If you're heading to Italy for the summer holidays or are lucky enough to live in Italy all year round, we're here to help with some tips and tricks to help keep you and your house cool amidst the soaring temperatures this summer. With rising energy bills, using air conditioning isn't always an option, but with soaring temperatures and drought in some parts of Italy, it's important to keep cool as much as possible. For this reason, we've put together this guide on how to keep cool without air conditioning this summer in Italy.
Stay cool starting with food
Banish the oven and try not to use the cooker too much when preparing meals in Italy this summer. This is in fact one of the main causes of the feeling of suffocation in Italian properties but is also something you can easily solve. This doesn't mean you have to live off boring old lettuce and tomato salads all summer: get adventurous and try out refreshing dishes with local Italian ingredients, including delicious dishes with fresh cheese, tofu, lentils or even seaweed. And if you really like the taste of the sea then this is also the perfect time to get creative and have fun preparing sushi. Accompany these dishes with refreshing lemonade, orange juice or pineapple mint juice, served with ice cubes.
Use a water spray to refresh yourself
Water should be your main ally during the hottest hours and days in Italy summer. It's vital to keep your body hydrated by drinking lots of water or a sugar-free natural juice several times a day. You can also maintain the right body temperature by spraying water directly on your skin. This solution can be implemented anywhere, all you need is a spray bottle. You can also spray water inside your home to refresh the room, and after evaporation, you will feel a sense of freshness in the air.
Change your bed sheets often
Not sure how to get the heat out of your room in summer? Do mosquitoes like to pay a visit at night while you leave the windows open? Start by changing your bed linen to cooler, lighter fibres such as silk or cotton and keep heavy polyester items preferably elsewhere in the house. If this is not enough, take the opportunity to spray the bed with some water before going to sleep.
Clear rooms of unnecessary objects
The more things you have in a room, the more heat is likely to accumulate. It is best to gradually get rid of unnecessary objects that accumulate heat, creating a suffocating environment. You have several options: throw unnecessary items away when they are old, reuse them to create different decorations or sell them to earn some money for summer expenses.
Put real plants everywhere
Real plants are your best friends in the fight against the heat. There are plants that filter the air and prolong the freshness of different spaces in the house, for example: St. George's Sword, chrysanthemums, peace lilies and begonias, among others.
Give preference to natural plants to air the house but be careful not to let them get too much sun as they can dry out or die. If you do not have a lot of space, you can create a vertical garden and take advantage of the ventilation flow inside the house.
Rice bags on the bed and sofa
A simple bag of rice can help freshen up your house in summer. You just need to put some rice in a small bag in the freezer and after a few hours you can place it on a sofa, inside your cupboards or even on your bed when you are ready to sleep. Rice is much more effective than ice because it does not get wet and does not leave stains on the furniture.
Use a fan and some ice to make your own air-con
Do you like using fans during the summer but the air is still too hot? It's a good idea to place ice cubes in a bowl in front of the fans and circulate the air, which will be cooler. You can also place bowls of ice around the house and as the air circulates, you will have a cooler environment. And how about adding some rosemary and lemon or orange slices to create a natural scent around the house.
Paint the walls of the house white
A long-term solution to help with the heat in summer is to paint the walls white or a light colour. Light colours help keep the house cool in summer so that the walls do not attract heat. Painting the walls white, beige, yellow, lime green, peach, pale blue etc. helps create a cooler environment. Another advantage of light colours in the home is the feeling of spaciousness and the possibility of creating a more relaxing atmosphere.
