Our house in Arizona had a swamp cooler. The original unit just had water constantly flowing over the excelsior pads. As kids we were constantly warned not the drink that water from the hose from the cooler. My parents weren't wasteful, they used the water in the yard for plants and the grass and it wasn't a high flow of water.
Later the unit was replaced with one that recirculated the water, though due to minerals it would constantly clog up. The unit worked well up until the monsoon season, around early July. After that it was like living in a steam bath.
And then there was the smell. It's hard to describe, other than a sour, mildewy nasty smell. The pads had to get changed. Usually at the end of the season, then those would be good for the start of the next season. We would get a bale of excelsior and hand stuff the three panels of the unit. No premade pads for us! New pads were a treat. Unlike the nasty mildew smell, this was one a sweet smell of fresh, wet wood.
As for cars, no A/C or under dash units, until one my of older sisters bought her 62 Ford Galaxie 500 coupe, baby blue/white top. It had A/C and it was amazing! My other sister had her 62 Galaxie 4 door sedan, black, with black and white vinyl interior refitted with Ford's "PolorAire" unit, under the dash. Finally the cars were bearable to drive during the Summer.
