Culture
Our Indispensable Guide for Cooling Your Overheated Apartment
Is your unit sweltering, even on the coldest days? We can help.
If you live in a particular type of building, you can be forgiven for keeping your windows cracked, even during the Polar Vortex. In older units, with equally ancient steam heating systems, regulating your apartment temperature can feel nearly impossible.
Blame central heating, and that hulking (probably ancient) boiler in the basement. Here's how it works: the heater burns fuel to heat water, which then turns to vapor and rises up through all of the building's radiators. The heat of the steam pushes cold air out of pipes and individual radiators through air valves (the little metal thing that sticks out of one side).