Tips for keeping your house or apartment cool during warmer days

WHATCOM COUNTY, Wash. — Now is a good time to prepare your house or apartment for the 80+ degree temperatures expected across Whatcom County.

Here are some tips gleaned from across the internet for cooling down your home in the likely event you are not equipped with an air-conditioning system.

1. Instead of having a noisy fan in your bedroom, try this trick when the air outside is cooler than the air inside. In another room, place a high-velocity fan so that it is level with and blowing outward on high toward an open window. Then open the window(s) in your bedroom. This will pull the cool air from outside through the bedroom window(s). In addition, positioning your bed so it’s in the air flow can make it feel like you have a fan blowing on you but still without the added noise. Run this setup for 15 to 30 minutes before bedtime to precool your bedroom.
2. Shut all the doors and windows in the morning before it gets hotter outside than it is inside. Closing drapes and blinds is also a good idea. This locks in the cool air and minimizes letting in outside heat from sunlight and hot air. Running fans to keep the inside air moving will make it much more comfortable than with stagnate air. Waiting to reopen windows until the temperature outside is lower than the temperature inside is best.
3. Do you have several fans running near open windows? Be sure you have an equal number (or size) blowing in as are blowing out. Otherwise, you will not bring in as much cool air as possible. Also, it is best to half your fans blowing outward on one side of your home or apartment and the rest blowing inward on the other side. If you only have a few fans, put them all on one side blowing outward and none on the other side.

Be sure your windows are equipped with adequate screens. Windows with weak, ripped or missing screens are easy points of entry for insects, small animals and criminals.

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With high temperatures forecast to approach 90 in some lowland areas away from the water, concern increases for the potential for dehydration and heat related illnesses.

Given the cool weather this spring, there has not been an opportunity to acclimate to these higher temperatures. As such, there is concern that this rapid warm-up could catch some off guard.

National Weather Service warns of “moderate risk of heat-related illness to heat-sensitive people and pets.”

The elderly, the very young and those who work or exercise outdoors will be the most vulnerable to heat related illnesses if precautions are not taken, such as drinking plenty of fluids, seeking air-conditioned places and checking on relatives and neighbors.

Young children and pets should never be left unattended in vehicles under any circumstances. This is especially true during warm or hot weather when car interiors can reach lethal temperatures in a matter of minutes.