It is not too often we have such warm weather, and while we hope all year for it many of us are just not able to cope with continuous humid weather. Ireland is not used to having this lovely sunny weather and our homes are not designed for it either. We put together a few little tips on keeping cool in this glorious weather :)
- On hot days try not you use your oven, make a salad or barbeque if you have one or microwave. Ovens generate a lot of heat and no one wants to be standing over a cooker on a hot day.
- Make sure you open your windows wisely, during the day when it is humid keep windows closed, open windows when the sun goes down and take advantage of the cooler night air.
- If a room is exposed to the sun all day close the blinds to help reduce the heat.
- Close doors to rooms exposed to the most sun, this will keep the rest of the house cooler.
- Use a washing line to dry clothes instead of the tumble dryer or radiators. This will also save you money on energy bills.
- Try reducing the temperature of your shower and let hair dry naturally in the heat rather than using a hair dryer.
- Make sure to drink plenty of cold water.
- Wear loose cotton clothing to bed and around the house.
- Take the winter duvet off and replace with a lighter tog duvet.
- Disconnect any unnecessary electrical equipment as even on standby it us generating heat.
- Use you hot water bottle in reverse put it in the freezer and then in your bed to cool down the sheets.
- If you are really struggling fill a pot full of ice and place a fan on front of it.
- Try not to do very strenuous activities as the moving you do the more your body generates its own heat.
Now is the perfect time to invest in a solar panel as it would reduce the need to turn on your heat at all in the summer and you can take advantage of the sunny weather to heat your water for taps and showers. This would also save you having to turn on your dish washer which generates quite a lot of heat.