DIY Air Conditioner & Air Filter

DIY Air Conditioner

Dealing with the heat is essential, but not all of us can afford an air conditioner. Even if we can there’s the complications of having a window the right size to accommodate it or even having a window in the right place to help cool down the home. But that’s why we’ve got an inexpensive, quick, and sustainable solution. All you need is a few water bottles and a box fan. Placing frozen bottles in front of your fan will help distribute cold air and you can set up as many as you have fans and bottles of water. Bonus: You can refreeze the bottles and reuse them.

What You’ll Need:

3 – 6 empty water bottles
Salt
A fan (box fans work best)

STEP ONE:

Fill each water bottle with water and add 3 tablespoons of salt to each bottle. The salt helps to lower the temperature of the water. Be sure to leave room in the bottle for the ice to expand.

STEP TWO:

Shake up the bottles to mix the salt and freeze your bottles.

STEP THREE:

Place three of frozen bottles 6 inches in front of your fan. Space them out so that the air of the fan can flow around them. You’ll want to put a cloth down or a tray to catch the condensation. As the bottles defrost you can swap them out with fresh frozen ones and put them back in the freezer to reuse.

DIY Air Filter

Another quick and easy DIY household essential you can make is an air filter. It’s made with a box fan and a regular air filter you’d put in your furnace or heating vent. You’ll need an air filter to help filter out smoke from neighboring wild fires. In the summer with the risk of brush and wild fires increasing, it’s always best to have a couple of air filters on hand to keep your lungs healthy. If a smoke is in your area, do your best to block out all sources of outside air by putting towels under doors and making sure all windows are closed. Check out our DIY air conditioner guide to help keep you cool while you deal with forest fire smoke.

What You’ll Need:

1 – 4 20x20in air filters
Duct tape
A box fan

STEP ONE:

You can use 1 air filter or create a box using 4 air filters.

STEP TWO:

If you’re using 4 air filters, use duct tape and tape them together at the edges to form a hollow box.

STEP THREE:

For the single air filter, use duct tape to secure the filter to the back of your box fan. If you are using the 4 filter box, place your box fan either on top of it or tape it to the back while standing up.

And viola! A quick and efficient way of filtering out harmful smoke in your home. This is not only effective for smoke from forest fires, but can also help to purify the air in your home if you live near busy freeways.

DIY Air Conditioner & Air Filter