Installing a Cool Misting System to Beat the Summer Heat

$60
1 Hour
Easy
Most of the year, it's simply a paradise here in the desert southwest. However, in the apocalyptic heat of a Phoenix summer, we find ourselves dashing from air conditioned office, to air conditioned car, to air conditioned home. We do it quickly here, so we can get to our Popsicle stashes before we go into heatstroke. During these oppressive summer months in the desert, the temp rarely dips below 100°. One of the things we miss, huddled in our icy, electricity guzzling castles, is our outdoor living.
Luckily, our super-dry climate lends itself very nicely to evaporative cooling (and swimming pools!). Most restaurants with outdoor patios and amusement park lines here employ a misting system to keep folks cool in the summer. We installed this system on our back patio.
Water flows through tubing and is forced through very small nozzles, vaporizing and cooling the area as much as 20 -35° F (11 - 20° C) in seconds.
I picked up an Orbit 30060 Arizona Outdoor Misting System Basic 3/8-Inch Cooling Set, two 10' extension sets, and an in-line Calcium Inhibitor Filter.
I attached it with the included nail-in clips. They were similar to the little white clips you normally see cable-tv wiring, only in a delightful, tube-matching tan.
I threaded the calcium filter in line with a new 6' garden hose and connected it to the system. A quick flip of the valve and sweet cooling water blasted out of the nozzles, curtaining the entire porch in a very-fine mist. It dissipated well before reaching the ground.
We've been enjoying the cooling mist into the evening, several nights a week, reclaiming the night from the heat.
John @ AZ DIY Guy
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 4 comments
  • Pamela Thurlow Pamela Thurlow on Nov 17, 2013
    What a great idea! Thank you for sharing. I would love this here in Florida.
    • John @ AZ DIY Guy John @ AZ DIY Guy on Nov 17, 2013
      @Pamela Thurlow I hope it works in by you. You may want to do some research before you buy it, to see if it still feels cool under Florida humidity. It's super dry here. Good luck!
  • Jay Taylor Jay Taylor on Jun 25, 2014
    Very nice and inspiring blog. Misting system means to help keeping your environment clean. Therefore, in this hot summer we should go for misting system to beat the heat. I am surely going to install this cool misting system in my home as well as in my office. Thanks for sharing.
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