If you don't have an air conditioner and can't take the heat (or you just don't feel like running yours), here are five DIY ideas to stay cool this summer. If you don't have an air conditioner, hopefully you have a fan. On its own, however, a fan isn't always sufficiently cooling. If your home is a hot air trap, blowing that hot air around isn't going to help much. Instead of just running the fan and hoping for the best, take a shallow bowl and fill it with ice. Place the bowl in front of the fan and as the ice evaporates, it will cool the air.If it isn't hotter outside than it is in your home, you've probably cracked a window already to at least cool things down a little bit. If you're finding an open window isn't sufficient, spray a sheet with cold water and use it to cover the window's opening. As the breeze passes through, the cold and damp sheet will cool it bringing in chilled air and further helping to reduce the temperature in your home.If all you have are windows to work with, you can still use them to your advantage.

While the difference is more significant in arid environments, the temperature outdoors cools at night, and that's the air you want to let into your home. If you keep your windows closed while the sun is up and open them while the sun is down, you can trap the cooler air in your home and keep the temperature a few degrees lower. Even better: Set up a couple of inexpensive box fans in windows on opposite sides of a room to create a nice through-breeze.Much of the heat in your home comes from heat-generating sources within it. If you avoid generating large amounts of heat you won't have as much of a need to cool. Things like air drying your clothes, skipping the dry cycle on your dishwasher and turning off your computer(s) when they aren't in use are all good ways to keep the temperature down. Sometimes the best alternative to an air conditioner is an air conditioner, especially when you can make it yourself on the cheap. Even better, make it portable. Check out our tips from last year's Beat the Heat and build this portable air conditioner, or try this easy and cheap dorm-legal one.

Want more tips for staying cool this summer? Here are more easy ways, reader tips on non-AC cooling and the overall best tips from Lifehacker readers. Have some of your own tips for keeping cool in the summer? Let's hear them in the comments. Title photo courtesy of Becca Schall. Dog photo via MeeksAir.Step 1: Cutting out the partsShow All ItemsJust as litter degrades the landscape of the community, noise degrades the soundscape. The U.S. Census Bureau's "Surveys of Neighborhood Problems," conducted over the past three decades, has consistently placed noise among the top four issues of concern. Noise can interfere with normal residential and business activities. Persistent exposure can result in psychological stress and at high enough levels it can damage hearing. What Constitutes a Noise Disturbance? Noise events may occur at random, on occasions when a code enforcement officer with a sound level meter is not available.  For those occasions, the ordinance has a provision establishing a noise disturbance violation.

The noise disturbance criteria are more subjective, and dependent upon the observations and testimony of witnesses and/or a code enforcement officer. A noise disturbance, as defined by the Montgomery County Noise Ordinance, is any sound that is: Unpleasant, annoying, offensive, loud, or obnoxious Unusual for the time of day or location where it is produced or heard Detrimental to the health, comfort, or safety of any individual or to the reasonable enjoyment of property or the lawful conduct of business because of the loudnessratings on hvac systems Under the ordinance, it is unlawful to create a noise disturbance anywhere during quiet hours, including multi-family buildings and townhouses. what size ac unit for 1800 square foot houseThe nuisance provision prohibits some noise disturbances anywhere at any time.thru the wall air conditioners ontario canada

*Noises associated with motorized vehicles (automobiles, trucks, motorcycles, dirt bikes and ATV’s) are regulated under the State Motor Vehicle Code by the Police, and not subject to enforcement under the Montgomery County Noise Control Ordinance. Maximum Allowable Noise Levels in Montgomery County9am-9pm Weekends and Holidays9pm-9am Weekends and Holidays Resolving Noise Control Issues The following Montgomery County services are available to help you resolve noise issues: To report noise violations during regular business hours, or for more information about the Noise Control Ordinance, call the Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection at 311, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., weekdays. To report noise disturbances outside regular business hours, call the police non-emergency line at 301.279.8000. To report noise disturbances from trash collection during quiet hours, call the Montgomery County Division of Solid Waste Services at 311, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., weekdays.

