Keeping floors cool in summer: 5 useful tips to keep the heat from entering your home
Summer always brings with it a lot of joy and lightheartedness. There is an increased pull to go outside, do new things and to visit other people. We can stay up and out in the evenings, thanks to the longer hours of sunlight. But with all these good things, the sunny season also brings with it a challenge: the heat. Every year, it is always the same story: we find ourselves fighting to combat the sweltering heat and trying to keep it out of our homes.
And if our first choice to do this are air conditioners and fans, it is useful to know that there are alternatives. If we do not want (or do not have) air conditioning, we can use some simple tips to help us stay cooler at home... And these tips focus on the home's flooring!
Closed curtains and blinds
The first simple tip to avoid suffering from the heat and keeping your floors cool, is to close the curtains, blinds and shutters during the hottest hours of the day. In this way, sunlight is blocked from hitting the floor (especially useful in the case of parquet flooring). Choose light colors, which absorbs less heat. If using blinds and shutters are not enough, you can consider installing external heat-resistant blinds, consisting of a special honeycomb structure coated with aluminum, which reflects up to 85% of the heat.
Limit artificial lighting
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In addition to natural sunlight, electric lamps can also warm up a room and the floors. Avoid keeping the lights on unnecessarily and try to turn on small lamps in strategic points. Also, use LED bulbs, with cold light. You will reduce the heat levels in all your rooms!
Don't use hot water to wash the floor
When washing floors, try to avoid using hot water. While it helps to sanitize and remove stubborn dirt better, hot water contributes to increasing the heat in the room by heating the floor's surface material. To sanitize floors using cold water, just add a few drops of lemon essential oil and white vinegar.
Sodium bicarbonate
To wash your floors, add a spoonful of baking soda and a few drops of essential citrus oil to the water; you will get perfectly clean and sanitized floors. The baking soda will also absorb moisture, allowing you to keep the floor's surface fresher!
Do not use electrical appliances during the day
The use of electrical household appliances during the day, in addition to being more expensive, leads to a rise in temperature. Rather use them in the evening or at night, when temperatures are lower.
What strategies do you use against the heat?
