Tips for Keeping Cool When Your AC Fails

Tips for Keeping Cool When Your AC Fails

We’re in for an extremely hot summer here in Southern California, and in our desert towns the heat can be especially intense. Even the best air conditioning system may find the strain of weather that regularly rises above 100°F too much to take and suffer a breakdown. Maintenance during spring is the best way to prevent unpleasant surprises from happening in your house, but malfunctions may still happen. As soon as your air conditioning stops working, call our technicians for repairs. (They’re here for you 24 hours a day!) In the meantime, here are temporary ways to stay cool until we get your AC fixed:

• Whip up a quick evaporative cooling system: Take ice cubes from your freezer (you should always have plenty ready during the summer) and put them in a bowl. Place the bowl in front of a fan. The ice cubes will cool down the air through evaporative cooling. This will give one of the rooms of your house relief from the heat.
• Keep blinds and shutters down: You want to restrict as much heat as possible from entering your house, and radiant energy from the sun on the windows is a major source of extra heat.
• Hydrate! Keeping cool is not only about lowering the temperature of the air around you. It’s also about lowering your own body temperature. You can do this by drinking plenty of cold liquids. (Another good reason to have ice cubes ready to go!)
• Wet sheets over open windows: This is a method of “air conditioning” that goes back to the Bronze Age, when ancient Egyptians hung wet reeds over openings to their homes. The breeze coming in will lose heat to the water, bringing in cool air.
• Keep fans running: If your AC’s fan is still operating, although it won’t cool any more, make sure that you keep it on to circulate the air. This won’t lower the temperature, but the air movement makes it easier for your body to release heat.

Russell’s Heating & Air Conditioning is ready to fix your air conditioning system in Cherry Valley, CA. For exceptional customer service, please give our office a call.