Condensation drips from your water glass as the sun streams through your living room. The dodgy ceiling fan whirrs wildly above your head, but you’d sooner risk decapitation than endure another minute of this heat. There are many ways you can prepare your home so that it stays cool in the days to come.
Rather than quick-fix solutions, such as portable fans and thick curtains, consider doing more permanent improvements.
Installing an air-conditioning unit, having proper insulation installed in your ceiling, and installing block-out blinds are some of the most effective ways of keeping your home cool during the summer months.
However, considering our current economic climate, it might be more useful to find budget-friendly ways of keeping the temperature down in your home this summer.
Also read: What you need to know about insuring an unoccupied property
Utilise your doors
Homeowners should carefully consider the air-flow of their home. Smaller spaces heat up quicker, so leaving doors and windows open can allow for cool air to flow through the home. In larger spaces, close the doors of adjoining rooms so that the cold air is more concentrated in the space instead of flowing into the unoccupied rooms. This only works when the air outside isn’t warm. On warmer days, keep your windows open in the evening (only if you live in a secure suburb or have burglar bars) so that the cool night air fills your home. Then, first thing the next morning, make sure windows, doors, curtains and blinds are kept closed to trap the cool air inside.
Create shade outside your windows
Plant large, shade-bearing trees outside of the windows of the rooms in which you spend the most time.
Cook outdoors
On particularly hot days, try and avoid using your oven or stove as these radiate heat and warm up any space when in use, rather cook outside.
Splurge on summer bedding
While it is obvious to ditch the woollen comforter in favour of some silk sheets, it might be less obvious to consider purchasing a summer pillow. The buckwheat pillow is a trendy new homeowner’s item, known for all kinds of sleep aiding benefits, one of which is that it is naturally cool and comes highly recommended for anyone who gets hot when they sleep.
• Information supplied by Private Property.
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