Cool Yourself in a Car Without Air Conditioning
When the heat is on, there are not many things more miserable than sitting in a hot car waiting for the traffic to start moving. Although there is no quick fix to dealing with the heat, some of the following suggested strategies may get you to your destination a little bit cooler and dryer.
Steps
- Hang a wet rag over the middle vent of the car. The air that blows through will be much cooler. Have a few wet rags ready to replace it with; they dry out fairly quickly. A passenger could be in charge of replacing and wetting new cloths.
- Drive barefoot (illegal in some places). It might feel a little weird, but your body lets out a lot of heat through your feet, so traveling barefoot (or at least with flip flops) will help keep you cool.
- Drive with wet hair. As the moisture evaporates from your hair, your scalp will cool off, bringing down the temperature of your body.
- Add some ice. A 10 pound block of ice on the floorboards under a vent will help cool things down. This hack is derived from what residents in Arizona actually used for car air-conditioning in the 40's and 50's! To prevent leakage of water in your car, rest the ice block in a plastic pan or a baking tin. Opening a window a little will help with air flow.
- Freeze water bottles to use as ice packs. Wrap the frozen bottle in a towel and put it behind your neck. Once it thaws, drink the cold water in it to cool off.
- Plan your travel times to coincide with cooler parts of the day. Early morning is often the coolest time of the day, and if you're not on a fixed schedule, plan on doing as much driving as possible before the heat becomes unbearable later in the day. Try to avoid driving home mid-afternoon, to avoid the worst heat of the day.
- Work with the traffic flow. This is another step in planning your travel time. Most medium to large sized communities have "rush hours", when people are on their way to work, or home afterward. This event may cause you to be stuck in bumper to bumper traffic hardly moving along at all.
- Look for shady routes to your frequent destinations. If you drive a north or south direction, tree lined streets and roadways are often shady for much of the day.
- Roll down the windows. This sounds obvious, and it should be, but sometimes the noise and odors of city driving may tempt you to keep the windows closed. To increase the air circulation:
- If you have a fan operated fresh air vent, open it, turn on the fan, and open a rear window enough to draw a draft through your automobile.
- Opening the car's sunroof or sliding back window will draw a lot of fresh air, even when you're traveling in traffic that just seems to be creeping along at a snail's pace.
- Install reflective window tinting on the windshield and windows. This can offer a substantial reduction in direct sunlight coming into your car, and also provides some protection for the vinyl interior from UV radiation which can damage your car's upholstery and dashboards. (Note: check with your state to ensure this is legal. Some states in the USA do not allow this practice.)
- Put a fan on the dashboard (illegal in most states, check local laws) or hang it from the visor. There are a number of inexpensive 12 volt fans available at auto parts stores and retailers. They clip on the sun visor or rear view mirror, or stand on the dashboard, and plug into a cigarette lighter plug to move air. Switch this on during driving, to help circulate the air and keep you feeling a little cooler.
- Passengers can use a paper or real fan to help circulate air directly around themselves. If the movement distracts you while driving though, ask them to lower the fans or to stop.
- Dress down. If you have a long commute to work or school, try to drive in short pants and a T-shirt, then change in a restroom or locker room at work. Doing this will leave you cleaner and cooler for the day ahead.
- It's recommended that you always keep clean, fresh clothes in the car for times when the heat and traffic are too much for you, if there is a chance you will need to be more presentable during the day.
- Don't wear dark clothes. The darker the clothes the more heat sucks into your shirt; so wear a light colored shirt.
- Roll down the windows just a little (1/2 inch) when parking. This allows the hot air to bubble out of the car, thus pulling in cooler air. Sure, the air outside might be 100 degrees, but the air inside a parked car can get to 120+ degrees! Not only does the air get super heated, but the seats and surfaces do, too. But keeping a flow of cooler air helps keep the whole cabin more tolerable. Be sure to use common sense when doing this. Watch for rain.
- Take enough Ice cubes and put it in a Thermocol container. Keep the lid open and place it in the unused seat or on the floor. The Ice melts and gives away the chillness to the atmosphere inside the car. You need more ice cubes if travel time is more.
Tips
- Use the vent blower on the car heater on the coolest setting to help move some air. The least bit of air movement will help keep you cooler.
- There are many low-cost 12v fans designed for computer cases than can be readily adapted for in-car. It may take a little more work, but more choice is better.
- Where you park your car and how you shield it during parking makes a large difference to how hot it feels. Always use a windshield shade to keep heat from coming through the windshield when parked. Aim to park the car undercover or under the shade of trees, walls, etc. The more you can give your car a headstart on staying cool before you enter it, the longer it'll take to heat up when driving.
- Wet cloths are also ideal for cooling down a hot steering wheel so that you can actually touch it. Spray water on the steering wheel, and wipe the damp cloth over it. You should be able to touch it without burning once you've done this.
Warnings
- While it might seem tempting, do not use dry ice in a vehicle. It displaces oxygen as it sublimates, and could cause suffocation in enclosed spaces (which a car definitely is).
- Car interiors can become dangerously hot in the sunshine, so never leave anyone or pets in the car when you leave the car.
- It is illegal in some states and countries to have tinted front windows and windshields. These states are Alaska, California, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Vermont. In Canada this is also the case. For other countries, check your local vehicle codes.
- Be very careful when you drive while wearing flip flops, or indeed any footwear that is not secured to your feet, as it can become loose and lodge under or against a pedal. This can potentially result in the accelerator getting jammed or vastly reduced braking ability if an errant flip flop becomes lodged under the pedal.
Things You'll Need
- A 12 volt fan with a clamp and lighter plug.
