As the weather is hotting up it can become excessively warm within the home. For years I’ve been looking up ways to help keep my home cool. In the past, people would simply open windows and that would suffice. But, when the outside air is warmer than the inside air it can defeat the purpose of doing this. So, for those struggling to cope in the heat and heading indoors to cool down, my tips on how to keep your home cool will come in handy.
How to Keep Your Home Cool
Opening Windows
You’d assume that opening windows is a great way to cool down a room. That isn’t always the case. When opening windows you need to check the outside air temperature. In the daytime, you may find that the air temperature is warmer outside than inside. The best times to open windows are first thing in the morning, or later in the evening or at night when it’s normally cooler. Don’t make the mistake of assuming the outside air is cooler, always check first, or you risk letting in the hot air and loosing the cooler air in your home.
Close the Curtains/Blinds
One of the things I’ve found really helpful is making sure the curtains and blinds are closed once the outside temperature starts to increase. This blocks the sun from coming in and reduces the amount of heat that builds up within your home considerably. These are then opened in the later hours when it’s cooler along with windows to allow in fresh cool air.
Invest in Blackout Curtains/Blinds
Blackout curtains or blinds can make a big difference to how much heat comes into the home. These are far more effective than normal curtains or blinds at keeping out heat and are important to have within your home.
Consider Blinds with Solar Reflective Surfaces
Did you know you can get solar blinds? These have a special silver coating that reflects light. As a result, these will reflect heat back out of the room when closed so the room won’t heat up as much. This can have a big impact and help keep rooms cooler.
Lightweight Bedding Fabrics
Using a range of lightweight fabrics for bedding can help you keep cool. Consider cotton, silk or linen. These all have cooling and moisture wicking properties, helping to keep you cool and dry on hot nights.
Freeze Bedsheets
If you place your bedsheets in a plastic bag and place this in the freezer, take them out and add them to your bed just before you get in then these will help cool you down temporarily. It helps if you are tired and ready to sleep soon after going to bed. For those that take a while to drift off, the covers will have warmed up before you are asleep so if you sleep on your own wait just until the very last minute to add them to your bed.
Shade Windows
External wall coverings can really help to give some much needed shade during the hot summer months. The shade created over windows cuts the amount of heat that builds up within a room. This can make it much easier to keep your home cool.
Use Ceiling Fans
These can work well. Ceiling fans move the air within the room. By doing this, they create a wind like effect that may help cool depending on the air temperature. The higher the ceiling the better to maximise the airflow within the room. The are quite economical to run and cost less compared to air conditioning units.
Air Conditioning
Air con a very effective way to cool down your home. These are easy to instal and come in various forms from free standing to ones that can be hung from a wall or installed into a wall.
Make Your Own Air Conditioning
No air-con? No worries! A cleverly-positioned bowl of ice is all you need to turn a fan into a cold mist machine. Place a shallow bowl or pan of ice in front of a free standing fan for an icy-cool breeze that won’t break the bank.
Damp Sheet Over a Window
One way of reducing the air temperature in a room when it’s hot outside is by placing a damp sheet over the window. As the air moves into the room the damp sheet will help cool this.
Hot Water Bottle
Hot water bottles can come in handy in hot weather. Simply fill yours with a mixture of ice and cold water and pop it on your feet. As your feet cool, you will find that the rest of the body will cool down too.
Alternatively, place the water bottle in the freezer until frozen. Then place it on your bed. This will stay colder for longer. Keep an eye on the rubber as freezing can affect the rubber and result in cracks.
Close Doors
By closing the doors within the home, you can keep some heat out of the room provided the windows, curtains and doors in that room are closed. This is especially effective if you have one side of your home that is warmer than the other. Keeping internal doors shut helps prevent warm air from spreading as much through your home.
Tile Flooring
If you have recently bought a property or are looking to refurbish, it might be worth considering adding tile flooring in your home. These don’t just look lovely in your home, they also help keep your home cooler in the summer. Tile floors don’t retain heat the way wood or carpet does so it makes sense to have tile flooring as the weather is getting warmer every the summer months. In the winter you can pop a rug or rugs on top to give a whole new look and feel to the room as well as keep feet warm.
Colour Scheme
The colours scheme within your home can influence the temperature. Light colours will reflect heat unlike darker colours that will absorb it. The best shades to opt for are various shades of white, beige and pastels when painting walls and ceilings.
Avoid Using Appliances
When it’s hot you want to keep your home cool. By using appliances that heat up as they work you will just heat your home faster which you don’t want to do. Where possible, use appliances early morning or late at night to avoid the hottest times of day. Appliances that create the most heat include tumble dryers and ovens.
Swap Old Style Lights for Led Light
Old style light bulbs give off a considerable amount of heat. Led light on the other hand don’t, plus they also use less energy. Swap out the old for Led lights and you will find it will help keep your home cooler over the summer months.
