The heat of summer has crept back to Milwaukee.
More than halfway through June, temperatures in the Milwaukee area have already hit the 80s multiple times, including topping out at 86 degrees on June 4, according to the National Weather Service.
As hot weather returns for the season, keeping your home cool can become a challenge, especially if you don’t have air conditioning. And if buying a portable air-conditioning unit isn’t an option, what do you do?
Here are some tips for keeping your home cool without air conditioning.
Open windows at night
While daytime highs have routinely been in the 70s and 80s this month, the overnight lows have consistently dropped into the 50s and 60s, even reaching 46 degrees on June 3.
Overnight temperatures tend to be cooler and offer a great way for your home to cool off while the sun is away. Just make sure to draw the curtains or shades during the day to block out the sun and keep the heat away.
Strategic cooking and baking
Ovens and stoves create a lot of heat. Limiting those heat sources can help keep your home cooler. Grilling outside instead of using an indoor stove can help, and so can baking in the oven when the sun is down and your home is cooler.
No grill? Maybe it’s time for a crockpot meal.
Use fans strategically
Creating a cross breeze can help cool down a home. Hot air can get trapped inside, and strategically placing fans can get warmer air blowing from inside to outside. That might include buying a window fan unit or a dehumidifier.
You can also try setting bowls of ice in front of fans to serve as an makeshift air conditioner.
Wear damp clothing
It’s possible that all the tips and tricks in the world won’t cool down the house. Jennifer Warren, a spokesperson for the American Red Cross of Wisconsin, said wearing damp clothes is a good way to cool yourself down, and so can taking cool showers or baths, or putting pillow cases in the freezer before going to sleep.
Warren said it’s also important to know where to find air-conditioned places you can go to cool down. That could be a cooling center, but could also be a mall or any other business with air conditioning.
More heat emergency tips are online on the Red Cross website, Warren said.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Feeling the heat? Here’s how to cool your home without air conditioning
Reporting by Blaise Mesa, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Blaise Mesa, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
