I tried a room cooling hack recommended by TikTok and it worked

Living in the desert has its advantages most of the year. Beautiful sunny days when it is cold and wet in most of the country give a certain attitude to those of us who live among the cacti and palm trees. “Aren’t we lucky?” we think as we drive around in our golf carts in mid-February. And while we rarely have to turn on our air conditioning in the cooler months, by May the sound of purring compressors fills the air, along with dust storms and later the occasional monsoon rain.

As much as I love my air-conditioned indoor spaces, with summer weather reaching 115 degrees (and even hotter!), power outages can happen at any time. These occurrences are called rolling blackouts or brownouts (technically a rotating blackout), when power usage is so high that customers are forced to turn off their electricity.

So since we’re in the middle of the sweltering hot season, I decided to try out a TikTok trick that sounds too good to be true. Creator @mekslife shared that she covers the windows of her non-air-conditioned home with double-reflective insulation to block out the harsh sunlight and heat of summer.

“It’s incredible,” she says in her video. “Not only does it save money, but it really keeps your house cool.”

Since the electricity bill in the desert can be up to ten times higher (sometimes even higher) during the hot months than usual, it was worth a try.

I lined my bedroom’s large sliding glass door with the insulation she recommended, since it doesn’t face public areas (and our homeowners association might frown on something so makeshift in our window). Plus, that window faces west – so at the hottest point of the afternoon, you can feel the 100-degree heat on your skin just by standing next to it.

To my pleasant surprise, the insulation was quite effective. It doesn’t look particularly fancy, but it keeps the room comfortably cool compared to how it feels when the air conditioning is off and it can get up to 90 degrees inside.

Viewers of @mekslife’s video agreed that this is a great trick.

“I did this when I lived in the Mojave Desert. It really works,” one user commented. Another wondered, “Is no one going to admit that we’ve always done this in the South?” Others were more practical, saying that a windshield sunshade would do the same thing. Whether you buy the supplies at a home improvement store or an auto parts store, this is a helpful tip to remember if your air conditioning is broken.