August 8, 2026, 4:22 am | Read time: 4 minutes
Temperatures are rising significantly again, and the longing for cooling off is growing. Especially in the heat, numerous tips and hacks are circulating. However, some of them are far less helpful than expected. myHOMEBOOK shows which supposed cooling aids are of little use.
Cold Showers Only Help Briefly
If you don’t have a pool in the backyard or a lake nearby, you might cool off in the summer with a cold shower. However, the Federal Institute for Public Health advises against it. Very cold water constricts blood vessels and strains the circulatory system. While we may feel refreshed for a short time, the body has to expend energy for temperature regulation. The result: We get warm again, and the hoped-for cooling effect is lost.
Wet Towel Increases Humidity
In the summer, many people rely on the towel hack. The idea is simple. A towel or, alternatively, a sheet is moistened and hung up in the apartment. As it dries, the water evaporates and provides cooling. However, for noticeable and lasting cooling, the towel must be re-moistened repeatedly. The evaporation also increases humidity, which can not only feel uncomfortable but also pose a risk of mold.
Also interesting: Why You Should Mop the Floor in the Heat
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Caution! Expert Warns Against Popular Heat Trick
Aluminum Foil on Windows Mainly Causes Trouble
On social networks, you see many people covering their homes with aluminum foil. What looks a bit odd is supposed to cool rooms in the heat with something that almost everyone has at home. This is the aluminum foil hack, where the windows of the apartment or house are covered with aluminum foil. The sun’s rays are supposed to be reflected by the shiny side of the foil before they can enter the room, keeping the home cool.
Experts, however, warn against this trend. “The aluminum foil is supposed to add an internal sunshade, but without sufficient ventilation, it causes a high thermal load on the glass, which can lead to glass breakage,” says Pantea Khaledpour from the Window + Facade Association (VFF) upon request from myHOMEBOOK. If you attach the aluminum foil to the pane with adhesive, unsightly residues can also remain on the glass.
An Ice-Cold Plastic Bottle Promises More Than It Delivers
An ice-cold plastic bottle is another viral heat hack that is of little use in practice. You fill a plastic bottle with water, cool it in the freezer for several hours, and then place it at the highest possible point in the room. As the ice melts, it is supposed to extract heat from the surroundings, lowering the room temperature.
Even though the hack is easy to implement, it has two drawbacks. It only slightly lowers the room temperature under optimal conditions. Namely, when the room is sufficiently protected from sunlight and, for example, no heat-absorbing devices are present. On very warm days, such conditions are rarely consistently met. Additionally, freezing the bottle consumes a lot of energy, while the ice melts quickly under high room temperatures. Therefore, a noticeable cooling of the room air is hardly achievable this way.