Is your Dutch house unbearably hot during summer? Give these handy tips a try

Before you go scouring the internet for super complex solutions to the heat in your home, we’ve got a sweet and simple one for you. Say doei doei to sweating on your couch!

We all know the feeling: making your way home after a long, hot day only to realise, as you slowly slip into sweaty insanity, that your home is still hot. There is no escape.

READ MORE | How to beat the Dutch heat: 11 tips to keep your cool 

Maybe it’s not even that hot outside, but the inside of homes gets super warm because of sun radiation, according to RTL Nieuws. Basically: heat goes in, homes are very well insulated, heat stays in, and you sweat.

So how do we stop this smelly cycle? The answer is much easier than you think.

The obvious solutions

Hop on over to HEMA, get yourself a fan, and put it on your bedside table when you sleep. It feels like it shouldn’t make such a difference, but it does.

If you’re more financially secure (ahem, rich 👀), you can opt for air conditioning. A rare sight in the Netherlands, but few things hit the same as you enter that cold room while you’re drenched in sweat.

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But let’s be real: we’re not all multi-millionaires who can afford not only to install an air conditioner but also keep up with the energy bills after keeping them on for days on end. So what can we mere plebeians do?

The even more obvious solutions

Homes get hot because of sun radiation, and you might be in extra trouble if you have east or west-facing windows because you get full sun almost all day.

photograph-of-a-woman-lying-down-on-a-sofa-and-trying-to-cool-herself-down-with-a-paper-fan
An AC can help, but there are other ways to help you keep your cool! Image: Freepik

So why not just block it out? We get it; this advice seems too simple to work. However, according to Professor Andy van den Dobbelsteen of TU Delft, sun protection is the way to go.

READ MORE | House plants in the Netherlands: tips to make your Dutch house bloom

Speaking to RTL Nieuws, van den Dobbelsteen mentioned that sun protection can be deployed in many ways — including erecting a canopy to shield certain areas. 

So, what’s the perfect combo? Open windows, closed curtains, a cheap fan, and minimal movement. Enjoy your new sweat-free lifestyle! 

How do you combat the heat in your Dutch home? Tell us in the comments!

Feature image:Depositphotos

Accuracy, clarity, and a touch of humour — that’s DutchReview. Read our editorial mission.

Julia de Oliveira Moritz
Julia de Oliveira Moritz
Júlia was born in Brazil, but she’s been away for more than half her life. At five years old, she moved to Nigeria, and at 14, she came to the Netherlands. She came for her education and stayed for… something. She’s not sure if that something is the vibrant springtime or the live music bars. All she knows is that this is her new home, at least for now.

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