The summer season in Pakistan raises the level of humidity in several cities. Humidity does not just make it difficult and stifling to sit indoors but also damages the structural integrity of your house. This is why it is essential to ventilate your home properly to keep the humidity levels low and prevent mould, damp, and other water damage. Below, we’ve shared some ways that you can use to improve the ventilation of air in your home.
Effective Ways to Ventilate Your Home
If the stifling heat is starting to make your home feel like an oven, here are some home ventilation options that can come to your aid:
- Open the Windows
- Circulate the Air with Fans
- Bring in Some Plants
- Consider a DIY Home Cooler
- Add Exhaust Fans and Dehumidifiers
- Install an Air Conditioner
Let’s discuss these ways to ventilate the house in detail below.
Open the Windows
We can’t emphasise this point enough. Irrespective of whether you live in a house or a flat, opening up the windows is one of the best ways to ventilate the house naturally and let fresh air indoors. You can also consider opening up the doors that lead to your terrace or balcony. On a windy day, this home ventilation hack is pretty much all you will need to get rid of the humidity that’s trapped inside your house. This is why it is imperative to consider the placement of windows in your house during construction.
However, we all know that there are days in the peak summer season when there is no breeze, and it is just as suffocating outdoors as it would be to stay at home. Check out the following home ventilation tips for all such days.
Circulate the Air with Fans
Most homes in Pakistan already have ceiling fans installed or connections for them in place. All you need to do is buy a fan and turn it on to keep the air circulating around the room. This movement of air will not only help you breathe but will also ventilate your home when there’s no breeze. Combine ceiling fans with pedestal fans, wall fans, and table fans to keep the air moving throughout the room.
One trick to bring fresh air indoors when there is no breeze is to place a pedestal fan in front of an open window and turn it on. The fan will pull the outdoor air into your room for easy breathing. This home ventilation hack works best when the outdoor environment is cooler than your home’s average temperature, and there’s no breeze to bring more cool air indoors.
Bring in Some Plants
There are a number of air-purifying indoor plants that can be a blessing in disguise in the hot summer months. Most of these plants will take in carbon dioxide and breathe out fresh oxygen into your living space. They also require very little care and maintenance and thrive all year round indoors. This is only recommended if you have a keen interest in gardening or can take care of these plants in the long run, including watering them from time to time.
Consider a DIY Home Cooler
It’s easy to make your own room cooler if you know how to go about it. All you need are six materials, most of which are easily available in every home. Use this DIY homemade room cooler guide to enjoy cooler air indoors during the summer months, all with the help of a pedestal or table fan that you have at home.
Add Exhaust Fans and Dehumidifiers
Kitchens and laundry areas generally produce a lot of heat, as heavy appliances run in these rooms daily, often 24/7. Moreover, the heat from your stove and oven will also warm up the home and make it stifling. It is recommended that you install an exhaust fan in your kitchen over your stove, as well as instaling one in your laundry area, which you can turn on every time you cook a meal or need to wash a load in your washing machine, respectively. Consider adding exhaust fans to small bathrooms, too, if they do not have any windows or other outlets for fresh air.
Another technological device that can help you improve the ventilation of air in your home is a dehumidifier, commonly used in office environments to prevent mould and damp from gathering in small rooms. The gadget removes humidity from the air, making breathing easier. The air also feels lighter when it’s carrying fewer molecules of water, which tends to make the air denser and heavier than it is.
Install an Air Conditioner
There are several home decor ideas for the summer that can help you to create a light and airy interior. However, if all else fails, installing an air conditioner is a sure-fire way to beat the heat and ventilate the home artificially. Make sure to weigh out the differences between an inverter AC and a normal AC before making a purchase. Moreover, using air conditioners will result in a spike in your electricity bill during the summer months, so consider your financial budget as the initial cost of the AC unit is not where it ends.
Fans and all other home ventilation options are fairly cheaper in comparison to ACs, but you should make your decision based on which city you live in and what kind of summer weather you experience each year. Remember that you’ll also have to clean the fans that you’ll be installing around the house, and while that isn’t a difficult job, it does mean an additional task to add to your home maintenance checklist for the summer.
Ventilating your home naturally is always possible if you have a west-facing home or flat, but these home ventilation tips will help you out even if you don’t have a home with a natural flow of air or live in a fairly congested area where the buildings are so close together that the airflow is next to none.
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