Keeping Your Cool When It’s Hot Outside

By Catherine Powell

Image courtesy flickr

If you haven’t noticed, we’re finally in the dog days of summer here in north Florida.  With the thermometer at or above ninety degrees nearly every day between now and September, I thought I’d take the time to show you a few ways to keep you and yours cool.  The last few weeks I’ve noticed the unusually high temperatures that many parts of the northeast and Midwest have been experiencing.  While I understand how they feel, what they go through for a couple of weeks every summer is what we Floridians deal with on a normal basis from June until September.  Heck, I can even remember several years when the ninety-degree heat started here in May.  Unlike in more northerly climes, in the deep south it’s a rarity to see daytime temperatures during the summer in the eighties. 

Keeping Your Home Cool Without Breaking the Bank

1.      When was the last time you had your air-conditioner inspected? - If the only time you have your HVAC unit looked at is when it stops running, you could come to regret it when you wind up sweating bullets in the middle of August.  Air-conditioning service doesn’t come cheap in the summer.  That’s because the AC repairmen know you’ll pay anything to stop sweating bullets when it’s hot out.  Aside from turning red every time you get your electric bill, here are a few AC tips.  If you want to keep your unit running, make sure you change the air filters and keep the drain lines clear.  In the summer, I routinely pour a half cup of bleach down the drain line to make sure it doesn’t wind up clogged with gunk.  If your unit is getting old, consider spending a couple hundred dollars for a dehumidifier.  This will help your air-conditioner keep you cool without having to work so hard.  It also wouldn’t hurt to inspect your home’s weather stripping for wear and tear.  Compromised weather stripping can make your AC unit work longer and harder than it has to.

Image courtesy Pixnio

2.      Who’s your biggest fan? – Fans are a great way to keep cool while turning the thermostat up.  I find that I can increase the temperature in my home to 77 or even 78 degrees without sweating simply by employing fans.  These can include ceiling fans, box fans or even oscillating fans that move the air around while using far less electricity than your air-conditioner.  Upping the temperature by even a degree or two can save you big time when you get your electric bill.  Another summertime money saver is buying a programmable thermostat that can raise the temperature automatically while you’re at work. 

3.      Help your vehicle beat the heat. -  There’s nothing worse than climbing into a car that’s been roasting in the sun for hours.  Believe it or not, the temperature in a closed car can exceed 150 degrees.  That’s why you never want to leave a child or pet inside one when it’s hot out.  When it comes to helping the interior of your car keep its cool, while sunshades help, a solar-powered exhaust fan that mounts on a window is better.  For $20 or less you can purchase a self-powered fan that will reduce the temperature inside any vehicle by up to 30 degrees.

4.      Beat the heat on the street. – If you’re actively engaged in healthy activities like jogging, golfing, tennis or bicycling, that’s terrific.  Staying active is one of the best ways to live a longer life.  However, if you overdo any kind of physical activity in the summer, you run the risk of heat exhaustion.  The best way to avoid this hazardous condition is to avoid the heat of the day.  Even walking long distance in the middle of a summer day isn’t going to gain you any health points.  That’s because your heart, lungs and nervous system have to work much harder to cope with heat distress as well as the normal stress of a vigorous workout.  Being a bicyclist myself, I always ride either first thing in the morning or late at night during the summer.  This way I get a good cardiovascular workout without doing a faceplant on the street due to the heat. If you insist on exercising outdoors during the heat of the day, consider wrapping a wet towel around your neck before, during and after your workout. This is a great way to help your body stay cool.  So is dunking a ball-cap or a pair of wristbands in water.  Anything that helps your body cool down without expending additional energy helps it keep from overheating.

Image courtesy Pixabay

5.      Keeping your kids cool. – If keeping your kids cooped up during the summer is a Mission Impossible, then you need to plan and supervise activities that will help them have fun while staying cool.  Other than making sure your kids drink plenty of fluids and slathering on plenty of sunscreen before they venturing outside, there are a few helpful hints that can keep them from overdoing it during the summer.  If they insist on playing in the yard, run the sprinkler.  This way they can cool off while having fun. While going to the beach, the pool or a water-park in the summer seems like a great way to keep cool when its hot out, just make sure you watch your kids like a hawk so they don’t get sunburned.  There’s nothing worse than a kid with a bad sunburn the day after an outing.  Of course, there’s always a trip to the mall that can allow your kids to burn off energy in air-conditioned comfort.

6.      Keeping cool afloat – While boating is a great way to have fun in the sun, the problem is that too much of a good thing usually isn’t.  While the allure of water, water everywhere would seem to be an advantage on a hot day, the UV rays bouncing off the waves and deck of a boat can contribute to a serious case of sunburn that you’ll soon regret.  Whenever I venture out on the water in the summer, I apply the highest level of SPF protection available.  Don’t fool yourself into thinking that you don’t need sunscreen because you’re only going to be on the water in the early morning.  If your motor quits and you wind up stuck out on the water you’ll hate life the next day when your skin turns bright red and the very air around you makes you feel like jumping out of your skin.  Take it from an avowed boater, you’ll tan just fine if you use sunblock.  You just won’t burn.

Catherine Powell is the owner of A Plus All Florida, Insurance in Orange Park, Florida.  To find out more about saving money on all your insurance needs, check out her website at http://aplusallfloridainsuranceinc.com/