<p>Get a Vornado!</p>
<p>When we were little we had only one fan and at night it pointed down the long hallway to the bedrooms where we slept with our doors open. My mom told us that if we were to lay very, very still that we could feel the light breeze washing over us.</p>
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I’m an idiot :D</p>
<p>That’s OK. Within a building heat will tend to rise up to higher floors. If you get high enough, however, and you are on a floor that is higher than other buildings, you might catch more of a breeze.</p>
<p>I’ll be on the second floor, but any other buildings are a couple hundred feet away, so hopefully there will be some breeze.</p>
<p>D2 is currently living in an un-AC dorm for the summer. Her smallish fan has been great…right up until this last heat wave. Last night, she camped out in a basement music practice room, and several friends were crashed in an air conditioned lounge. Frankly, he won’t be spending much of the day time, when it’s hottest, in his room anyway, so the various fan suggestions should work.</p>
<p>I remember reading (on CC!) that fans would be in short supply by August move-in. Stressful for us because S1 dorm assignment did not have air conditioning and the climate would be hot and humid til sometime in October. We would be flying across the country, more or less, and I debated shipping a box fan to him to arrive as we arrived. I was glad I did not and need not have worried. The local Walmarts, Home Depots, Targets, etc. had plenty of fans in stock, along with all the mini-fridges, area rugs, and other dorm supplies. The local retailers in college towns will have fans at move-in time if there is a demand.</p>
<p>Some colleges rent fans (along with refrigerators), so you don’t have to worry about transporting them across the country – you might want to check to see if your child’s university provides this service. Our D lived in a higher floor of a non-A/C dorm last year, and she and her roommate had 7 fans last year: 2 box fans in the window, one very large tower, 2 clip-ons over their beds, and 2 of the powerful round fans (about 15"). They helped, but it was still stifling until it began to cool off in early October. Move-in is tough…make sure the fans are the FIRST thing you bring up!!! :D</p>
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<p>Tempted to say not true buuuuut… I lived in montana (60 miles from the canadian border) and it was so hot in september, you couldn’t even stand it 
(i should know, i worked a booth at the local fair there and it was often in the 90s) ><</p>
<p>Son had this issue in an internship a few years ago. We got him a fan and it helped but I imagine that it was not pleasant. The other pain was mosquitoes. The screens in the room had a few holes in them - closing the window would have made it oppressively hot. I rigged up a solution with a small screen from Home Depot and a lot of duct tape. It basically got the job done.</p>
<p>Basically it’s a situation to be avoided.</p>
<p>Learn to drink lots of water to stay hydrated. We are living in S Texas this summer and our a/c has been out three different times. A fan is a must but you need to drink water. It is amazing what people can do in the heat. Today I watched several contractors installing a roof in the high 90’s. The workers all drink water. It may not be you first choice to be without a/c but a cool shower before bed and a strong fan helps. Good luck!</p>
<p>DD1 was on the 6th floor of an unairconditioned dorm last summer. We bought her a tower fan with a timer that she would be able to use for college this year. It didn’t take up too much floor space and her roommate that came by bus was able to benefit from it as well. A couple evenings before bedtime, a group of girls gathered in one of the rooms and they all brought their fans and just hung out that way. They do figure it out with what they have. :)</p>
<p>In my experience, window fans are the way to go: the most powerful one that will fit in the window. We have box fans at home now, which work the best, but in the past have purchased the kind that are rectangular and have flexible pull-out panels. They can be installed horizontally or vertically, so that they work in casement windows and windows of various dimensions, including ones that are wide enough for a box fan but can’t be opened far enough to accommodate the height. </p>
<p>Moving around the hot air in the room is better than nothing, and a smaller auxiliary fan might help, but blowing in cooler night air from outside makes a more significant difference.</p>
<p>Don’t forget an extension cord.</p>
<p>PS I live in Maine, and I usually have the fan in my window until the end of September, at least. On the other hand, I often keep the bedroom windows open at night into November, so I am kind of a freak for cool sleeping conditions! :D</p>
<p>-_- most schools rules state you can’t have those extension cordes. A long corded surge protector would work.</p>
<p>When I had a ridiculously hot room, I had a box fan and blackout curtains to keep the sun out. The curtains make a big difference-- when you live on the side of the building that only gets sun in the evening it is probably 10 degrees cooler than the rooms on the side where the sun shines in during the hottest part of the day. Blocking the sun from shining through the windows and heating up the room, while it may make the room gloomy, makes a big difference for temperature if you’re desperate.</p>
<p>Many dorms are not going to allow curtains. Make sure you check the rules.</p>
<p>Realize that in the unairconditioned dorms, people spend as little time there as possible during the more oppressive months. If there are air-conditioned lounges or study rooms anywhere in the building, people will tend to gather there at night. My own dorm had an air-conditioned lobby and a 2nd floor meeting area; you’d be surprised how many people would routinely hang out in the lobby. During the day, people just tend not to come back much. If they have a 2 hr break between classes, they’ll often use it to study, socialize etc. in the academic buildings, rather than coming back to the heat. It’s a matter of making the schedule work – if he has classes from 9 am to 3 pm, he’s out for those hours; then it’s probably a good time to study in the library for several more hours and eat dinner. By that time it’ll be 7-8 pm when he returns and he will have missed the worst heat of the day.</p>
<p>We had a fan that you put water in, so it would mist through the room. Obviously that wouldn’t work in a place with high humidity, but it was great where we were. I also agree that staying out of the dorm is the best solution. Between classes, student union, athletic facilities and library, I am sure that someone could find cool places to beat the heat.</p>
<p>Of course fans… there typically aren’t any alternatives that are allowed. And yes, the kids find places like the library etc. that are air conditioned. If it’s just hot hot and not humid hot, you roll up in a damp towel and turn the fan on. Works great. We don’t have air in our home so my kids have grown up with a few hot nights, some of it is just adjusting. Our neighbors keep their house so cold my kids didn’t like going over their to play when they were little.</p>
<p>My daughter is in an non airconditioned dorm on the third floor for the summer in MA. I gave her 3 things to do.</p>
<p>Multiple fans
Wet washcloths and put in freezer, then put on back of neck, forehead etc while fan blows on you.
Freeze multiple water bottles. Put a sock over each and put them in bed with you at night. The sock will prevent freezer burn. :)</p>
<p>Make sure to bring one of those clip on type fans if you are going to be in a bunk bed/lofted bed. We had a couple fans but you couldnt feel them if you were above ground level</p>