How do you ACTUALLY cool a room down in summer (without) AC?
Posted by tijitijitiji@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 272 comments
Everywhere I look it’s just “window closed, fan” just basic logical things we all know. Does anybody have genuine methods to cool down a room?
planeloise@reddit
No you want to create draught corridors. Open ALL windows, but keep curtains and blinds closed (this works better with blinds which is why so many hot countries have them)
Open all internal doors and if it's safe even outside doors.
Lots of air rushing around, minimal sunlight creates a nice cool atmosphere. This is what people do in hot countries where there is no AC. I don't even have the fan on in this scenario
Depends on the layout of your home though
crownchakr@reddit
Yeah i do exactly this
Melodic_Lavishness71@reddit
you can buy khus khus curtain
Lammtarra95@reddit
Window closed when the temperature is hotter outside; open when cooler. Close curtains or blind to keep out sunlight.
But forget cooling the room. Cool yourself.
Take a lukewarm bath, or briefly press a cold bottle or can where the veins run close to the skin, such as wrist, elbow and neck. Drink chilled water (although don't blame me if your bladder can't make it past 4am). Run a damp flannel over your torso and let fan-assisted evaporation dry you off.
iHHFH@reddit
Thank you kind dear sir🗿
r_mutt69@reddit
This is great advice. I always find running cold tap water over my wrists is a great way to cool myself down if I’m too hot. Only learned this a few years ago but it’s the first thing I do if I’m overheated
GreenLion777@reddit
Ah, yes the cool down body temperature trick. Sure I've read somewhere before rinsing cold water over wrists helps cool down body = getting to sleep quicker
I'll be doing that next time I'm way too warm
zombiejojo@reddit
Get ready to level up... Running it on the inside of your elbows is way better!
r_mutt69@reddit
I think anywhere where the blood vessels run close to the surface of the skin works but yeah I reckon elbows would be good too I’ll try it. I work from home and my office is right at the top of the building in the roof and it gets awfully hot up there. Yesterday I was contemplating putting my feet in a bucket of cold water while I working
zombiejojo@reddit
Honestly try it it's way better than wrists I promise!
Instead of feet in a bucket of cold water, I can also recommend wearing a wrung out wet t-shirt and a fan pointing at you. I got desperate when we had 39c a few years ago. It's really effective. But you have to angle your camera appropriately for work video calls 😂
awesomeo_5000@reddit
Freeze some 2L bottles, wrap in a cloth, pop them in your bed 30 mins before you get in. Cuddle them to sleep.
---_-------@reddit
I find that misting yourself with water from a spray bottle when getting a breeze from a fan is really good…..
You can get empty plastic spray bottles from supermarkets and poundstores really cheap.
Works like sweat would, it draws heat out of your body when the spray evaporates. If you’re wearing absorbent fabric like cotton next to the skin (ideal in this weather), can spray that too.
PatrickTheSosij@reddit
4am! I peed at 4am!!
CriticalMine7886@reddit
I'm a 60 year old man - we all pee at 4 am
... and 2 am
... and 6 am
PatrickTheSosij@reddit
And if you're lucky you're awake!
CriticalMine7886@reddit
Bravo!
Bollino@reddit
A couple of years ago I had an unfortunate medical issue that caused my face to become really swollen, so my friend bought me a cooling pillow pad that you can put in the fridge/freezer and then into your pillow case. It’s flat but pillow sized so now I use it to lay my legs or back on going to bed, it’s wonderful!
sjcuthbertson@reddit
I also find running my bare feet under properly cold water really helpful (from bath tap, or shower nozzle if no bath).
It's lower hassle than a full cool shower or bath - don't need to undress. I can just about tolerate fully cold water on my feet (not just lukewarm) - keep alternating them under the water stream until they're really icy, just before it starts to get painful. Then air dry. They stay cool for quite a while after and I find it has a psychological effect - I feel much cooler everywhere else as a result.
I always do this before bed in a heatwave but sometimes also other times of day.
Ferocious-Muppet@reddit
Can I come live with you?
WesternForm4335@reddit
I currently have 4 wet sheets (sarongs, table cloths) hanging from the door jams and against a semi shaded north facing window. (Australia). Makes it heaps more bearable. Do your washing and hang clothes over a clothes air dryer inside. 30 C today climbing to 34 Christmas eve. No rain and minimal chance of storms. Sucks.
Ablaabloebleblo@reddit
buy a fan with humidifier...throw cold water with ice inside...freeze a wet cloth and throw on the back of the fan...buy ice gel pack...you can dangle it with fan or put it on humidifier together with the cold water...
