June 28th, 2018 by Chris Chapman

Quick and Easy Ways to Stay Cool in Summer

In the middle of a heatwave, it can seem like there’s no respite from the heat, day or night! If you don’t want to splash out for a swanky aircon unit, then you don’t have to sweat it out. There are plenty of ways you can stay cool in a heatwave – just chill out and read our simple tips below!

1. Put Your Sheets in the Freezer

Staying cool at night is always tough in a summer heatwave. We’ve got a good range of heated blankets, so this is strange coming from us, but in the summer, consider putting your sheets in the freezer for a couple of minutes before bed! Obviously, you should pop them in a plastic bag first for hygiene reasons and don’t leave them in too long or they’ll be frozen solid!

2. Use a Hot Water Bottle

Yes, you read that right! Use a hot water bottle, except don’t fill it with hot water! Put a small amount of cold water in it and freeze it, then wrap it in paper towels to create the perfect ice pack. Be careful not to over-fill your hot water bottle when you freeze it as water expands when it turns to ice. Over-filling your hot water bottle then freezing it could well burst it.

3. Use Evaporation

If you have a fan, you might not feel like it’s doing a whole lot if the heat is stifling. Place your fan next to a bowl of iced water – as the water evaporates, it’ll suck the heat out of the air, meaning the air that’s blown around by your fan will be extra cool! If that’s too much trouble for you…

4. Use an Air Cooler

…you can use a machine to do it for you instead! Air coolers use this exact same principle to cool air down and blow it around the room. They come with cool water tanks which cool the air, so all you need to do is fill the tank and you’re all set. Some coolers come with ice packs to keep the air as cool as possible. They’re designed to circulate the air that they cool, which means you’ll find it more effective than the homebrew solution from #3! This natural method of cooling is called evaporative air cooling, and it’s how the wind cools as it blows over a lake. Air coolers aren’t as powerful as air conditioners and they don’t immediately blast cool air at you, but they are much more affordable, eco-friendlier, and much more portable.

5. Wear Loose Clothes

It can be tempting to bust out the muscle fit shirts and tight vests in summer, especially if you’ve been working hard on your beach body. However, wearing looser fit clothes is a much better way to keep cool as it improves airflow around your body and helps your sweat evaporate, which will suck heat away from your skin and cool you down. Contrary to popular belief, there really isn’t much difference between wearing white or black clothing in summer. White clothing reflects sunlight and black clothing absorbs it, however on the flip side, black clothing radiates the heat away from your body much better, so the effect balances out.