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Give Me Swelter

· Put the oven off limits until fall. Use the microwave. Grill everything you can outdoors, even veggies.

· Eat light. Salads. Fruits. More salads.


Kathy Jentz doesn't use air conditioning in her Silver Spring house. To her it feels
Kathy Jentz doesn't use air conditioning in her Silver Spring house. To her it feels "artificial." (By Gerald Martineau -- The Washington Post)

No AC? Don't Sweat It.

· Take a cold shower before bed. Added cooling: Go to bed with wet hair. (This risks bed head, but hey -- it's a look.)

· Put the oven off limits until fall. Use the microwave. Grill everything you can outdoors, even veggies.

· Eat light. Salads. Fruits. More salads.

· Drink lots of liquids.

· Be aware that caffeine or alcohol can increase blood flow to the skin, raising the risk of dehydration.

· Dust yourself with talcum powder before dressing and before bedtime, like the Europeans do. And sprinkle some between the sheets.

· Put a bowl of ice or a freeze pack in front of your fan to give it a blast of coolness.

· If it gets really bad, go to the movies. It's always freezing in the theaters.

Jura Koncius

Cool Cash Savings

Pepco spokeswoman Mary-Beth Corbett Hutchinson says you can win the war on cost vs. comfort by using your air-conditioning system wisely. During hot weather, a central air conditioner can account for 30 percent of a household's total energy bill.

Pepco has assembled 85 tips on saving money and energy, and a number of them relate to air conditioning.

· Check the air filter regularly -- a clean filter improves system efficiency, which leads to energy savings.

· Do not have lamps, TVs or other heat sources close to the air conditioner thermostat -- heat from these sources might cause the air conditioner unit to run longer than it should.

· The recommended thermostat setting is between 75 and 78 degrees. Every degree you raise your thermostat can result in a savings of up to 5 percent on the cost of cooling your home.

· Turn off lights in any room not being used, even if your absence will be only momentary.

· Don't preheat the oven unless absolutely necessary, and then for no more than 10 minutes.

For more tips, go to http://www.pepco.com/ and scroll to the box "Save $, Energy Know How."

Jura Koncius

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· Drink lots of liquids.

· Be aware that caffeine or alcohol can increase blood flow to the skin, raising the risk of dehydration.

· Dust yourself with talcum powder before dressing and before bedtime, like the Europeans do. And sprinkle some between the sheets.

· Put a bowl of ice or a freeze pack in front of your fan to give it a blast of coolness.

· If it gets really bad, go to the movies. It's always freezing in the theaters.

Jura Koncius


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