Andrewdini_3sgte@reddit
AWNING
YodaShagsDarthVader@reddit
I close the curtains and windows in the day, open at night. Clearly that doesn't work as I'm current sat up watching Bayern vs Boca waiting for it to cool down a bit more
latflickr@reddit
Try to damp your curtains. It will work even better.
Kiwi_Simple@reddit
Will turn them mouldy as well
West_Yorkshire@reddit
Like I said on a previous post that asked this same question, that's the reason why 99% of Spanish homes of shutters.
Close during the day to keep out the heat. Then open them, and windows during the evening when it's cooled down a bit.
astromech_dj@reddit
My wife gets eaten alive by bugs if we open windows in the evening.
West_Yorkshire@reddit
Put nets over your windows.
Lloytron@reddit
We did this last year and its a bloody godsend. Very easy to do too. I think I spent about 50 quid for multiple windows and now I dont get invaded by bugs whilst the windows are open.
Oxygene13@reddit
Got a mesh cover for the double doors which go from our lounge to garden, that's also been a godsend. Now we can have them wide open every day without fear of coming in to the room to a hundred little flies circling under our lights / ceiling fans for whatever reason.
Azikt@reddit
Easier to just cover the wife.
silentv0ices@reddit
Or just ignore her complaints.
blue-eyed-zola@reddit
Username checks out
Dave_Tee83@reddit
I opened all the windows at about 10pm last night when it was finally cooler outside than it was inside. Within 5 minutes the biggest moth I have ever seen had invaded my living room.
Shakis87@reddit
I had to block off my kitchen for a few days. Pretty sure it was the moth that fought Godzilla that got in.
macksimus77@reddit
Mothra!
macksimus77@reddit
Like how big are we talking..?
Dave_Tee83@reddit
Yeah that's him!
abstractleaf@reddit
Insect repellent for the win! Deet free ones (I like the Jungle Formula European one) are fine for the UK. I am very attractive to mosquitoes and that stuff works well for about 6 hours.
astromech_dj@reddit
They don’t always work well enough and she’s liable to get infections from bites. More than once she’s had to take antibiotics.
smedsterwho@reddit
I bought a £20 insect zapper and it's helping. Zap zap zap.
abstractleaf@reddit
Yeah, that sucks :(
docsav0103@reddit
You can get bug screens online. I hate to recommend Amazon, but they do them fairly cheaply. We have Wooden sash windows and uPVC frames. For the former we use these sort of extending box frame ones and the uPVC has stick on magnet ones.
astromech_dj@reddit
When I lived in the US as a kid, we had a huge fan in the ceiling upstairs that would just suck up all the warm air from the house and pull in the cool air from outside. I wonder if there’s something like that we could get.
atomic_mermaid@reddit
I'm getting some screens installed that will stop that - windows open ALL NIGHT and the bugs can fuck off.
astromech_dj@reddit
Are then on the inside? Our windows all open outward.
atomic_mermaid@reddit
Yeah inside: https://www.blindscreen.co.uk/
Jesterstear99@reddit
I have the JML Snapscreen* over the doorway and a similar net over every window that I open. It keeps the larger insects out. I try to keep the lights as dim as possible to not attract them, but I think the ones that bite go on scent anyway.
The odd one does get inside (I blame The Dog, I don't know what I'd do without her to blame for any mess, missing item, nasty smell etc.) but the electric tennis racquet thing kills them.
*one of the few JML things that work, although it does have to be duct taped up as the useless velcro pads are utterly useless. £10 at Argos if you can't find them cheaper
silentv0ices@reddit
I have a extremely murderous cat anything that flys, crawls or walks is killed.
_MicroWave_@reddit
That doesn't cool it down at all. It stops it getting hot.
_J0hnD0e_@reddit
The problem with this is that sometimes modern houses can also generate their own heat which gets trapped. Things like washing machines, tumble dryers, ovens, etc all add up.
lm3g16@reddit
A PC running games at 70C probably doesn’t help…
Necessary_Umpire_139@reddit
Last year mine was running around ~80c in the loft which was already ~30c, could only play before 1200 and after 2000, it died on me in April.
Poddster@reddit
You need water cooling. For your loft.
Necessary_Umpire_139@reddit
The problem is its council house, council obviously aren't aware we've renovated it so limited to what we can do with regards to ventilation. There's a single vent above my monitor and that's its, so it's completely unusable in the summer. Should be moving out my parents in the next few weeks so here's to that.
MEaster@reddit
Not the best time to be playing Doom with full path tracing, is it? Even if it does look super pretty.
EverybodySayin@reddit
Yeah, the "close the windows" advice feels so outdated. So many electronics in our houses now that create their own heat, if you close the windows it just feels horrible and stuffy.
ks_247@reddit
With glass it can generate 1 kw of heat per sq meter. So having them closed seems to be illogical. Turn your house into a green house. Even with curtains closed you can feel the heat on the curtains
_J0hnD0e_@reddit
My advice is to keep the windows closed... so long as the air inside feels cooler than outside. That's what I do at least and it's... manageable.
