6 Ways to Survive the Heat Without Air Conditioning

Summer comes every year, bringing surprises even to places that usually don't suffer from extreme heat. If you think climate-controlled housing is the only salvation in the heat, you're wrong. We explain why.

Avoid Using Electrical Appliances

It's best to use electrical appliances that release a lot of heat into the surrounding space as little as possible during summer. Preferably only in the evening, when the mercury drops.

The same applies to the oven, gas stove or cooktop, especially in a small kitchen. Incandescent lamps should also be replaced with energy-saving ones before the hot season.

Listen carefully to tips about wetting curtains or hanging damp towels in front of windows. The same applies to recommendations to place a vase with a weak salt solution next to a fan or fill the bathtub with cold water and open the bathroom door.

Of course, if the air in your apartment is too dry, it affects breathing organs and disrupts sleep. Evaporating water can lower the room temperature by one and a half to two degrees. But over-humidifying the air creates tropical humidity, which is even harder to bear.

Better place several low wide containers with water near living plants. You can even put a fountain pump on solar batteries in such an improvised mini-pond.

Oxygen supply is necessary: in hot weather, its content drops significantly. In addition, airflow from a draft or fan increases heat loss from the surface of our skin, creating an illusion of coolness.

You can ventilate your apartment with drafts by opening windows and doors at night and closing them tightly during the heat.

Just as in winter, before the hot season arrives, check the seals around window and door frames. If windows were installed following all technical details, hot air from outside won't seep through gaps, even the smallest ones. An insulated door works like a thermos, preserving coolness inside.

But you can also wrap the towel rack or pipes with hot water with an insulating sleeve, if they heat up even in summer. In a pinch, improvise using several layers of newspaper and tape.

It's best to let as little of the outside hot air into your home as possible in summer! Light-reflecting structures: shutters and blinds should be installed on the street side so they reflect heat away.

Metallized film applied to the inside of glass quickly becomes unusable. Therefore, it's best glued to the inner surface. But if heat arrives year after year in your climate and lasts for a couple of months, it's more rational to consider light-reflective coating.

The largest amount of sunlight enters through the upper part of the glass unit, so try to shade at least this area with a canopy, awning or climbing plants, and again from the outside. This way, windows will heat up less.

To shield your apartment from excessive solar radiation, start with the balcony and loggia. The protection should be multi-layered. It's best to combine adjustable-height blinds, roller or Roman curtains with floor-to-ceiling drapes.

During particularly intense heat, try putting bedding in airtight bags in the refrigerator in the morning, and then lay it on the bed before bedtime. Linen and natural silk bring a cooling feeling in summer.

As for carpets from the floor, it's better to remove them for the season. Walking barefoot in the heat is more pleasant, and recommended damp cleaning a few times a day is easier this way. Compromises can be canvas or woven mats and rugs. Have a comfortable summer!