Extreme indoor heat isn’t just uncomfortable, it’s dangerous.

Heat exhaustion and heat stroke can affect anyone without adequate means to stay cool, and without proper indoor cooling, elders, children, and other vulnerable groups are at risk of heat-related illness, and even death.

Here are some things you can do to stay safe during extreme heat days this summer and beyond:

• Reduce radiant heat from sunlight by keeping your blinds and curtains closed. You can also use window reflectors specifically designed to reflect heat back outside.
• Be careful with portable fans: they move air around, but they don’t actually cool it. In fact, the Environmental Protection Agency advises against using electric fans for cooling a room when the indoor temperature is in the mid-90s or higher. (You can try putting a box fan against an open window to push hot air out or pull cooler evening air in.)
• Take cool showers or baths to lower your body temperature
• Keep your oven off
• Wear loose, lightweight clothing 
• Drink water in small amounts over the day, and pay attention to signs of dehydration, like dry mouth or eyes, low urination, or dark urine. 

Centers are available throughout Los Angeles to offer relief from the heat; click here to see a map. SAJE is also offering workshops featuring free kits that include items you can use to stay cool, including a wall thermometer that can be placed inside or outside in the shade.

Cooling kits can be a way to manage a hot summer, but they are by no means a solution to the problem of extreme indoor heat. The City of Los Angeles has yet to adopt a policy that would give tenants the right to indoor cooling the same way they have a legal right to heat. That’s why we are encouraging the Los Angeles City Council to opt into L.A. County’s Safe Indoor Temperature Ordinance as soon as possible. 

Want to join a SAJE cooling workshop? Well, you’re in luck! Twenty-five more cooling kits will be distributed next Monday, July 27, from 1:00–2:30 p.m. Click here to RSVP. 

Can’t come to the workshop, but want to get involved in our extreme heat campaign? Contact Alejandro Campillo at acampillo@saje.net.