Sleep Downstairs
We all know hot air rises. Therefore, it makes sense to make use of lower floors if you have them and they are cooler. Sleep downstairs on a sofa, or take a mattress downstairs to sleep on. You will get a better nights sleep this way and feel far more refreshed in the morning.
Other Posts You Might Enjoy:
Why Curtains Can Be The Best Option
Simple Ways To Keep Your Home Warm
How to Decorate Your Bedroom In 6 Steps
I hope you enjoyed reading my post about How to Keep Your Home Cool. As you can see there are a varied number of options that you can try to keep the home and yourself warm when the weather is hot.
What do you do to help keep your home cool when the weather gets hot?
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We are having another heat/tropical wave with temperatures up to 40 degrees Celsius. These tips will come in real handy.
Glad to have helped x
This is a must read with how the weather is at the moment. I do tend to keep the curtains closed at the hottest part of the day. My husband also bought home a small air conditioning unit which has been really lovely to have the cool air blowing in.
I bet that makes a big difference.
Yyyeeesssss…the only item I am left with doing, is turning up my AC in here. It gets so hot in some months that a fan can barely do much!
Good to hear you have something that helps.
Great list for cooling your house down. We struggled with this after building our house. Our upstairs bedroom is too warm in the summer. Funny that we ended up doing most of the items on your list. We ended up putting a window air conditioner in during the hot summer months. No more struggles!
Having AC can be a game changer but it can also be quite costly. I’m glad you found a solution that works for you.
I was looking at ways to keep cool yesterday and loved the idea of a damp sheet over the window. So easy but something I had not thought of before
It can work well. Hope you notice a considerable difference.
These are amazing very very much needed, this summer has been hell…I love the tips, thank you so so much.
I’m glad you found the post interesting Karen.
These are all some great tips in keeping your home cool. It’s been sooo hot here and I have been doing everything I can to keep my home cool. I make sure to close all my blinds everyday.
Closing blinds can make a massive difference to the temperature indoors.
Freezing bedsheets is genius! I’m a hot sleeper, so this feels like the perfect thing for me. I have to try it.
It can help. Hope you find it has an impact.
We have blackout curtains for all of our windows. I used to work nights, and I needed them to sleep. BUT, I realized pretty quickly that they also made our room the coolest in the summer and the warmest in the winter. Now we have them in every room.
That’s great to hear. Having the right products that work to your requirements is important.
These tips are so helpful, especially during those scorching summer days! Keeping the house cool without cranking up the AC is a game-changer for saving on energy bills.
Ha, yes. It can cost a considerable amount if the hot weather lasts for a while.
Our house is so warm right now! We are at the point where we are going to put a tent up in the garden as sleeping outside seems the best option
Hey, if it’s safe to do so why not! Anything to cool down when it’s very hot.
I usually just keep the AC running on hot days but when I’m not I make sure I have some greens inside. I just feel like it’s cooler when you have plants inside the house. It can breath.
AC can work wonders if you have it.
Cooling bedsheets is a brilliant idea actually! Great way to keep cool at night and have a nice sleep. Thanks for sharing all these ideas!
It is but don’t forget they can warm up quite fast if you don’t use a range of measures.
This is a timely post given the hot weather we are having at the moment. We have blackout curtains and they make a big difference. I’ve never heard of freezing bedsheets before but it sounds helpful!
Ha, yes it is a temporary fix but can work well.
I have tried most of the suggestions on this list, but freezing sheets? I wouldn’t have thought to try that! I may have to give it a shot.
Ha, yes. Quite a few people do that one!
This is a great tips for having a cozy and cool home. I am looking for this kind of tips, this is the right way to recommend things for house. Thanks for sharing this!
Thanks Nikki. I’m glad you enjoyed the post
With the current heatwave, your tips on keeping the home cool are very practical and budget-friendly as well. A lovely read indeed!
Thanks so much Hari
I do open the door and windows when the breeze is cool. Otherwise, they’re close. And we do have A/C in the bedrooms. A/C is a must for a goodnight sleep. 🙂
AC can make a big difference especially at night
Great tips for staying cool! I especially liked the advice on using blinds and natural ventilation. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Lavanda. Those can really make a difference.
We are some of the lucky few who have air con in our homes, we have one downstairs and one in our bedroom so that pretty much solves us. But we do also have black out curtains and before we installed the air con they were a god send for keeping the heat out, I’d never really open the curtains during the day x
Aircon is great if you have it. Not all UK homes have this yet but more are installing or getting portable units.
It’s become very hot here. These tips are really so helpful. We have blackout curtains which makes really a big difference. Freezing bedsheets sounds great I need to check it out.
It’s great the options you can try. Many can make a significant difference.