Newer caravan owners might not have figured out all the tips and tricks for keeping their caravan as cool as possible or maybe you’re a veteran caravan owner who is feeling the heat this year. Either way, we’ve compiled some things we think will help you keep as cool as possible this summer while on holiday in your static caravan.
Cooling Down Your Static Caravan
It seems obvious but having a fan inside your caravan is a must for most owners. However, using it to its fullest potential isn’t always as clear. Aiming fans towards yourself feels like the most refreshing option in the moment but it doesn’t cool down the room. Remember, fans cool people, not the air, so for the best approach, aim them out the window and push the hot air outdoors instead. When possible, create a cross breeze with two fans or with an open window and your fan.
Blackout or thermal curtains can really make a difference to the internal temperature of your caravan. Yes, it will be dark inside, but it’ll also be much cooler! If there is opposition to blackout curtains, regular curtains which are room darkening can also assist in keeping the rising morning temperatures from reaching you as quickly. Remember to close curtains on rooms that face the sun to keep indoor spaces as cool as possible for longer and remember it may be cooler outdoors than indoors.
In living areas or bedrooms, you can cool down a whole room by hanging a wet sheet in front of an open window. The subsequent breeze will quickly cool down the room making it easier to relax – or sleep.
Light bulbs (even environmentally friendly bulbs) give off heat so turn them off, so they have less chance of creating warmth. Fortunately, in summer it stays light until much later which allows us to take advantage of natural light.
Electronics around your caravan also create heat which dissipates into the air. Those electronics such as laptops, phones, TVs, and appliances need to stay cool, just like you, so they release heat into the surrounding air warming it up. Turning these electronics off is a good step but unplugging them is ideal.
Keeping it Cool in the Kitchen
The kitchen is an obvious place your static caravan can create heat quickly. Turning on the stove or hob to cook is instantly going to make you – and the caravan – hotter. Avoid cooking at the stove if you can. Summer is a great time to experiment with fresh produce, fun sandwiches, and interesting salads.
If you really want to cook something hot, how about firing up the grill outside instead? It’s a great way to cook without heating things up inside the caravan.
Be sure to turn off kitchen appliances that generate heat when they are not needed.
Is there something you can make the kitchen that can make you feel cooler right now? Of course!
Having ice lollies and ice cream on hand are a winner with lots of folks, especially the little ones. Eating something frozen will bring your internal temperature down rapidly and make you cooler from the inside out.
It seems backward but the opposite is also true – eating and drinking hot foods will also result in your feeling more cooled down. For instance, when you have a cup of your favourite brew, the initial rise in body temperature will make you start to sweat, which then evaporates and cools you down. And, as we discussed before, sweating cools you down when the sweat cools down. However, this trick only works on a relatively dry day; if it’s a humid day (where the air is already full of moisture), less of your sweat will evaporate, rendering the whole thing a bit pointless. Try this with spicy foods too! The kick in that curry really IS useful!
Staying Cool in the Bedroom
It’s so difficult for most people to fall asleep at night when its too hot. Fortunately, the UK doesn’t have many of those nights per year but when we do, we need quick solutions on hand to cool us down.
Wearing the right thing to bed is a good start with trying to stay cool. Fabrics created specifically for sweat wicking are the ideal clothes to fall into bed wearing but cotton is a close second. We sweat a lot when we sleep and just don’t realize it much. Having sleepwear on pulls this sweat away from our skin and into the clothes where it dries and evaporates. Some people swear by sleeping in, well, nothing, and that works too.
Newer technology has allowed such things as cooling pillows and sheets to make us more comfortable when it’s time to go to sleep. Invest in these things once and reap the cooling benefits for years.
Use your fridge freezer at bedtime. As much as you’d like to get inside it, we don’t think you’ll fit – but you can put your PJ’s, bedsheets, or socks inside. Just put them in a bag first, unless you want them to come out smelling like potatoes and give you nightmares of being chased by chips.
You may also consider investing a few quid in soft gel or bead ice packs to put underneath your sheets or even wrapped in a tea towel and placed anywhere you feel toastiest. You’ll be falling asleep feeling great in no time.
As hard as it may be, keep the pets out of your bed. This one can be a challenge if you’ve got cuddly critters waiting to snuggle up with their big, hot bodies. If you can resist their puppy-dog eyes, have them sleep in their own beds (or at least at the bottom of yours).
Ditch your duvet in favour of a sheet. The age-old dilemma: sleep on top of your duvet to catch the full effect of the fan and avoid extra layers, or sleep under your duvet to avoid the monsters? A solution that solved both problems and keeps you cool at the same time – get rid of your duvet and just sleep under the duvet cover or a sheet instead!
Soak a towel, t-shirt or sheet in cold water. running cold water over a sheet, wring it out and get underneath it at night. It’ll help to cool you down, and as it should be dry by the morning, you can quite literally rinse and repeat.
You can adapt the above tip for use during the daytime, too – just take an old t-shirt that you aren’t worried about ruining the shape of and run it under cold water, wring it out to get rid of the excess water, and then either drape it over your shoulders or wear it as normal.
Another pretty obvious choice for cooling off before bed is to take a cool shower before going to sleep. Some people like it to be icy cold while others would rather have it a bit warmer. Going to bed with your hair damp may be a plus as well.
Swap your large fluffy pillow for a smaller firm one as we lose heat from our head and the fluggy pillow traps all that heat around us.
Cool down your “hot zones” – applying a little ice pack or a bottle filled with iced water to your pressure points will help you cool down immediately. Your wrists (the underside, where you can see the veins), neck, elbows and joint creases are a great place to start, as are your temples (the sides of your head, about halfway between the corners of your eye and your ears) and forehead. Soaking your feet in some ice-cold water will also help cool you down.
