With several vintage ladies to clean and restore, and the high heat and humidity here in the South, I have a quandary. Do I continue to ignore the machine cleaning tasks which so eagerly beckon? Or, do I cover an indoor table in the solarium, open the kerosene and clean away? Or do I risk domestic discord by moving the projects to my home office which has as sash window, put a small window fan, set on exhaust, in the window, and pump out all of the A.C.? None of these options are really good, but I really don't want to wait until November when the cool weather finally gets here.

Recommendations anyone?

With the heat, don't add the smell to your home. Any neighbors with cool garages or workshops you could use?

I'd do the solarium, and stand in front of a fan, or maybe covered porch or carport? My husband cleaned a small part in the first floor laundry sink with a small amount of gasoline. window open, fan on. The odor lingered for weeks.

As a fellow southerner I'd say do it on the patio between 7 and 8 AM and keep all the odor outside. It is semi-cool outside that early and if you stay in the shade you can get quite a bit done before the heat and humidity completely do you in.

I work outdoors many mornings and it is alright some days till as late as 9 or 10 and other days it feels like its boiling by 7:30!

I don't think you should get that smell in your house. It will take forever to get rid of it. If you take a fan outside, it will keep the bugs away. Here in Michigan, the mosquitos will carry you away. They come out when it cools off. Otherwise, I would work when it cools off in the evening.
Sue

Kerosene==no. Be good to your lungs.

Kerosene==no. Be good to your lungs.

Get up early & work with the kerosene outside. You don't want to breath the fumes, especially with the high humidity.

could you go outside and put a fan on you while you are working in the shade

maybe work on it early morning or late at night when it is cooler?

outside wouldn't want that smell in your house

Outdoors is not really an option for cleaning the machines. I have a small covered porch, but the rains blow under. Not that I'm complaining about the rain - let it pour - we really need it. However, the storms pop up suddenly, and are fairly brief. Then the sun is back out, (if it got cloudy in the first place), and then one could steam a pudding in the mail box. Although the early morning temps are about 74 degrees F., (before sunrise) the real feel is closer to 80 degrees. Having had three heat strokes, even 74 is too hot for me to be out for more than a few minutes.

How has this heat affected me? It's so hot, that even with all these wonderful sales going on, I've had to stay indoors and play rather than risk the heat and go shopping.(sob) I must brave it now though, because I need 6 1/2 yards of fancy black fabric for a current quilting project, and the largest I have in my stash is only 5 1/2 yds. Problem is, once I leave the house, I'll be out when the heat climbs to 93, and I'll be so exhausted when I come home I won't be able to do anything but drink water and nap. Probably won't even have the energy to take the fabric downstairs to the wash. The heat drains me something awful.

No space in the garage to work. We have a small portable building, but it's like a greenhouse - actually, my greenhouse is cooler. I have a small portable AC, but it is more like a heat pump, and can't keep up with the heat. I used the fan in the window trick when leading stained glass. That worked great for the fumes, but that was more of a smoke than fumes.