Living in a Unit - TIP 3 - Surviving Hot Weather

12 February 2014


Surviving the hot weather anywhere can be a challenge, let alone in a small apartment. Although Mr J and I have an air conditioner that cools the living room in less than thirty seconds, it somehow does not push itself past our five metre hallway to the bedroom. Sleeping at night becomes extremely uncomfortable, even with our ceiling fan rocking the roof at high speed. Therefore we are onto our fourth night sleeping over in the lounge. We are still trying to conquer the temperature of our bedroom - if anyone has any tips please comment below!

Over six months of owning this little unit I may not be able to adjust the bedroom temperature but I have realised a few things that make all the difference during the hot months. 

#1 Take a cold shower - This sounds straight forward and sometimes exactly what I feel like when the temperature has hit over forty degrees celcius but as soon as the cold water hits my head, I almost jump through the ceiling and get greeted by goosebumps all over. Before I know it I have reached my hand back to the tap to turn the heat up. Hot showers on a hot day have consequences when living in a small unit though as the entire home takes on the climate of the bathroom. Before you know it, it is hot and steamy everywhere. Taking a hot shower is wonderful but then having to suffer the humidity for the next hour is not. Brave the goosebumps and take a cool shower. 

#2 Less oven - Similar to the a hot shower, the oven can influence the entire unit temperature also. Although a hot apple crumble with ice-cream may have been a craving all day, I have had to result in eating ice-cream by itself as I wouldn't be able to manage the 180 degree celcius of the oven oozing out and hitting my face. Let the oven be your heater on the cooler days but put it to sleep on the hot ones. 

#3 The pedestal fan is you friend - As noisy and as unattractive as it is, the $20 pedestal fan in our living room is our friend. I used to think that having an air conditioner meant there was no need for a fan in the same room. Wrong. Putting the fan on is sometimes all I need (saving electricity!) or when the air conditioner is a must, the fan helps bring down that temperature a little more therefore we are able to have the air conditioner on a slightly higher temperature (also saving electricity!). Not to mention, it is portable! Invest in one of these and see how it makes your day more pleasant. 

What gets you through those stinking hot days? I would love to know. 

See other tips for living in a unit here

6 comments:

  1. hey! lovely post! I love warm weather!

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    1. Warm weather definitely has it's positives, however I'm secretly looking forward to a day to snuggle on the couch wearing many layers and a hot cup of tea. Thanks for readying!

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  2. Since I'm currently freezing my butt off in below-freezing temperatures, I cannot fully appreciate this post at the moment. But come summer time and we'll be fighting the same problems in our tiny apartment.

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    1. Thanks for reading Jenny! Yes I understand that most of the world is currently seeing snow, I don't mind warm weather but I'm definitely looking forward to layering up in winter. It's good to know there are other tiny apartment owners out there.

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  3. A shower tip I learnt living in Darwin was that if you have a tiny bit of hot on with the cold so it's just body temp when you get in will stop the goosebumps and then you can slowly turn the hot off leaving you in a cold shower you can appreciate and a room that's not hot.

    Also if you take a damp flannel to bed and wipe your face, arm's, legs etc when you are on your bed under the fan you will be surprised how cooling it is on those cool nights.

    They are two tips from having lived in the tropics and always being hot at night. :)

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    1. That is the best advice!! Thank you. I never though of jumping into a body temperature shower and then adjusting it downwards, that's great! Definitely will give the flannel a go as well. Thanks so much for sharing Vic :)

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