Ideas for cooling down a hot apartment?

aninnymouse

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Swamp Cooler. That usually works well.

Another thing that may help is Blackout Curtains. Keep the worst of the light and heat out. Another option may be to get some thick curtains, and tape or staple some aluminum foil onto the outside, so it'll reflect the light back. Kinda ghetto, but it may work.
 

Phil Ayesho

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We don't have ceiling fans, but we do have fans. Two in the living room and one in each bedroom. They are on all the time. I take one in the kitchen sometimes when I have to cook, was probably 90 degrees in there earlier when I was making dinner, if not hotter. It was a very distinguishable difference from the living room.

We have central heat and air.

That unit you linked is very tempting, it doesn't seem to require to be set up in a window or anything. I can't afford that sadly.

This kind of unit still requires a window... but just a small exhaust port to vent the hot air. It will not violate window unit restrictions, because there no machinery in the actual window. Side sliding windows work fine... the exhaust hose fits into a plastic holder that fills up the open portion of the window... its only open a few inches.
 

rbkwp

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as mentioned by several, heavy drapes drawn prior to the heat starting, (does mean having the place darkened & enclosed tho)
Does work, learnt this off an elderly German lady i was boarding with. in Sydneys heat, worked a treat, despite my annoyance, being from an outdoors background ha
 

Deno

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top floors are generally hot due to the sun on the roof not heat from lower units. If you could seal the roof with an aluminized sealer or better is white it will absorb less heat.
 

IntoxicatingToxin

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Well, my dad won't let me black out the windows with any sort of reflective material or whatever. I'm going to see about investing in some curtains for the kitchen window (our only west-facing window) and possibly one of my bedroom windows. I really don't think it will help much, though. I had the windows covered all last summer and it was just as hot in here. I investigated swamp coolers a bit, they all say that they require really dry air to work properly though and my apartment is really humid, as is the air outside, so I'm not sure how effective that will be either. Nor do I want it to be any more humid in here than it already is. I might try just going into a Home Depot and explaining my situation to someone knowledgeable to see if they have any ideas.

It is currently 97 degrees outside with a heat index of 102, and it's 84 degrees in my apartment. :|
 

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Viking_UK

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Is installing an awning or something similar to shade the brickwork an option?

I've got a small portable ac unit in my office - this type: Amazon.co.uk: DeLonghi Pinguino PAC L10

I bought it in the off season, so it was £150 less than this one! It vents out through an open window. Shield the rest of the opening to stop the warm air getting back in.
 

IntoxicatingToxin

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Is installing an awning or something similar to shade the brickwork an option?

I've got a small portable ac unit in my office - this type: Amazon.co.uk: DeLonghi Pinguino PAC L10

I bought it in the off season, so it was £150 less than this one! It vents out through an open window. Shield the rest of the opening to stop the warm air getting back in.

No, that isn't an option unfortunately. This is an apartment building, we don't own it. Also, the apartment complex won't allow any sort of anything that vents through the window. Not sure why. They claim it looks trashy but tbh, this is the trashiest apartment I've ever lived in, I'm not sure why they care. Bleh.

I just bought this fan from Home Depot for the kitchen, was the only room that didn't have a fan.
 
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IntoxicatingToxin

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Just got home from Target, purchased this thermal curtain and a curtain rod. Hopefully it helps some. My dad states that nothing will help because we live in a brick building with no insulation in our walls and the brick just soaks up the heat, and he's probably right. I have to do SOMETHING though, this is ridiculous. The sun has nearly set and it's still 85 in the apartment. (It got up to 87 earlier, it's cooling down now.) I can't stand up from the couch without breaking out in a sweat, I hate it. Gonna be take a nice cold shower before bed tonight.
 

The Dragon

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one fan.
one large container.
bag of ice.
water.
rock salt.
optional: a couple of old towels.

dump the ice, water and rock salt into the large container.
set the large container in front of ya fan.
the optional towels go into the mix, kinda floaty as much as possible. the water evaporates off the towels.. cools the air... fan circulates.

if ya wanna put a bit more work into it clickie

covering the windows with something blackoutish works wonders.
vampire chic.

This plus.....who says you have to send the lion's share of your time indoors?
Find a shady park with trees, a play ground and a fountain.
Charge up the lap top and take a picnic with you.

Or.....veg out in an air-conditioned shopping mall.
Find a cafe with bottomless coffee cup deals.
A lot have play grounds inside and seating for parents.
Get cool on someone else's dime.
It's what a lot of people do here in Aus. when they don't have air con during Summer.
 

IntoxicatingToxin

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This plus.....who says you have to send the lion's share of your time indoors?
Find a shady park with trees, a play ground and a fountain.
Charge up the lap top and take a picnic with you.

