If you’ve ever stepped inside a mall or supermarket on a stinking hot day you will understand the beauty of air-conditioning. Aside from a dip in a pool or a splash in the waves the beach, air-conditioning is a grand invention indeed. For most people, Investing in a highly economical air conditioner is a no-brainer for summer and an easy way to fight the summer heat or a potential heat wave. There are other weird and wonderful ways to stay cool too, and I’ve gathered them all up in one neat little cheat sheet. Read on to discover 100 weird and wonderful ways you can keep yourself and the family cool this summer.
Note: I recommend printing this cheat sheet out, laminating it and popping it on the fridge for quick reference during summer!
Thinking of investing in an air-conditioning system?
If you are thinking of investing in a good air-conditioning system, Brivis are a reputable and well-regarded company in Australia. Check out the Brivis website for information on air-conditioning and available systems.
50 weird and wonderful ways to stay cool this summer
- Sit in front of a fan
- Use ceiling fans more effectively by setting them to run anti-clockwise
- Invest in a highly economical air conditioner
- Use cotton over polyester sheets
- Put ice water in a spray bottle and spritz yourself
- Use an old-fashioned paper hand fan when working or just sitting around
- Apply wet flannels or towels to your extremities
- Spend time in air-conditioned places e.g. library, malls or movie theatres
- Plan adventures to cool places when you know there’s going to be a heat wave
- Consider investing in a slushier maker for the kids
- Carry a water bottle with you at all times to stay hydrated
- Drink a nice cup of tea – apparently drinking a hot beverage reduces your body temperature
- Fill a hot water bottle with water and freezer
- Dampen down sheets before sleeping – place on top of you
- Wet clothes (i.e a t-shirt) or sleep in cool attire
- Apply ice packs to wrists, neck, elbows, groin, ankles and behind the knees
- Stay hydrated – drink water
- Sleep lower to the ground since hot air rises
- Move your mattress close to the air conditioner
- Hang a wet sheet on an open window
- Place feet in cold water
- Wear lose fitting clothes – especially cotton
- Chill water for your water bottle
- Eat ice or ice blocks
- Take a cool shower
- Eat small meals more often
- Eat spicy food (e.g. curries and chilies)
- Have a cool bath
- Hang out in the basement if you have one
- Avoid drinks which cause dehydration e.g. alcohol and coffee
- Avoid strenuous activity
- Wear light-colored clothes
- Paint your roof with heat reflective paint
- Consider an aloe-Vera (cooling) moisturizer for skin and after sun care
- Investigate re-useable liquid ice wraps and Mentholated Migraine Ice Patches (soft gel patches available in chemists)
- Consider planting trees near your north and west-facing windows
- Drink chrysanthemum tea
- Try a feather down pillow, which allows airflow
- Freeze wet flannels
- Consider a Chillow (a thin, soft, thermo-regulating leather device that pops inside your pillow to cool it down)
- Stick sheets in plastic bags in the fridge before bed
- Lose the duvet and sleep under a cool sheet
- Outdoor shades for windows
- Indoor shades for windows
- Think and visualize snow and ice – apparently this works!
- Removable reflective film on glass for summer months
- Seal gaps in doors and windows
- Block out blinds
- Purchase a chill towel
- Just cool the room you’re in, not the whole house
Please head these warnings – courtesy of WikiHow
- Babies, children, pregnant women, and the elderly are all more prone to overheating. Be sure to keep an eye on at-risk members of your family, co-workers, and neighbors.
- Heat is often the uncomfortable companion of drought. If there are water restrictions in your area, make sure you consider them before implementing any of the water-intensive suggestions above.
- Excessive heat could cause heat stroke and death.
- In many areas, high daytime temperatures can set off afternoon thunderstorms. Be prepared for such weather situations.
- If you experience symptoms of heat stroke or dehydration, Call the Emergency Services or other emergency personnel and seek professional assistance. A body temperature above 104°F (40C) is life-threatening and fatal if it reaches 113°F (45C).
- As you age, your body does not regulate temperature as well as it used to (even if you stay fit) and your pores may not be able produce as much sweat. Be cautious and relax in an air-conditioned place for a while.
- While it is rarely a problem for individuals with good health, over-hydration is a possibility for individuals with heart, liver or kidney problems. If you have any serious health problems, be mindful of how much water you drink, since your kidneys may not be able to process an excessive amount of water properly.
- Methods involving blowing a small fan or one’s breath over ice are typically not worthwhile and may even be dangerous. They have negligible house-cooling capacity, making the ice in a refrigerator is much less efficient than air conditioning and heats the indoors, and salt is messy, corrosive, and makes water highly conductive of electricity. The best way to cool oneself with ice from the fridge is to drink it.
- If you pour water all over yourself and then sit in front of something like a fan or an AC, you may get sick as those appliances will make you cold very quickly, also try to refrain from going to cold places if you’re very sweaty.