The heat builds up in the apartment at high temperatures in summer. Which trick can really cool you down.
Kassel – Summer is here and temperatures are rising. On some days, the weather in Germany becomes unbearably warm, often not only outside, but also in apartments and houses. It gets particularly hot in the attic and therefore it is helpful to cool it down there in summer: for example, by blocking out sunlight.
But wet sheets, towels or even freshly washed and still damp laundry can also help to make staying in your own four walls more bearable. It is important that the cloth is not dripping wet, but only damp, reports Ökotest. Then it is hung either in front of the window or on a drying rack in the room.
The high temperatures ensure that it gets unbearably hot in many homes. A life hack promises a remedy. © Jan Woitas/dpa
Tips against heat in the home: Wet towels as an aid in summer
The question is: How can a wet fabric help cool down a room? The reason is that when drying, the towels are deprived of heat from the air. This creates an evaporative cooling that cools down the room, as Ökotest writes. To further enhance this effect, a fan can be hung near the damp fabric. As a result, the resulting cold is better distributed throughout the room.
- Here's how to cool down your home:
- Keep windows closed and darken during the day
- Ventilate at night so that cool air comes in
- Remove carpets, as they insulate
- Placing plants with large leaves in the apartment
- Turn off all non-essential electronic devices as they produce heat
- Avoid using ovens as much as possible
- Source: Ökotest DE→EN
However, this cooling method also carries a risk of mold due to the resulting moisture. In principle, this trick should therefore not be repeated too often and should be saved for particularly hot days. Houses that tend to form mold should avoid it completely. In order to get rid of the resulting moisture, it would be necessary to ventilate again. This would make the method obsolete, because then new hot air from outside would come in. (fh)