It's easy to get accustomed to the refreshing coolness that your air conditioner provides throughout the summer, but when you have a problem with this appliance, you'll have to get creative to stay cool -- especially if you're in the middle of a heatwave. While an air conditioning repair person can typically fix the problem quickly, you might have to wait a day or even two for the person to visit your home if there are numerous repair calls around the same time. In the meantime, here are four creative ways that you can stay relatively cool.
Stay Hydrated
You sweat more when you're hot, which means your body is at a higher risk of dehydrating. Drinking lots of water is not only important for your body's hydration, but can also help you keep cool. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guideline is to aim for about 10 large sips of water every 20 minutes when it's hot. You can also enjoy hydrating fresh fruits such as melon as a way to avoid dehydration. Increase your water consumption if you're doing anything vigorous that causes you to sweat.
Use Cold Packs Strategically
Placing a cold pack on your forehead feels refreshing, but the strategic use of these chilly accessories can provide long-term comfort. Seek out the places in your body that you can feel your pulse, such as your inner wrists, side of your neck and the inside of your elbows. Hold the cold pack directly over these areas and it will cool your blood, which will pump throughout your body and keep you cool.
Unplug What You Can
While you'll likely want to keep your fans plugged in, going around your home and unplugging all the electronics that you don't immediately need can cool your home. Even devices that aren't turned on can generate heat -- just put your hand on the back of a TV, a satellite receiver or a stereo and you can often detect some heat. Unplugging these devices reduces the amount of heat being generated in your home. If you need these electronics during the day, at least be sure to turn them off at night.
Relocate To The Basement
It's common for basements to be several degrees cooler than the other floors of the home, so spending more time in this area can keep your body temperature from rising to an uncomfortable level. Consider taking your meals downstairs or even making use of a pull-out couch and spending the night in this refreshing climate.
To learn more about air conditioning repair, contact a company like Mountain Air Comfort Systems.
