You ever have one of those moments where you say to yourself, how the HECK did I not know that? Fortunately, my wife was able to save me from my ignorance (and just in time for the heatwave weve had)!

Our bedroom is a little hotter than the other rooms. We even re-insulated the ceiling space to help. But a few weeks ago, my wife said to me, when do you think it would be a good time to switch the fan to summer mode?

Summer mode??? I could help but say it in a what in the world are you talking about tone.

Yeah, all the kids fans are switched to summer. Dont you think ours should be?

Four decades and counting, I never knew that fans were supposed to be switched. But right on the side of the fan in our bedroom, the previous owner even marked it S - W (I had no idea what it meant).

But its true! Most fans are reversible: One direction pushes air down, creating a nice summer breeze; the other direction sucks air up, helping you distribute heat in winter. There’s normally a switch on the motor to change the fan’s direction.

How will you know your fan is turning in the right direction for summer?

• Stand beneath the running fan, and if you feel a cooling breeze, it’s turning correctly.
• If the previous owner of your home marked it S - W, take time to realize youre a total dummy (dont worry, we can get jackets for our club) and switch it to S.
• If not, change directions, usually by flicking a switch on the fan’s base.

Typically, it’s counterclockwise or left for summer and clockwise for winter, but the best method is to follow the steps above.

And if you want to send me a message of support for publicly admitting how uninformed I am, email me: geoff.tunedinrealtor.com.