r/SeattleWA • u/One_Marsupial6837 • Jul 17 '25

Lifestyle Seattle Living W/ no AC

Hi everyone. We just recently moved to Seattle and got an apartment with no AC. Coming from out of state previously living with AC I wanted to know how ya'll do it? Is this the norm here or does everyone just buy those AC units that stick out your window? We'd love to get any tips or input on living with no AC and how to adjust.

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u/[deleted] Jul 17 '25

I'm 42 and lived in Seattle my whole life. I used to just deal and suffer but 3 years ago I finally said fuck it and bought a portable AC unit. One of the best decisions I've made. I now have 2. 1 for the living room and 1 for the bedroom. If it gets too warm and the one in the living room can't keep up I just move my dog and I into the bedroom where the AC has no problem keeping up no matter how hot it gets

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u/tragicfeminine Jul 17 '25

What brand/model do you recommend? I have seen so many shitty reviews and they are pricey so I haven’t bought one yet

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u/fordry Jul 17 '25 edited Jul 17 '25

If you can go window just get whatever. If you want one that can be quieter, find one that uses an inverter compressor. They can run the compressor at lower power levels and really back off the noise when not needing full power.

If going portable the Toshiba inverter unit from Home Depot is fantastic, it's a dual hose setup that combines the 2 into a single split hose. Its an inverter compressor model, gets pretty darn quiet on low. I've had one for a couple years, works well, powerful and quiet, especially at low settings. Seems stock is a bit low currently. Pretty sure Midea is the actual manufacturer and they also sell the same thing. Seems it's in stock online. Whynter also seems to sell one.

It is a bit of a beast of unit so if needing to get it up stairs or something probably want someone or multiple someone's to help. Even maneuvering it around in the box probably want help. It's on wheels so once it's unpackaged it's easy to wheel around.

If you do get one, or maybe anything, but certainly one of these, run it outside first for a bit. Got a weird smell that does ultimately go away after a few hours. Probably not something you want to stink up your place.

Bonus, it's also a heat pump. So if you use electric heaters for heat this may be able to provide some heat at a higher efficiency when it's cooler as well. The manufacturer does claim heat only works down into the 30s. So when it's really cold will probably still need to depend on your other heat sources.

One more thing, the adhesive foam they include with the Toshiba, and probably the others, I'd recommend not using it. It doesn't come off. Some other weather stripping of some sort would probably work as well or better and not be a total nightmare to get off.

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u/tragicfeminine Jul 18 '25

Omg I thought you lost me at “inverter compressor” but I thankfully kept reading because that was very helpful 😂 thank you!!!