One of the biggest mistakes homeowners make is entering the summer season without setting up an HVAC appointment. Regular HVAC maintenance is vital to keep your house as cold as possible. However, caring for your HVAC unit is just the start.
There are also things you can start doing right now to beat the heat. The best part? Some of the solutions in this article don’t cost anything!
Read on to learn the truth about how to keep your house cool in the summer.
1. Use Blackout Curtains to Stay Cool in the Summer
What type of curtains do you have up in your home right now? If they’re not heavy-duty, they’re not doing a great job of keeping the heat out.
Heavy-duty blackout curtains can help keep each room nice and cool. Adding an extra layer of insulation between your space and the window will allow the curtain to absorb a lot of the outside heat. Remember that while blackout curtains are helpful, you shouldn’t keep your house dark all day long.
Sunlight is beneficial for your mental health as well as your overall well-being. You’ll need to expose the house to sunlight during the correct day hours.
For instance, you could open the curtains during the early morning hours and in the early evening. However, close the curtains in every room during the hottest part of the day. You’ll be amazed at how much you start saving right away just by upgrading your curtain game.
2. Check Each Room for Insulation
Are there any areas of your house that are leaking air? Perhaps you have a drafty window or a door that needs a little bit of attention.
Whatever the case may be, you’ll want to go through every room in your house to check for any leakage spots. If you find any problem areas that could be leaking cold air outside, take care of it immediately.
Do you have a large family? Then you’ll want to talk to everyone in the family about the importance of keeping windows closed.
Open windows can put extra stress on the air conditioning unit, which can cause it to overheat. The extra stress on the air conditioning unit will also cost you more since the unit will have to work harder.
The solution is to seal up your house as tight as possible. Get new insulation for the windows, new dust sweepers for the doors, and be on top of keeping windows closed.
3. How to Keep Your House Cool When Cooking
You should also learn how to keep your house cool in the summer by strategically planning kitchen activities. Cooking up a delicious meal is one of the best ways to brighten your day. However, you should avoid using the kitchen a ton during the hottest hours of the day.
Baking can heat up your house quite a bit. All it takes is a cake in the oven, and your A.C. will have to work almost twice as hard.
The solution isn’t to stop baking or to cook together. That would be silly! Instead, you’ll just need to plan your meals a little bit more proactively.
Instead of baking during the hottest parts of the day, try baking earlier on or after the sun’s already gone down. If the middle of the day is the only time available to you, you can still make it work. Just make sure you use a couple of fans in the kitchen area to keep the air moving.
By creating a healthy airflow, you’ll make it easier for the cool air to reach each spot of the house. Everything you can do to make things easier on your A.C. will help keep your house chill.
4. Plant Shade Makes Things Cool in the Summer
Anything you can do to create shade outside will help cool down your house. For instance, you could look into planting trees and other types of foliage near your windows.
Strategically place plants in areas that will provide the most shade. The cooler the area surrounding your home is, the easier it’ll be for your air conditioning unit to work efficiently. We suggest just reaching out to a professional landscaping company and asking for their expertise. Tell them that you’re looking for a project that would help improve the shading of your yard to keep your home nice and cool.
Look for easy-to-maintain plants that aren’t going to take too much work. There are a ton of easy-to-care-for plants out there, and they can provide tons of shade. In addition to keeping things cool, the right plants can also make your yard look wonderful!
5. How to Keep Cool With Water And Ice
If for some reason, your air conditioning unit goes out, you’ll want to call for emergency repairs. Depending on what’s wrong, you can also try following these repair steps.
The sooner you call for repairs, the safer you and everyone in your household will be. However, as you’re waiting for the technician to arrive, you’ll want to do whatever you can to stay cool.
One of the best ways to cool down immediately is to take a cold bath. Rather than a shower, let the bathtub fill up with ice-cold water.
Immersing your entire body and chill water can drop your core temperature and help keep you comfortable. Just make sure the water isn’t so cold that it causes you pain.
You can also look into getting a foam cooler, filling it with ice, and putting a fan behind it. Every little bit you do to cool off your home will make a difference.
If your main A.C. isn’t working and you’re using DIY cool options, focus on cooling off one room. It’ll be more effective than trying to cool off the entire house. You’ll also want to limit your activities and drink plenty of water.
If you have access to a vehicle, go to a library or somewhere with air conditioning. Stay in A.C. during the hottest parts of the day.
Are you stuck at home? Heat exhaustion and heat stroke are serious threats. If you feel that your health is at risk, call emergency medical services and ask for advice.
How to Keep Your House Cool in the Summer: Answered
There you have it! The top tips for how to keep your house cool in the summer.
Extreme temperatures shouldn’t be taken lightly. Do everything you can to proactively protect your house and everyone in it. Instead of waiting for your air conditioning to break, set up a maintenance appointment today.
Reach out to a local HVAC technician and have them look at your unit. Everything you can do to help your unit run more efficiently will help keep your house nice and cold! For a few more tips, just look around the rest of our website.