To report noise disturbances from animals, call the Animal Services Division at 311, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., weekdays. Because many noise disturbances are not witnessed by an enforcement officer, the ordinance has a unique provision allowing residents to file a two-party noise complaint with DEP. More Things You Can Do to Reduce Noise Problems Whether you live in a single-family home, a multi-family building, or a townhouse or condo, you can help maintain a quiet environment by following a few common-sense guidelines: Monitor the volume of TVs, stereos, radios, and other sound-producing electronics in and around your home, especially during quiet hours. Pay particular attention to bass controls. Use power tools in your home, garage, or outdoors only during daytime hours. Limit outdoor activities that might generate undue noise to daytime hours. Check central and window air-conditioning units periodically to make sure they're operating as quietly as possible.

Take good care of your pets. A healthy dog receiving regular food, exercise, and proper shelter won't bark incessantly. Make sure your family and guests are aware of, and comply with, quiet hours. "Buy quiet" when selecting equipment and appliances. Share the DEP pamphlet "Noise Control: A Sound Solution" in English (PDF, 1.28MB) and Spanish (PDF, 1.57MB). Businesses can also be good neighbors and comply with the ordinance by limiting the following activities to daytime hours: Loading and unloading of goods and materials Use of electronic sound and public address equipment Use of power equipment mounted on motor vehicles Also, keep noise control in mind when building or renovating and be sure to follow all the applicable regulations within the Noise Control Ordinance. It is also helpful to be mindful of noise throughout the day.  Our community is changing because smart growth and land use planning is clustering development into multiple-use areas.

Traditional residential areas now share space with a variety of commercial uses. There is a greater opportunity for business noise to be a disturbance to those living nearby.  Further, an increasing number of people now run businesses from their homes or telecommute - a midweek afternoon lawn service might now interrupt an at-home teleconference. Learn about the common types of noise disturbance Read the Noise Control Ordinance File a two-party noise complaint with DEP How Is Noise Measured? The standard unit by which sound is measured is the decibel (dB), a relative measure of sound intensity. Decibels are calculated on a logarithmic scale (meaning that a measure of 40 dB is 10 times greater than one of 30 dB). Some examples of typical situations and their corresponding decibel levels are: Typical Decibel Levels of Common Situations Level of Intensity (dBA*) Whispering in an indoor location 50 - 70 dBA Car horn (at 10 feet) Hard rock band (indoors)

* Note: The ordinance uses an A-weighted scale, measured in A-weighted decibels (dBA). A-weighting is an electronic approximation. Decibels are a measure of sound intensity—the pressure of sound waves on the human ear. They provide a standardized, objective unit of measure and differ from a measure of the perceived "loudness" of a sound. Loudness is a subjective measure because different people have different levels of hearing and don't experience sound in the same way.  Someone who is hard of hearing, for example, might not perceive a jackhammer as loud while someone with excellent hearing could be disturbed by the same noise. Both people, however, would experience the same level of sound intensity.When continuous exposure to sound reaches 85 dBA (as in a factory), there is a great risk of permanent hearing loss. Procedures Governing the Measurement of Noise Levels by Montgomery County During business hours, Code Enforcement personnel from the Department of Environmental Protection investigate complaints by using sound level meters to measure dBA levels at property lines.  

After regular business hours the ordinance allows police officers to issue citations for noise disturbances on their own judgment and with the testimony of witnesses. Regulations in Chapter 31B of Code of Montgomery County Regulations (COMCOR) Noise measurements are taken with a sound level meter meeting Type II specifications.  The meter shall be certified annually with equipment traceable to  NIST and ANSI specification S1.4 (American National Standard Specification for Sound Level Meters) Measurements are taken at the property line of the alleged violator as to determine the maximum A-weighted (dBA) sound level, which can include upper floors of nearby habited structures.  (One exception is where the law specifies otherwise – e.g., at least 50 feet from construction equipment.) Measurements shall not be conducted in the presence of wind speeds greater than 12 miles per hour, nor in the presence of precipitation or fog.  No measurement shall be made closer than 3 feet to any large reflecting surface.