The best portable air conditioners to keep you cool

By Published March 3, 2022

Sometimes, there’s a room in your house or cottage that just doesn’t get cool enough despite a central air conditioning system. However, a good portable air conditioner — such as these top models — can do the trick.

The desire to stay cool and comfortable in the middle of summer isn’t always easy to satisfy if you’re away from your home or office. These leading portable air conditioners can keep the cool air flowing in many different places.

Whynter Dual Hose Portable Air Conditioner

Best overall

Image used with permission by copyright holder

A good portable air conditioner should cool down a room quick. The Whynter ARC-14S Portable Air Conditioner can do so faster than a number of other portable units. Plus, it offers a powerful 14,000 BTUs, a dual hose, and three operating modes: Air conditioner, fan, or dehumidifier.

Global Air Portable Air Conditioner

Best lightweight portable air conditioner

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Lugging around a portable air conditioner is strenuous if it’s heavy. So go with a lightweight yet heavy performer. Tops in that vein: The Global Air Portable Air Conditioner, which offers 10,000 BTUs of cooling power but weighs only 34 pounds.

BLACK+DECKER Portable Air Conditioner

Best value

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Looking for an effective portable air conditioner that’s a great value? The Black + Decker BPACT08WT Portable Air Conditioner offers that in spades, with 8,000 BTUs of cooling power and a lower price. The unit is ideal for a bedroom, apartment, dorm room, or garage.

No matter where you need cool air — from a bedroom to dorm room to apartment — a portable air conditioner is a smart choice to get, with the flexibility to move such a unit around. Keep these units in mind when portability is top of mind.

Topics

Hacks & How-to's

How to avoid mold when painting your basement walls

Spruce up your dark and dreary basement with a fresh paint job, but beware of mold and mildew

Standard basement with gray cement walls

Is your basement dark and dreary? Basement walls aren’t always the most welcoming, and can easily contribute to an uninviting aesthetic (especially if the rest of your basement design is similarly lackluster). Depending on the existing conditions of your space, you could face a drab and boring background that interrupts the flow of your personal style. And when it comes to sprucing up this area of the home, many homeowners struggle to know how to paint a basement wall while also keeping the sub-level mold-free.

Perhaps you’ve considered basement paint ideas to spruce up your space. However, painting your basement walls is not the same as traditionally painting your interiors. With the potential for mold and mildew, there are more risks involved in painting walls in the basement when it comes to the health and well-being of your home. Additionally, the process can be much more arduous.

Hacks & How-to's

How to fix squeaky floors quickly and easily

Don't let noisy floors interrupt your life

Person in sneakers standing on parquet floors

If you're wondering how to fix squeaky floors, you're not alone. That annoying creak every time you step on a particular board can be frustrating, especially in quiet moments or during late-night trips to the kitchen. Squeaky floors are a common issue in many homes, but the good news is that fixing them doesn’t always require a major renovation. With a few simple home maintenance tools and techniques, you can silence those creaks and restore peace to your home.

In this guide, we’ll break down why floors squeak, how to fix them based on different flooring types, and even how to prevent them from coming back.
Why does my floor creak when I walk on it?

Home Maintenance

Is primer necessary for every paint job? Here’s the truth

Here's when you should use primer and when you can skip it

Woman painting

The question of whether to prime before painting seems as old as, well, painting itself. The answer seems to be different depending on who you talk to. Paint manufacturers say "yes" — it is an essential wall painting technique — because they want the best possible surface for the paint to shine. Do-it-yourself (DIY) fans seem less thrilled about the process, mostly because it takes more time and money.

So, do you need primer when you paint? The reality is that not every painting project is the same, and the answer is not a clear-cut one.