Heatwave at home: our cool solutions

When the thermometer climbs faster than your winter electricity bill, it's time to take action. During a heatwave, keeping cool indoors can become a real challenge. Thankfully, there are plenty of simple (and often cheap) solutions and tips for coping with the heat without turning your living room into a sauna.

Here's a complete guide to turning your home into an oasis of cool air… or very nearly.

Closing the windows... at the right time

It sounds counter-intuitive, but opening the windows in the middle of the day is like inviting the heat round for dinner. Bad idea.

Tips:

• Close windows, shutters and curtains as soon as the sun starts beating down.
• Open everything wide at night and early in the morning, when temperatures are lower.
• Create night-time draughts to ventilate your home naturally.

Bonus tip: use thermal curtains or survival blankets on sun-facing windows. Not much to look at, but fiendishly effective.

Cooling rooms down with simple means

You don't need a state-of-the-art air conditioner to bring the indoor temperature down. Sometimes the best solutions against the heat are the simplest ones.

Some practical tips:

• Hang a wet sheet in front of an open window.
• Put a bowl of ice cubes or a frozen bottle in front of a fan.
• Hang damp laundry in the room: evaporation absorbs the heat.

What to avoid: switching on the oven or the hob in the middle of the day. Go for salads or cold (and refreshing!) meals instead.

Switching off heat sources… even the unsuspected ones

Plenty of appliances give off heat without you even realising it.

Simple solutions:

• Unplug chargers you aren't using.
• Avoid using the computer or the TV for too long.
• Switch to LEDs: they give off far less heat than traditional bulbs.

A small change here, another there… and there you go, a few degrees less in the living room!

Dressing light, even at home

Spending the whole day in your swimming costume? No judgement here. But the most important thing is to choose loose, lightweight clothing in natural fibres (cotton, linen, bamboo…).

And at night, forget the duvet: go for a light sheet, or even nothing at all if you live alone and have no nosy neighbours.

Plants for natural cooling

Yes, houseplants aren't just there for the look. Some of them help improve air quality and keep things a little cooler.

The champions of natural cooling:

• Ficus
• Aloe vera
• Areca palm
• Bamboo palm

Water them in the evening so they can breathe (and perspire) along with you!

Cooling yourself down (not just the living room)

Sometimes, despite all your precautions, the heat invites itself in anyway. So don't forget to cool yourself down regularly.

Simple tips:

• A lukewarm shower (not a cold one, which causes a rebound heat effect).
• A water spray or a damp cloth on your wrists, the back of your neck and your feet.
• An ice-cold foot bath for instant relief.

And of course, stay hydrated: water, more water, always water (not a mojito every 30 minutes, sorry).

Looking out for each other: heat is a shared experience

Spare a thought for your elderly neighbours, people living alone, and your pets too. A simple visit, a phone call or a bowl of cool water can make an enormous difference.

In short

When a heatwave hits, every tip counts. Close your shutters, hang up wet sheets, spray yourself with water and, above all, take care of yourself. Your home can become a cool, pleasant haven, with no air conditioning and no indoor swimming pool required.

And don't forget: the heat is temporary, but your comfort deserves to be permanent.

Head over to our latest article on the new 90-days-a-year limit for holiday rentals