Oh, no! Your heating system has completely broken down! Now you have to wait in winter weather for your HVAC technician as your home gets colder and colder! How will you manage?
It’s not enough to just say, “Just put on a sweater.” We’ve got some fantastic tips that can keep you and your family nice and warm while you’re waiting for heating repair.
Let the Sun In
If it’s a sunny day, make sure that the curtains are open on whichever windows the sun is directly hitting. This produces the greenhouse effect: not great when you’re running your air conditioner, but absolutely ideal for keeping cozy in winter.
Keep Drafts Out
Are there any cold breezes sneaking around your window frames? Close gaps with foam strips or rope caulk. How about at the bottom of your doors? If you can’t add a door strip, you can block the draft with a rolled-up rug, towel, or blanket. You can even make a homemade door snake! Put a bit of sand at the bottom of a trash bag and roll it up to make a draft-blocking tube.
Raise the Humidity
Your body’s temperature drops as cold air molecules brush against your skin and carry a bit of your heat away. Humid air can’t absorb as much heat! Turn off your dehumidifier or turn on a humidifier, or leave a kettle of water on the boil.
Use Ceiling Fans
Although you should normally have ceiling fans rotating clockwise in winter, with your heat out, try setting them to turn counterclockwise. This will push down any warm air that’s lurking up by your ceiling.
Use Another Heat Source
First, a safety warning. Don’t use a fireplace or woodstove that’s generally disused and hasn’t had its chimney checked in over a year. Don’t use heaters that are meant for outdoor spaces inside. It’s better to be cold than to have a chimney fire or carbon monoxide poisoning.
There are plenty of other great heat sources, though! Electric space heaters, heating pads, and hot water bottles are easy options. Baking something that takes quite a while will let your oven help heat your house. (Pot roast is a great choice.) You can even make your own heating pad: tie up an old (clean!) sock full of rice and microwave for 20-30 seconds or more as needed.
Warm Yourself from the Inside
Tea, coffee, cocoa, and hot soup can all make your body feel much warmer very quickly. You can also take a hot bath or shower and then bundle up in multiple layers.
Conserve Body Heat Together
Don’t forget the power of body heat! Curl up with your loved ones to stay cozy together. Dogs always love a snuggle, and even cats who are usually standoffish do not appreciate getting chilly, so they might be willing to warm your lap in exchange for some body heat (and maybe to get close to your sock full of hot rice).
Our best tip, though, is to avoid having your heating system break down! Have maintenance done every fall before you need to turn on the heat, and get prompt repairs as soon as you notice any problems with your heating in Houston, TX.
Reach out to Cool Care Heating and Air Conditioning, The Best Care for Your Air.