If your air conditioner goes out on a hot day, the first thing you want to do is put a call in to an HVAC technician. However, it may take them a while to get to you. Therefore, you want to keep your house as cool as possible in the meantime. Use the tips in this article to keep cool when your AC isn't working.

Open and close windows during best times of the day: Many people make the mistake of keeping their windows open all day when they are trying to cool their house. This can work against you on a hot day. Instead, you want to open your windows during the morning hours and the evening hours. However, close them during the heat of the day. This will allow the cool air in and trap it in during the hot hours.

Close all your blinds: When you close your windows, make sure to close your blinds along with them. The blinds will provide your home with added insulation to help trap the colder air in and prevent the suns hot rays from penetrating into the house.

Make your own air cooler: Turn on all your ceiling fans to circulate the air. You can put big bowls of ice in front of floor fans to circulate colder air. You can also put ice in a Styrofoam cooler, cut a couple holes in the side of the cooler and a hole in the top (a little smaller than a small fan). Put a small fan on the top hole facing down and turn it on. This will work much like an air conditioner to cool off the air in the room.

Close off upstairs rooms: Since heat rises, the upstairs part of your home is hotter. When you are trying to cool down your home, closing off the unused upstairs rooms will allow you to contain the coolness more efficiently in the areas where you need it most.

If you live in an extremely hot region, make sure you keep a close eye on any young children, elderly persons and/or pets in your home. You may want to wet down the animals and give everyone cool rags to put on the backs of their necks. Let the HVAC technician know if you have extenuating circumstances that should move you to the top of the line with regards to getting someone out.