HOW TO KEEP YOUR HOME COOL DURING HOT SUMMER

Summer season brings in nostalgic memories of childhood days. The cool shady areas, damp bed sheets and khas khas mats on windows, indoor games , fresh fruits,  homemade lime juice. The time when the elders were busy with pickle preparation, drying vadiyalu (fried rice snack) in the sun, season of jasmine flowers in the garden, raw mango and dry tamarind in the backyard.

Now with all upgradation in facilities and comforts , people moving into multi-storeyed tall apartments , the onset of technology like Air conditioners, Water coolers you can be recollect your childhood days when the power cut  happens on a sunny day.

The AC’s , water coolers and ceiling fans will come to a standstill . Be practical and follow traditional methods of cooling your home and be relaxed in summer.

To implement simple ways of cooling you need to maintain your cool, here are some useful tips…

• Drink lots of water even if you are not thirsty. Keep sipping water.
• Have a bath at least twice daily to remove the salt settled on your body. Apply deodorants to avoid prickly heat and heat rashes.
• Wear light colored cotton clothes to be cool. Avoid black and tight fitting clothes as they absorb heat and make you feel stuffy and worn out.
• Immerse your legs in salted water will remove all the stress in your legs.
• Squeeze water out of the towel and wrap it over the shoulders to cover the back of your neck. Very relaxing while you are working in the kitchen.
• You will feel relief if you wash your face, hands and legs often during peak hours.
• Plenty of fruits are available in the market. Have watermelons, muskmelons, oranges, grapes. Consume coconut water and cucumber slices.
• Avoid tea and coffee as they increase the thirst.

Following above mentioned tips you are relaxed and are ready to apply some tips to keep you home cool. Here are a few tested remedies to keep your home environment cool.

• Open all the doors and windows after sunset to flush out hot air present inside the rooms.
• Fix Ramacham mats ( Vetivar roots mats or Khas Khas grass mats as known in Hindi) on the windows-exterior such that whatever air comes will blow in thru’ the damp mats and you will feel the cool breeze. Thick damp bed sheets are also ideal for this purpose.
• Paint the terrace with a heat reflecting paint that will bring down the room temperature by 4 to 5 degrees inside the room.
• Use venetian blinds if you can afford such that inclined position will partially bring in light and not the heat.
• You can use sun screen film on glass windows to minimize heat entry.
• If you have a balcony facing West and South side place light colored shades over grills or on the wall to allow light to come in not the heat.
• Paint the walls on the west and South side of the house with light colors as the they are facing the sunlight and heat for the maximum number of hours.
• Wipe the floor in the evenings such that the room feels cool. You can sit down on the mat placed on the floor to watch television or have fun with indoor games.
• Plant trees around your house such that you will have shade when the tree grows. You will get ready made tall potted plants to minimize heat from the windows and balcony.
• Use light color bed sheets to minimize heat effect.
• Use double curtains such that heat does not enter in.
• In independent homes the terrace can be filled with 1 inch of water to bring the temperatures down inside the room at night. Remember to block the drain point.

You will be able to overcome summer heat and be cool this summer.