When the temperature rises and the days are uncomfortably hot, don’t worry – there are things you can do to make your home and, crucially, yourself feel cooler during those scorching summer days.
It’s not often that I write about something so timely but I couldn’t ignore it anymore – I’m working in my home office today and it’s boiling hot. The sun glaring down onto the house and it’s almost unbearable.
So, I thought I would do some research into ways that I can keep myself cool during the hot weather and share those tips with you.
Also, I’ve previously shared an article on how to keep your pets safe during sunny weather so be sure to check that out too.
Cool air
If you’re lucky enough to have an air conditioning unit or a ductless mini splits cooling system in your property, you’re probably wondering what all the fuss is about – until you step outside, of course! Often, when the weather is as hot as this, the sensible thing to do is to stay indoors and out of the heat. That’s certainly what I’ve been doing for most of this last month!
That said, even with an effective home cooling system, you may need to carry out air duct cleaning and change the filters in your unit to ensure it’s running effectively – learn more about how air filters can affect the cooling of your home and can also help with filtering pollen if you suffer from hay fever.
Aside from the luxury of air conditioning, there are still things you can do to improve your comfort within your home during these hot days. For a start, you can circulate the air in the rooms of your home to avoid them becoming stuffy.
Ventilation
There are a few ways you can do this – you could open windows on either side of the house to provide cross-ventilation. If there’s any breeze at all outside you’ll benefit from a cooling effect when it blows through your home.
Another option is to turn on ceiling fans if you have them. However, there are two settings on a ceiling fan – one to push the air down and one to pull the air up. You may therefore need to adjust the fins of the fan or choose the correct direction to make sure that the cool air is circulated, so check the fixture’s instructions.
Movement of air
However, on a completely still day like today, there’s no chance of having a cool breeze come in through the windows. In this instance, a fan might be your best bet to cool off. Technically it’s not cooling the air but the movement of the air does feel cooler.
A tip to cool the warm air is to have a bowl of ice (or cold water – be careful not to spill!) in front of the fan, so the air flows over the top of the cold surface and cools the air before it reaches you.
Less light
The best thing to do is to prevent the interior of your home from becoming warm in the first place – and a good way to do this is to block out all the sunlight. Sun streaming in through the windows warms up any surface it hits inside your home – just consider where your cat chooses to lay = right in the shaft of hot sunlight, right?!
So, if you close the curtains or blinds, you’ll stop the hot sunshine from heating the interior of your home. Even better are blackout blinds, which prevent almost all daylight from getting in. Sure, this means you’re not enjoying the sunny days as you can’t see out of your windows, but at least you’ll feel cooler.
Keeping cool yourself
In terms of keeping yourself cool, it’s important to stay suitably hydrated with cold drinks. I’ve recently stocked up on filters for my ZeroWater jug so that I always have clean and fresh filtered water available in my fridge. The five-stage filter removes virtually all dissolved solids to create pure-tasting water so that I’m tempted to drink it and stay hydrated.
You may also find it more comfortable to eat chilled foods like salad or ice lollies. Luckily, I’ve got lots of fresh fruit and veg growing at my allotment so I choose to eat raw, fresh produce as often as I can during the hot weather.
It may seem obvious, but stay out of the sun and take refuge in the cool interior of your home. You may want to stick to your health goals during the summer but, if you’re planning to do any exercise, make sure it’s during the early morning or late evening, which are the cooler parts of the day. And even then, it’s a good idea to only do gentle movement so that you don’t overheat.
Let me know your own tips for keeping your home and yourself cool during these hot sunny days in the comments below. I’d love to hear your hacks for staying chilled in the summer.
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This article is a sponsored collaboration. The pink links in the content indicate a sponsored link or information source. The blog post reflects my own experience and the sponsor hasn’t had any control over my content 🙂
