10 ideas to combat the heat in your home

Photograph from the eltiempo website

If thehouse accumulates too much heat, it becomes unbearable to rest or becomfortable. For this reason, whether we have air conditioning or not, knowingsome ways to keep the house cool naturally is important to be able to enjoy ourhome and keep the electricity bills lower.

1.Ventilate first and last hour of the day

Sometimeswe feel so hot inside the house that the first thing we think of is opening allthe windows, but this is not always the most convenient.

The idealis to ventilate the house first thing in the morning or late in the afternoon,when temperatures drop. The rest of the day it is preferable to keep windowsand doors closed, with curtains, net curtains or blinds lowered.

Another factorto take into account is that hot air tends to rise and cold air to fall, so ifyour house has several floors, try to keep the top floor mainly cold.

2. Removedark curtains and rugs

To refreshyour house, dress your home with summer fabrics. If you have blinds, it is aplus to block the entrance of heat from the outside, especially between 12:00and 4:00 p.m. However, if this is not the case, it is best to use curtains madeof a light white fabric or a light tone.

Inaddition, having the house clear gives a greater sensation of freshness, so itis convenient to remove rugs and blankets from the living room, as well as fromthe different rooms.

3. Try torefresh the floor

A fairlyeffective method to lower the temperature is to scrub the floor with very coldwater, mainly in the case of ceramic floors.

Therefore,if you have a terrace or balcony, take the opportunity to pour cold water,especially in the coolest hours of the day, when you can open windows and doorsand the water contributes to refresh the air that enters your home.

4. Refreshthe bed before sleeping and the armchair to rest

Restingwell in times of high temperatures is difficult, which harms work performanceand general well-being during the day.

For thisreason, if the heat does not let you sleep, a good idea is to cool the bed, forexample, by putting a bottle of ice water wrapped in a towel on it, or a hotwater bottle filled with ice water or ice, before going to sleep.

In the sameway, if the upholstery of the armchair is one of those that gives heat, it isadvisable to put cotton covers on it, to which you can add the trick of thebottle or bag with ice water, which will refresh the resting place without theneed for air conditioning.

5. Avoidkeeping heat sources on

One of theeasiest tricks to cool down your home is to avoid having too many lights on forlong periods of time.

In the sameway, using the oven or the kitchen stove gives off a lot of heat, so it isadvisable to use them for a short time or choose to cook cold dishes. Even ifyou have an open kitchen and want to rest in a nearby area, it is preferablenot to use appliances, as well as other objects in the house that give offheat.

6.Distribute plants around the house and water them

Use theterrace or balcony to put plants, as well as in windows and some interiorareas. Also, water them at night, because not only will the plants make betteruse of the water, but the humidity of the soil will help to cool the air thatenters and, therefore, to cool your house.

For theirpart, inside the house, plants with large green leaves are useful, which, whenwatered, will help to refresh the atmosphere.

7. Putcotton or silk sheets

At bedtime,another trick is to use cotton or silk sheets, as they tend to accumulate muchless heat. So, if they are light colors it will be even better.

This idea,together with the one we mentioned earlier about cooling the bed with bottlesor bags of frozen water, will make your rest a little better during the hottestdays.

8. Createeffective air currents

The idealwhen we ventilate our home is to do it in the hours when the outsidetemperature is lower. This, coupled with the cross-air technique, will makeattempts to cool your home more effective.

When wetalk about the cross-air technique we mean creating drafts by opening windowsand doors that are located in front of each other, although remember to put thestoppers to prevent them from slamming shut.

9. Use appliancesin the hours of less heat

Electricalappliances are one of the main sources of heat that we have at home and if weuse them in the hottest hours of the day it will be impossible to be in theroom, therefore, it is advisable to turn them on in the cooler periods.Likewise,it is better that they are in operation when we are not going to rest or carryout any activity near where we have them placed.

10. Use theextractor hood

If you wantto cook on these hot days and not just have cold dishes, the extractor hoodwill be your ally.

Beyondavoiding smoke and odours, it will help to renew the air in the kitchen,helping to reduce the sensation of suffocating heat that is generated in theroom. What's more, it will also keep controlled the humidity caused by thesteam that is created when cooking and that would cause an increase in thethermal sensation.