How To Beat Humid Heat This Monsoon

Even though July is finally here, there is no relief from hot and humid weather, it seems. June is over and the rains are here. Yes, it's all very pleasant, except the wet, sticky heat that has now hit us and left us sweating - at least, that's how it is here in India, the land of four seasons.

If it's this humidity that's annoying and sucking energy out of you, we've got some great tips for you. After all, we know what humid heat can do to us, including heat exhaustion, irritability and smelly homes. 

Here a few traditional ways to beat the humid heat:  

1. Flush air out: Think of flushing out all the air from your house to replace it with cooler air. How you do that is pretty simple: open windows and place fans strategically in a way that hot air is blown out of the house overnight. Early in the morning, as Sun is up, close all windows as air starts getting warm outside.

2. Paint your roof white: White walls and roofs absorb heat while bright colours tend to heat the house unnecessarily. This can make a huge difference to the temperature of a house as white reflects heat.

3. Plant trees outside the window: If you live in an individual house, consider planting a tree right outside your window. If your home is an apartment, plant creepers that grow all over the window. It will take off the heat and bring in cool air in addition to increasing the Oxygen in the house making you more comfortable.

4. Keep the lights off: Lights emit a lot of heat. Try switching them off when not in use. As the daylight stays longer during summer, use the natural light as long as possible. Shift to LED lights and other softer and dimmer lights, they do not heat up the room.

5. Use energy using appliances in the nights: All the appliances of the house like coffee makers, TVs, DVD players and washing machines generate heat. Try using them when it is not hot outside, either early in the morning or in the night if you can delay their use. That will reduce the heat of your house. Also, unplug the appliances when not in use. This can cut down the heat of a house by at least 10 percent.

6. Use bamboo blinds: Bamboo blinds are the most effective solution to over-heating of a home. They absorb the heat that comes in and cool the home by at least 30% more than normal blinds.

7. Try portable fans: Portable fans that you can shift towards yourself and carry around the room are much better than ceiling fans. There are a number of models which are very small that can be shifted around the house easily and carried along. Some are small enough be set on a table.

8. Cover the upholstery with cotton: If you live in a city which is very humid, convert the bedsheets, sofa covers, cushion covers to cotton. It can absorb the heat and make the room cooler. Lighter colours are much better.

(Katya Naidu has been working as a business journalist for the last nine years, and has covered beats across banking, pharma, healthcare, telecom, technology, power, infrastructure, shipping and commodities)