[musiclvr56]

I am not sure if this "question and answer" category is where I should ask this question. If not, please tell me which category is appropriate. I don't have curtains and want to keep my room as dark as possible. White poster board is the only creative idea I can come up with although it is not quite large enough for some of my windows. Your advice is much appreciated!

 

[Brat]

I use ridget foil back insulation in my bedrooms..You can take it out if you want to see out or need to open the window..I cut it to fit the whole window tight..

 

[musiclvr56]

Keeping room dark

I have never heard of this, but will look it up-where do you buy it? My friend just mentioned to me using white tempura paint?

 

[oheoh's momma]

I have heard of aluminium foil being used to keep light out...don't know if it would keep it cool..have seen plenty of it on the windows of people who work nights..

 

[musiclvr56]

keeping room dark (it's hot in Boston)

I did aluminium foil but did not want to keep it on. I googled "ridget foil back insulation" and could not find anything.

 

[Spirit Deer]

The rigid insulation comes in a 4x8 sheet and you can buy it at home improvement stores. It can be cut with a serrated knife or a small fine-toothed saw.

We use sportsman's blankets from Cabela's on the top of our pop up camper bunks to reflect sunlight and cut light. They work great.

Another alternative we've used in campers is Reflectix. It comes in a roll at some home improvement stores. It's bubble wrap sandwiched between two pieces of shiny Mylar. That also is very effective and can be cut with ordinary scissors.

The cheapo survival blankets from WM work too. I think you can see through those if they're backlit though, so I don't know how well they'd work for black-out shades. They also tear easily. They do work well for cutting heat.

The Reflectix and WM survival blankets can leave silver stains on camper canvas, and we've had the survival blankets stick to the glass in our motorhome windows, but that was easy to scrape off. The sportsman's blankets from Cabela's are clear-coated and won't stick or rub off.

 

[judembc]

Walmart sells blackout shades fairly cheap. They're the kind you cut yourself to the size you need. Last time I bought some they weren't too expensive. It's supposed to start getting a little cooler by Monday, but will get hot again soon enough. Tomorrow is supposed to be 95 & humid again.

 

[musiclvr56]

Regarding blackout shades-do you think some do a better job than others (you get what you pay for?) I have some windows that can't have shades-they are bay or bow-I am in the process of putting white poster board on these windows.

 

[judembc]

Downstairs in my home the rooms have more expensive cut to fit darkening shades. Upstairs I have the Walmart ones. The Home Depot cut to fit ones are heavier def better quality. Upstairs tho the cheaper Walmart ones serve the purpose and when pulled down our bedrooms are dark. We've been keeping windows closed and shades pulled the last couple of days here in Southern, NH as we are experiencing the heat too. Altho I'm sure it's hotter in Boston. We have 1 ac in the den and have 2 high velocity fans DH bought on Woot to use in the Winter to circulate heat from the pellet stove. We turn those fans on in this heat to circulate the ac. We have 2 window ac for upstairs bedrooms, but haven't put them in yet. Upstairs in our Cape can be like an oven in this heat, but I notice a big difference with the shades drawn and fans on. We don't have shades on all of our windows, but we do have valances/curtains. We just opened our pool yesterday bcuz last weekend was so cold/rainy. Luckily the water is blue and we had it tested it's fine. Can't go in it yet as DH poured alot of bleach in. Hopefully in a few days we'll be in it tho.

 

[ncarr]

If you don't want to do aluminum foil then I would go with blackout drapes.

 

[AspiringToBeFrugal]

You could also use dark colored towels or double thickness blankets if you have a way to hang them or attach them to the wall around the window.