Anyone who has lived in a warm area long enough knows that the summers can become miserably unbearable unless you have some means of cooling off, whether that is through central air conditioning, taking a dip in a backyard or community pool, or figuring out ways to heat-proof your home. Be cautious of extreme heat, and make sure you are taking the necessary measures to protect yourself, especially outdoors. But when you're indoors and need to stay cool, follow our 3 essential tips to ensure your home will help keep you and your belongings cool this summer. 1. Blinds and Windows One way to ensure that your home stays cool this summer is to keep your blinds closed and clean. The simple law of thermodynamics makes a home miserably hot because of the greenhouse effect. Sun will enter the window as light, the window slows down the sun rays’ wavelengths, and the energy is converted to heat which isn’t able to escape the house, heating the house and making it even hotter than the air outside. The easy way to bypass this system is by keeping your blinds and curtains closed during the day and making sure that the blinds are completely clean. Especially if you are living in the desert, your home can accumulate a lot of dust, and that dust and dirt, when it accumulates on your blinds, can absorb heat. You want blinds as clean as possible and thick, white curtains that won’t allow in light and to push off the light that causes 30% of the heat in a house. 2. Do Chores at NightAnother good way of avoiding heat is to do all your cleaning chores at night. Dishwashers cause a lot of heat if you are washing dishes, even in its enclosed space. Drying clothing naturally uses heat to rid your clothes of moisture. Vacuuming can cause extra heat as well, and you naturally get hotter when you are active and moving around, which can be miserable during the day. Save yourself an energy bill and headache by doing your chores at night instead when it is cooler. 3. Cooking in a Different WayIf there is a way to skip cooking on the oven or stove, you should find it. Heating the oven to 350 is obviously going to create some heat in the house, and having an open frying pan on the stove also lets out steam that can make the house muggy and even hotter feeling. Many people will go outside to cook during the summer on a BBQ, and with the recent fad of electric pressure cookers, there are several meals you can now cook without needing to fire up the oven or cook on the stove. Do you have any other methods that you use? Share them with us on Instagram and Facebook.
