Introduction – A Guide to Keeping Your Home Cool When the AC Fails
Are you a victim of the sweltering heat and humidity? Are you one of those people stuck in their home with no air conditioning?
Do you feel like your home is an oven and you’re a chicken ready to be roasted? If so, then this blog post should help ease your mind. You are not alone, and we can get through this together. Let’s face it: The summer heat is brutal! Those sticky, humid days when the thermostat seems to max out at around 90 degrees Fahrenheit.
Even though we all dread going back to school during these hot months, there are some upsides to the hot weather—mainly that it’s the perfect time for enjoying indoor activities like board games, movies nights, reading books (not textbooks), hanging out with friends, or just lazing around in a hammock.
The AC Breaks Down During Heat Waves
Most AC units can be expected to last for up to 14 years, but not always. So, during the extremely hot summer months, it’s important to keep a watch out for signs of trouble. If your AC is over 10 years old, its life expectancy has likely been shortened because of the increase in the use of natural resources, especially electricity.
A good way to tell if your AC is in need of repair is by monitoring the temperature inside your home. If it’s consistently too warm or hot, the AC is probably broken. If the AC fails during a heat wave, it can be dangerous, especially if you are in a house or an apartment without air conditioning.
If you can’t afford repairs and the AC is too expensive to replace, then you’re going to have to find another solution for getting cool.
Stay Cool Without the AC
If your AC completely breaks down and you don’t have the funds to replace it, you’re going to have to get creative in finding ways to stay cool during the heat waves.
If you’re living in a house or an apartment during the summer, then your first option would be to move to a different room with a working AC unit. No, you don’t have to pack up your stuff and move out of the house, but you can move your bedding and sleeping supplies to a room with a working AC unit. If you’re living with roommates, then you can ask if they can turn down the AC unit in their room and let you use it.
If you’re living in a dorm, try to find out which rooms have AC units installed. Dorms are notorious for being hot and humid, and the building isn’t equipped with air conditioning. If you live in a dorm, the best way to stay cool without air conditioning is to use fans. They will keep the air circulating so that you don’t feel so hot and stuffy.
Tips to Stay Comfortable Without Air Conditioning
-Keep your curtains closed during the day to prevent the sun from heating up your dwelling. This will also help keep your home cool at night.
-Keep your doors and windows open. Doing this will create cross-ventilation in your home, which will help cool it off.
-Keep your shades and blinds closed at night. This will trap in the cool air to keep your home from warming up.
-Try to do your chores during the cooler hours of the day, such as in the early morning or late evening.
-Avoid spending time outside during the hottest times of the day, usually between noon and 6 p.m.
-Eat cold foods that don’t require a lot of cooking.
-If you have a pool, use it as much as possible.
-Try to schedule your activities for the cooler parts of the day.
-Make sure you stay hydrated by drinking lots of water.
Don’t Forget These Essentials
-Sleeping with your windows open is a good way to stay cool during the day, but you have to be careful about letting bugs and pests into your home. Make sure to close the windows before bed so that mosquitoes and other insects can’t get inside.
-You can also use fans to keep bugs out while they cool down your home. Some fans are designed to prevent insects from entering your home, so make sure to read the product description before purchasing a fan.
-Keep your bedroom dark by using blackout curtains. This will help you sleep better during the summer since you won’t be woken up by the sun.
-Keep a water bottle by your bed so that you can stay hydrated while trying to sleep. You can also use a humidifier to keep your room from getting too dry.
-Eat lighter meals that don’t require much cooking.
-Keep your bedroom uncluttered to help it stay cool.
-Take shorter showers and use cooler water.
-Use natural cleaning products instead of ones that produce a lot of heat when used.
-Use a fan instead of an air conditioner to cool off your room.
Go Electronic: Use Fans and Light Weight Coils
If you can’t afford to replace your AC unit, but you want to stay cool, you can use fans and lightweight coils. Fans can help circulate the air around the room, which will help you feel cooler.
They are especially useful if you have a small home or a room with poor ventilation. You can try placing a fan in front of a window as well as an open door. Another good way to use fans is to put them in the corners of your room so that they push the air around the room.
If you can’t afford to replace the AC, you can place lightweight coils in the windows. The coils will help trap in the cool air that is outside so that it can get inside your home. The coils come in a variety of sizes, so you should be able to find one that will fit in your windows.
Go Organic: Try Camping Essentials
If you’re reading this blog and you don’t have an AC unit at all, then you’re probably stuck in your home during the hot summer months. If you’re able to, try to get out of the city and escape the heat.
Camping is a great way to get out of the city and into the wilderness. You’ll be able to enjoy the beautiful sights and sounds of nature while escaping the heat. If you don’t want to go camping, try to find a place that is away from the city.
You could also try to find a place of reprieves such as a library or a museum. You can also try to find a house that has an AC unit and is willing to let you use it.
Go Chemical: Turn to DIY Solutions
If you don’t have an AC unit and you don’t have the funds to buy one, then you can create a DIY AC unit. To do this, you will need:
-A bucket – A bucket can help keep your AC unit from making too much noise.
-A car tire – You can cut up the tire to create a cooling pad for your AC unit.
-An air conditioner – You can use an old air conditioner to create a DIY AC unit.
Conclusion
If you have AC issues during the summer, don’t panic. There are a few simple ways to stay cool without spending a lot of money on repairs or buying a new AC unit.
Just make sure you are using these tips properly, or they might not work as well. Stay hydrated, stay cool, and stay comfortable!
