Things You Do to Stay Warm that Actually Make You Colder in Cambridge

November 18, 2015

Winter is almost here in Cambridge, and with it always comes chilly temperatures that could leave us bundling up with extra layers. Furnace service and more layers are normally dependable ways to keep warm on chilled days, but there are a number of other tips floating around out there that you could be trying that are actually making you colder, not warmer.

Common Myths:

  • Hot drinks will make you warmer: while the initial sensation of a hot drink can help you feel like you’re warm, your brain can sense that it needs to start cooling off your body, causing cooling mechanisms.
  • Alcoholic drinks will warm you up: the reason we normally feel warm after a few beverages, it’s only your skin warming. Alcohol can actually decrease your core temperature, making you colder. A well-functioning furnace, thanks to having annual furnace service performed, is a safer bet.
  • Hot showers heat you up: similar to hot drinks, the heat of your shower is merely a quick feeling that goes away when the water is dried up and toweled off. That’s why opening the shower curtain is so difficult.
  • Wearing only a hat will take care of your warming needs: while there are a number of sources that say that a great deal of body heat is lost via your head, it’s critical to remember that any part of bare skin adds to heat loss. Therefore, while it seems obvious, if you’re only utilizing a hat and not a coat or gloves, you’re more likely to lose body heat more quickly.

So now that you know about a handful of misconceptions surrounding staying warm this winter, it’s not hard to realize the importance of something as easy as furnace service. Of course there are other methods to stay warm this winter besides furnace service, but there may not be a ton that have such a large impression on your daily comfort. Give Pliescott HVAC Services LLC a call at 410-228-4822 or set up an appointment online to learn more about what furnace service can do for you in Cambridge.