Cooling the summer heat when you don’t have air conditioning isn’t easy, but here are 12 unusual, yet practical techniques that will help keep you cooler in the sweltering summer heat.
12 Unusual Ways to Beat the Heat
Summer Eating Tips that will Keep You Cool
Sweat It!
Have you ever noticed in regions that have the hottest climates the cuisine has a tendency to be quite spicy? Really- Thailand, India, Latin America- each of these places has an extremely hot climate and it’s no coincidence they serve some of the world’s hottest cuisine.
Eating spicy foods causes your body to sweat, but doesn’t physically raise the body temperature. Once the skin has been dampened by sweat, it is immediately cooled by the evaporation that follows, naturally cooling the body.
Graze, don’t Gorge!
While it’s hot, consider avoiding large heavy meals and instead eat smaller meals, more frequently. Your body produces more heat to digest larger meals and will make you feel hotter and more sluggish, making the heat more pronounced.
Chill Out
As a child, you may have had a cool cloth placed on your forehead during a fever or other sickness. That trick isn’t just for fevers! Gently chill your pulse points, particularly the forehead, temples, wrists, and back of the neck with cold water for immediate relief from the heat. For fast relief, just hold your wrists under cold running water for about a minute.
Reverse the Air
If you’re running fans in your windows, be sure that you face them so that they are blowing OUT instead of IN. This sucks the heat out of your house, cooling it faster.
Cooling Window Tricks
It’s considerably easier to cool a house a night when the temperatures drop, so open your windows in the evening (if it’s cooler outside in your area!) Then, close the windows first thing in the morning and pull the shades to help keep the sun from beating in through the windows and raising the temperature in your home. This simple trick can reduce the heat increase by as much as 45%. Just remember, the more layers, the better
Another option is to install Reflectix insulation on your windows to block out the heat.
Ice It, Easy Fan Trick
If you have a couple of fans inside the house to help circulate the air, set a full bowl of ice cubes in front of the fan. As the air blows across the ice, it will create a cool breeze, creating a homemade “air conditioner” of sorts. It’s also known as a swamp cooler, and here are complete directions for making your own air conditioner for about $10.
Reduce Night Sweats
Falling asleep in a hot bedroom is not easy! Make your own cooling cachet by filling a clean sock with dry, raw rice. Wrap it tightly with an elastic band or hairband, or simply tie a knot in the end. Toss it the freezer for a few hours. Just before bedtime, place the cooling cachet between the sheets to cool them off, moving it as needed. The rice will hold the cold for a couple of hours.
Fireplace Tips
It might seem strange to be worried about your fireplace in the summertime, but leaving a damper open actually allows hot air to get sucked Into the house, raising the temperature. Keep the damper closed during the summer months!
Hot Bulbs
The light bulbs in your home tend to generate a lot of excess heat. Think about it, Easy Bake ovens were powered by a light bulb to bake cakes!
If you haven’t already changed to energy-efficient compact fluorescents, now would be a great time. Compact fluorescent bulbs produce almost 70% less heat than their standard counterparts and will also reduce your electric bill each month.
Weather Stripping
Weatherstripping isn’t just for wintertime! Just as you don’t want cold air blowing in around the windows in the winter, you don’t want hot air seeping in either. Caulk around unsealed window frames, install rubber gaskets behind the electrical outlets and light switches to seal leaks.
Other Tips:
If you have an air conditioner, be sure that you clean the filter regularly. This will help prevent mold and mildew, allow the air to circulate better, and keep the unit running efficiently.
© Can Stock Photo Inc. / hemeroskopion
thank you for these ideas. we have not had central air for over 25 years. A little window air conditioner in the kitchen helps in there so I can use the oven.
We turn the fan on from the central heat (turn the heat off). It brings the cool air up from the basement and circulates the air very well. An outside entrance from the basement is opened at night to bring in cooler air again and keeps our home at a comfortable temp.
Also, don’t run the air conditioner in the car for short trips. Once you get that cool, it doesn’t matter how cool the house is, it won’t be cool enough.
Thank you for all the great adivice you provide. I always find great tips and ideas here.
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when my a/c went out a few months ago, i put damp washcloths in the freezer. when they were frozen (which doesn’t take very long) we would put them on our necks or forehead to cool off.
an old south city trick to help reduce the rising temperature of your dwelling. put shiny side of aluminum foil in your windows facing outside. it works just like an auto window cover.
it may only reduce your temperature by a couple of degrees, but it works.
we do have central heat/air but want to save on our energy bills. instead of aluminum foil on the windows, we buy the emergency blankets that are sold in the sporting goods/camping section of stores like walmart. for less than $3 you get a very large piece of reflective material that really stops the sun from entering through the windows.
Easy to put up with a little tape and easy to take down for winter.
Love this idea . I am going to the Walmart to get some !!!!
thanks for the great idea!
I bought 40 x 60 insulation board with a shiny silver side. They are around $10 each. Used a box cutter to cut them to fit them to windows, each sheet was enough for 2 or 3 windows.
I take them in and out of the windows as needed for “homemade” climate control. When not in use, they fit perfectly in that narrow space between the washing machine and the wall.
i made a swamp cooler and it works really good and like the rice idea didn’t know that one
what great ideas, i can’t wait to try some out!!
i had no idea that blowing the fan “out” of the window actually helps cool the home! wish i knew that in my old apartment! :banghead:
going to try the rice in the freezer trick
going to try the rice trick
so many great inexpensive great ideas! thanks everyone…i plan on using several of the ideas on here if not all of them! why pay a higher bill if i don’t have to?!
thanks for the great ideas everyone!
:smile1:Yes the fan facing out to the window really works, Everyone that walks into my kitchen and see my fan facing out the door thinks I m crazy till they see that I m getting the heat out.
Like the rice idea 🙂
a lot of good ideas, the reflective blankets and the rice. two i definitely want to try. :worthy:
when i lived in central florida our house did not have any air conditioning. my father installed an industrial fan up near the roofline. thermostat controlled like an attic fan is.
when hit the temp setting the fan drew air into the house. since heat rises and the fan faced to blow it outdoors the house stayed quite cool and could get downright chilly with the storms. also having trees that were far enough form the house if they fell it wouldn’t land on the house creates cooler air around the house.