By the time July rolls around, if you don’t have air conditioning in your home, you’re pretty much ready to book a next-day flight to Antarctica. Surviving summer without AC can be rough, but you can make it a little more bearable if you try some outside-the-box tricks. Here are the five best ways to cool off without AC.
5. Get Low
The concept is pretty simple: When the temperature heats up, hang out in your basement to enjoy the natural cooler temperatures that come with being subterranean. The pro is that you’ll actually find that it’s cooler in your basement. The con is that you’re sitting in your basement all day.
Cool Score: 3/10. It works, but you’ll feel like a hermit.
4. Box Fan and Ice
If you put a bowl of ice in front of a box fan and position it so that it’s facing you, you’ll enjoy a cool blast of air as the ice evaporates.
Cool Score: 5/10. We remember this being effective from our broke college student days, but it only works if you can sit in the exact same spot all day.
3. Take a Hot Shower
It sounds counter-intuitive, but it’s not. After raising your body temperature in a hot shower, the temperature in your home or apartment will feel much cooler by comparison.
Cool Score: 6/10. This actually works shockingly well, but only for about an hour until your body temperature drops again. This is a perfect method to stay cool, but only if you’re okay with showering multiple times a day every hour. Pass.
2. Spray Yourself With Water
Similar to how the fan and ice bowl works, it’s the evaporation that helps you to cool down. By consistently spraying your bare skin with water, you’ll feel a constant cooling sensation.
Cool Score: 3/10. It works, sure. But you’ll also feel like a damp and sticky mess all day long.
1. Air Conditioned Clothing
No, seriously, this is a real thing. Air conditioned clothing is apparel that has a built-in air conditioning system. This means that no matter where you go, you’re a walking beacon of cool.
Cool Score:9/10. You’ll look like you just stepped out of a science fiction movie, but the entire world will suddenly become your air conditioned oyster.
Any of the above tricks will help you to feel a little cooler when the weather gets unbearable. If these tricks fail, however, just invite yourself over to the house of a friend who has air conditioning. Works every time.
