It’s no secret that the summer months can be absolutely brutal when it comes to heat, and this is why we turn on the AC to help us cope with extremely warm temperatures.
But what if you don’t have an AC or it isn’t working? Does this mean you’re all out of luck? Not at all. There are many ways you can keep yourself cool without AC.
Cover Your Windows
Could it really be this simple? Can closing your blinds and curtains really help cool down your home? The truth is it very well can, especially if you have blackout curtains. Almost a third of all heat in your home comes from your windows, and by covering them up you’ll be able to lower overall temperatures in your home by twenty degrees or more. Be sure to reopen your blinds after the temperatures outside have started to drop a little.
Open Your Windows at Night
The night-time temperatures are always cooler, including during the summer, so opening your windows at night will bring much badly needed cool air into your house and help you sleep better. You can also utilize the cross-breeze concept by setting up your fans to strategically create a wind tunnel, which will guarantee that you’re getting lots of cool air throughout the night.
Cook Outside
The interior temperature of your house will always go up dramatically by cooking inside. By doing most of your cooking outside instead, such as grilling, you’ll naturally keep the temperature of your home down.
Drink Lots of Ice Water
Staying hydrated is something you should be doing anyway, but drinking plenty of ice water will do much to help you cool down. It’s generally recommended that you drink a minimum of two liters of water per day to stay hydrated. Meanwhile, the ice-cold fluids flowing throughout your body will help make you feel cool even if it’s over a hundred degrees outside. Keep in mind, you don’t have to only drink water. You can also drink other cool beverages such as lemonade, juice, or soda.
Invest In a Few Fans
Contrary to what many people think, fans don’t actually cool the temperature of the air. Rather, they just move the air around. But this creates a cooling effect on your skin. Place a few fans in the most strategic places to keep a create a cross breeze where you draw cool air inside and then push the warm air outside.
Seal Off the Warmest Rooms
Everybody has that one room that is always hot. This is usually because it has at least two outside walls, a couple of windows, and no shade. If you have a room like that, close it off from the rest of the house. Shut the door, cover the cracks with towels or blankets, and put a door sweep below the door. This will stop cooler air from getting out.
Freeze Your Blankets and Sheets
A DIY way to help make yourself stay cool at night will be to place your sheets in the freezer for a couple of hours and place them on your bed before you go to sleep. The sheets will actually preserve their chilliness for longer than you would expect and will do much to help you stay cool.
Put A Cool Compress Over Your Forehead
One of the best ways to lower your overall body temperature will be to lower the temperature of your head. And perhaps the easiest way to accomplish this is to put a cool compress on it. Soak a bandana or a similar cloth in cold water and then apply it directly to your forehead. Lay back and try to rest and allow the compress to work its magic.
Staying cool is something all of us strive to do in the blistering hot summer months. The main advantage to each of the methods we have covered in this article is how they can be done without spending much money while still making you feel like you have the AC on.