes. Then it's never the same in the heat. Years later I would black out with no warning. My last black out was the last time I cut grass about 10 years ago.

I was at the house by myself, I finished the lawn, sat in the shade for about 20 minutes to cool down before going into the house. I was running the mower across the lawn to utility room & I blacked out. Maybe 20 minutes later I come too, I was lying next to the mower and it was still running, my hand was touching the deck & I was covered with ants... No more, it ain't worth it.

[jgc8fan]

Like GM said... Avoid the temptation to run and turn the AC on... Find a shady spot, and relax if you need to cool down... Do not chug an ice cold drink out of the cooler... Sip that sucker... When you are hot an ice cold drink going down will burn worse than home made hooch.

The best thing I've found to control the bod from overheating... Pace yourself. My ex-partner was 10 years younger than me, and I was killing myself trying to keep up with him. I would be on the ground heart beating so fast I thought it was gonna pop out my throat, and my chest and muscles burning like fire. I went back to my lessons from bicycling. Ignore the temptation to get it done faster, and work at a pace that feels like you aren't pushing yourself. I not only found out I felt more comfortable and relaxed, but found that I was actually saving time by not having to stop and catch my breath or cool down as much, so it didn't really affect my work time at all, and I felt much better at the end of the day.

Keep the sun off like others said (I don't follow my own advice as I wear shorts and tanks). The sun makes it feel hotter than it is which is why most incorrectly assume that noon is the hottest time of the day when it's actully around late afternoon before the sun goes down when the highs "usually" hit (sometimes it IS noon though or even AM). Under a shady tree is the best place to cool down (especially if there's a breeze)... You might think the truck, but you will pour buckets once you go from moving air to the still air in the truck (I still make that mistake... Even today I took a break in the truck and regretted it).

Work boots (steel toe), and some type of hat are a must. Wally World sells some Brahma work boots for about $35 that'll last about a year or so... Get the waterproof ones they have and you'll really appreciate them when your feet aren't sore prunes on rainy days (matter of fact I gotta buy me some new ones this weekend as I've worn holes into the soles of mine)... Tennis shoes are BAD... Not just for the obvious reason that they are getting close to the blades on that Honda, but also because of all the equipment... I've cut through a tennis shoe with the string trimmer trying to get a spot I missed too close to my foot (lucky it missed my foot though)... I pop my boots with the trimmer all the time, and it's barely left scratches on the toes. The edger is another reason... Especially when edging beds it's really easy to be too focused on keeping the edger going where you want and not paying attention to your feet... I haven't gotten my foot with it yet, but I've come close many times.

[Gene97]

Thanks for all the advise on keeping as cool as possible, hadn't considered anything but tennis shoes and t-shirt, which I did my own lawn in. Well learned some more today, just maybe this valuable forum will afford me to make it through my first summer.