Or.....veg out in an air-conditioned shopping mall.
Find a cafe with bottomless coffee cup deals.
A lot have play grounds inside and seating for parents.
Get cool on someone else's dime.
It's what a lot of people do here in Aus. when they don't have air con during Summer.

If it were just me I wouldn't mind so much, but it's also my 72 year old father and 10 year old son, plus the boyfriend. We do spend time out of the house, just like today we went to the pool, to the movies, and to do some shopping. That isn't feasible every day though, and as far as going to a playground or fountain, it's hotter outside than it is in here. My main issue with the heat isn't just that I'm hot, it's that being warm for extended periods of times makes me dizzy and nauseated, as well as the boyfriend. I'm not sure why, I drink lots of water every day so I'm confident that it isn't dehydration. I attribute it mostly to just being overweight, I didn't have this issue when I was skinnier.
 

IntoxicatingToxin

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Well, the thermal curtain has made a difference in the heat of the kitchen itself. It always used to run hotter than the rest of the apartment but now it's basically the same temperature as everything else. An improvement, but not by much. Lol. It's completely dark outside and still 86 in here, after reaching ~101 degrees today outside. My dad has adjusted the blower to make sure it's running on its highest setting and has removed the filters to increase air flow, isn't really making a difference. The maintenance guy is coming out tomorrow to clean the coils on the a/c. He said he doesn't think they have been cleaned since he started working here which is 5-ish years ago. The units are on the roof, so they don't get as much debris/grass/leaves etc as ground units, but they still collect dust. I'm really hoping that the coils are dirty as fuck and a good cleaning gets the a/c functioning at a more normal level. Given the physical stated of the apartment building itself, I know it'll never be 70 degrees in here on a hot summer day, but below 80 would certainly be nice. It's hard to get anything done around here after work because I just sweat my arse off. Yuck!
 

kenny233

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The maintenance guy is coming out tomorrow to clean the coils on the a/c. He said he doesn't think they have been cleaned since he started working here which is 5-ish years ago. The units are on the roof, so they don't get as much debris/grass/leaves etc as ground units, but they still collect dust. I'm really hoping that the coils are dirty as fuck and a good cleaning gets the a/c functioning at a more normal level.

I hope it improves for you. Maybe the maintenance guy can put a gauge on the line and check to see if adding refrigerant is necessary. If he's not licensed for A/C work, chances are he will not be able to add it.

It's hot as hell here too, and I have had hot apartments myself. Good luck
 

IntoxicatingToxin

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I hope it improves for you. Maybe the maintenance guy can put a gauge on the line and check to see if adding refrigerant is necessary. If he's not licensed for A/C work, chances are he will not be able to add it.

It's hot as hell here too, and I have had hot apartments myself. Good luck

He checked for refrigerant a week or so ago and topped it off. It was a little low, but not in dire need or anything. I'm really just hoping it's the coils. The only thing that keeps me from feeling to positive about it is that my father has lived in this apartment for 12 years and it's always been this way in the summer. If they've really gone 12 years without cleaning the coils, they are completely stupid. Which is entirely possibly. Lol.
 

Viking_UK

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I've got my fingers crossed for a good result for you. I know how bad it can be when you're too hot. My office is on the upper floor of a south-facing metal-skinned building, so it gets pretty hot in here. I've seen it get up to 35C at times, which is about 95F. With the window open and a couple of fans running, I can cope with that, but my dog can't, which is why I got the AC unit.

It's not a perfect solution, but one thing we used to do when it got really hot was to put some freezer blocks in front of a fan - you know, the type you put in a cool box when going for a picnic. They don't last very long, but it gives a bit of relief.
 

IntoxicatingToxin

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They cleaned the coils. Didn't seem to help a whole lot. Got up to 85 today instead of 87, so I guess that's an improvement. Lol. But the a/c actually BROKE tonight. It started getting really warm around 6-7pm and I couldn't figure out what was up. Went to check the thermostat and it was 90 degrees in the apartment. I stuck a thermometer in the air vent and the air coming out was 70 degrees. My dad thinks it's the compressor. They gave us a window unit and have a guy scheduled to come out Monday to look at the a/c. Sucks that it had to happen on a 100+ degree weekend, though. Bleh! The boyfriend, kid, gerbils and I high-tailed it for a hotel room for the night. Dad didn't want to come, he's gonna tough it out with the solitary window unit. Lol. Hopefully they'll get us a nice new shiny a/c that works well!
 

kenny233

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Maybe it is good that it completely broke. They must install a new unit now, and hopefully the person who installs it can figure out how to optimize it.