How To Beat The Amarillo Summer Heat If You Lose AC

Rumor has it that this summer is going to be an above average one when it comes to the heat. What happens if, for some reason, you lose your AC in Amarillo's brutal summer heat?

Not too long ago, I went through that exact nightmare scenario. Here's what I learned the hard way.

First, Don't Use Your Oven

Cancel your plans for casserole. The quickest way to make your house uncomfortably warm is by cranking up the oven.

Even when it isn't that hot outside, my oven heats up my kitchen and dining area insanely fast. It should go without saying, step one is to do something different for dinner and leave the oven off.

Don't Make The Mistake Of Using Your Fans Wrong

I'm personally guilty of this one, and I'll admit I had to go to Google for some answers.

When my AC went out last summer, I went and bought a couple of fans to help cool off the parts of the house that we spend the most time in. I became insanely frustrated when it seemed like the fans weren't helping.

As I later found out, I was using them wrong.

The secret is to keep in mind that your fans are moving air from one place to the other. They aren't magical cold air creating machines.

Find a cooler part of the house and use your fan to move it to the warmer part of the house. Bonus points if it's after dark and the temperature has dropped to a tolerable level. You can use the fan to suck the cooler air from outside and blast it into the rest of your house.

Also, make sure you've changed the direction of your ceiling fans. That helps a little too.

Cover Up Your Windows

If you have windows that let in the sunshine in your room, cover them up. It's a quick fix, and it's easy to do. It will help whatever room you're in cool down faster than if you let the sunlight in.