The Netherlands does not really do air conditioning. It is still rare in homes here, so when the temperature climbs past 30 degrees, most of us are left with a fan and a jug of water. The good news: you can take the edge off a heatwave with a handful of small, cheap moves. Here is what actually works, from the moment the sun comes up to the moment you try to sleep.
Start with the sun: keep the heat out
The cheapest cooling happens before the heat ever gets inside. A closed, shaded room stays far cooler than one baking behind glass all afternoon.
- Close curtains and blinds on the sunny side by mid morning. South and west facing windows do the most damage. If you have external shutters or screens, use them, because blocking sunlight outside the glass beats blocking it inside.
- Open up at night, shut down by day. Dutch summer nights usually cool off. Throw the windows open once the outside air drops below the inside temperature (often after 22:00), then close everything again early the next morning to trap that cooler air.
- Make a cross breeze. Open windows on opposite sides of the house and let air pull straight through. A fan placed to push warm air out of one window, rather than just stir it around, moves a surprising amount of heat.
Cool the air you are actually sitting in
You do not need to cool the whole house. You need to cool the one metre of air around your body, and that is where a good fan earns its keep.
A plain fan does not lower the temperature. It moves air across your skin so sweat evaporates faster and you feel cooler. Add water to that airflow and you get a real drop in temperature. A handheld mist fan (from €29.99) pairs a breeze with a fine spray, which is the same trick the misting fans on café terraces use. For a desk or a bedside, a bladeless portable fan (€29.99) is quiet enough to run while you work or sleep, and safe around curious kids and pets.
If you want to cool a whole corner of a room, an evaporative cooler goes a step further by drawing air through a water tank. Our bladeless air cooler and humidifier (€59.99) and the larger portable air cooler (€64.99) both run on a fraction of the power a portable air conditioner draws, with no hose out the window and nothing to install.
Cool your body, not just the room
Your neck, wrists, and the insides of your elbows sit close to the surface and carry a lot of blood. Cool those spots and your whole body feels the difference quickly.
- Run cold water over your wrists at the tap for thirty seconds. It is the fastest free reset there is.
- Keep a fan on you, hands free. A hands free USB neck fan (€44.99) sits on your shoulders and blows air up at your neck and face, which is ideal for the school run, the market, or a warm office. The 2 in 1 neck and handheld fan (€54.99) does both jobs, so you are covered whether you are walking or sitting still.
- Damp cloth on the back of the neck. Low tech, very effective, and even better paired with any of the fans above.
Dress for it, drink for it
Loose, light coloured natural fabrics like linen and cotton let air move and let sweat evaporate. Tight synthetics trap both. If you are out in full sun, cover up rather than bake, because a wide brim and proper UV protection beat a repeated sunburn. You will find both in our Sun and Safety collection.
On hydration, do not wait until you are thirsty, since thirst lags behind what your body already needs. Water is fine, and a pinch of salt or an electrolyte tab helps on the sweatiest days. Go easy on the terrace beers and the strong coffee in peak heat, because both leave you drier than you started.
Getting to sleep in the heat
The bedroom is the hardest room to win. A few small things stack up:
- Cool the room during the day by keeping it dark and shut, then air it out late.
- Run a quiet fan across the bed rather than straight at your face. A bladeless fan is the easy pick here, with no rattle to keep you up.
- Swap to a thin cotton sheet, and if it is really bad, dampen it lightly before bed. As the water evaporates it pulls heat away.
- Take a lukewarm shower before bed rather than an icy one. A cold shock leaves you shivering and then overheating again, while lukewarm water lowers your core temperature more gently.
A simple heatwave kit
You do not need much. One fan you can carry, one thing that adds water to the air, and something that covers your neck hands free will get most people through a Dutch summer comfortably. If you want to see the full range in one place, everything above lives in our Beat the Heat collection.
Stay in the shade, keep the water close, and let the breeze do the work. Summer is a lot more fun when you are not fighting it.