How do amish deal with summer heat?

Looks at the design of old Southern houses. Likely a porch around three sides so sunlight doesn't hit windows directly. Large ceilings with tall windows which could be opened top and bottom for air flow. Cupulas to allow for natural venting of attics. Trees whick lost leaves in winter. Ceiling fans.

How many of you still have an ice pick?

I infrequently deal with Amish and Mennonites. During hot weather some males and females can smell a bit ripe. But then some English do to, including me on occasion.

Acclimation is a powerful thing. They have never been in an ac house or car their entire lives, so their body is used to the heat; they don't notice it like we do. Like people who live in the dessert in the middle east with much higher temps - you never see them complaining about the heat when its 120 degrees.

I agree the amish do smell ripe. The ones around me dont wear deoderant (the men at least) and I have to take a step back when I open the door and keep windows down if I am driving someone home

__________________
"For if you start dancing on tables, fanning yourself, feeling sleepy when you pick up a book... making love whenever you feel like it, then you know. The south has got you.”

My Amish friends bought a house a few years ago that is a ranch style house. The roof hangs our over the porch and this really provides much shade. They also stay in the basement for the most part because it's cooler down there. They do have fans they can use as they are new Order but when we were at her parents a couple weeks ago they are Old Order and their house is built back in the woods. A 3 story log home and it was pleasant in there with no a/c and no fans. He did mention bringing the fans out and I wondered how they would do that if they didn't have electricity.

we went out Sat., and passed many of our Amish neighbors doing the same thing we do when the heat is extreme....sitting outside sweating together. lol

I've never had AC but Wis. is not the south or west.

But we still get hot and humid at times.

Doing all you can and being a stickler about it does make a difference. Open all doors and windows as soon as the outside starts to be cooler than inside. Close everything in the day time. Have heavy curtains or shades and always close them when the sun is on that side.

Only use the door that the sun is not shining on and close it quickly.

Keep the house dry if humidity is high. Put down those toilet lids, don't keep water uncovered around.

At night I fill the washing machine with cold water and let the load sit all night and come to room temperature before using. I do the same with jugs of water that i will be using to water plants with.

I let frozen foods thaw before cooking.

If you wash the dishes right after a meal you can clean them with cold water, soothing on a hot day.

None of these things cost us anything so might as well do them, just maybe they help!

__________________
To have what we want is riches, but to do without is power.

We do: Drapes, shades, overhangs, foliage, ventilation, masonry, wide brimmed hats, long sleeves, work in the cool of the day - the early and late parts when the sun is low.

Our tiny cottage has about 100,000 lbs of thermal mass (masonry) so it is slow to heat up and stays pretty cool. We have no A/C.

Cheers,

-Walter Jeffries
Sugar Mountain Farm
Pastured Pigs, Sheep & Kids
in the mountains of Vermont
Read about our on-farm butcher shop project:
ButcherShop | Sugar Mountain Farm

__________________
SugarMtnFarm.com -- Pastured Pigs, Poultry, Sheep, Dogs and Kids

I was raised in an old farm house. After supper, Dad would put a fan in the upstairs window blowing *out* in one bedroom and open the window in the other end bedroom, thus pulling the cool air through all the bedrooms. I don't know if I'm explaining it correctly - the stairs opened into a room, with a bedroom on either side, so the fan set-up pulled cool evening air through all three rooms. The main flor stayed cool until about 4:00 unless Mom was cooking big meals for the farm hands. I thought we should be eating cold sandwiches and cold fruit but she always made those big hot meals. Ugh. We sometimes had a blanket over the doorway to keep the heat in the kitchen but not the other downstairs rooms.