EverybodySayin@reddit
Yeah at the very least you can give closing the window a go and see if it helps. Worst case scenario, it feels like a sauna and you can open the window wide and do a bit of air trading.
HonkyBoo@reddit
Windows open at night kills me - pollen creeping through like a fuck jamming up my nose
APiousCultist@reddit
Open window + bug curtain + air purifier set as high as my ears can take for me. The £150 was worth it for being able to have open windows without constantly sneezing and itching through the night. A bit of fexofenadine in the mix and it's pretty bareable. AC would be the next upgrade, but with the super tall window I have and blinds I don't think that'd be all too practical.
spinynorman1846@reddit
You deserve it for giving viewers to that shit competition
YodaShagsDarthVader@reddit
Shouldn't be downvoted, I agree
Erbeee@reddit
Yo OP you still alive or did the heat get you? Hasn't replied to anyone LOL
tijitijitiji@reddit (OP)
I ended up just getting an AC lol, it’s a life changer
MrMrsPotts@reddit
If it's not humid you can hang wet towels in the room.
CriticalMine7886@reddit
came here to say this - and point your fans at them to encourage them to dry - the faster they evaporate the more heat they pull from the room (well, same heat, just faster, but then you can re-wet them and repeat)
Chimpy20@reddit
Beware - this will make the room more humid which can ironically make it feel more uncomfortable!
CriticalMine7886@reddit
Yep - no easy wins unfortunately, everything is a trade.
I have one of those small portable air-cons and I finally gave in today and plugged it in.
It's cooling the room, but it's noisy and expensive to run (really noisy) always a down side.
-Hi-Reddit@reddit
I have a big powerful one, 18,000 BTU, it only costs 12p per hour...It's worth that in spades.
Bran04don@reddit
Unless your room is huge, that may actually be less effective than a smaller BTU. But I will presume you measured your room volume and calculated that is the correct one. If not, i recommend doing some checks.
-Hi-Reddit@reddit
When I bought it, it was for a large open kitchen/dining/living room with about 12x2m of south facing glass. It was likely overkill, but I couldn't find anything portable (renting) in the BTU sweet-spot for a good price.
It's now cooling the occupied areas of a small house by itself during the day via strategic placement upstairs (cool air sinks), and fans to help push cool air downstairs into the living room & office. It's a temporary solution...
At some point I'm going to upgrade to something else that may annoy the efficiency-minded: Two external 9,000/12,000 BTU units (haven't done the calcs yet); one for downstairs, one for upstairs. That way if one should one fail I'll still have the other available for myself & more importantly won't have to worry about filling the bathtub with ice to keep temperature-sensitive pets alive. Most of the time I'll just have the downstairs unit running with the door to upstairs closed.
Bran04don@reddit
I have an 8000 BTU for my bedroom which was the smallest i can find but my room actually needs closer to 5000 BTU. I would love to turn it into a dual hose. I could not find a dual hose at all anywhere that is available in the uk. The air conditioner market is a joke in the uk.
Any universal guides for converting a single hose to a dual without too much work? Mine is a Netta portable AC.
-Hi-Reddit@reddit
Follow a guide for basically any of them. The bigger the intake hose the better, don't worry about getting an insulated one.
Use cardboard to figure out the cuts of MDF you'll need to seal up your machines intake area. Use foil tape to tape it to the machine, or super-glue, or any heat resistant sticky stuff. Add foil tape to the inside of the MDF for (limited) thermal insulation for the MDF. The intake area usually gets pretty hot.
I cut a hole for the intake pipe in the mdf seal I made directly infront of the intake, used a large metal reducer (200mm -> 150mm) to allow a big intake area, and a 150mm hose connected to it. The reducer I found online came with a square section around it which made attaching it to the MDF easier than a round hole would've been.
Since your unit is smaller you could probably get away with 100mm or 120mm intake.
Bran04don@reddit
Thanks. Gonna have to get the resources
CriticalMine7886@reddit
That's pretty good - mines half the size and costs a little over double that to run
C4rb5@reddit
Ceiling fans are AWESOME, use them.
DazzlingClassic185@reddit
If it’s extremely hot outside, that. Especially if there’s no breeze, but if it’s just hot, curtains closed sunward side, windows open to encourage flow especially if there’s a breeze. I’ve got a floor standing fan, but by the time I’ve thought about getting it out, we’re back down to low twenties!😂
blueblue_electric@reddit
I discovered one day, when I sat in my classic Saab that it's quite cool on a hot day because I had a sun shield on the windscreen.
A light bulb flickered in my head and I bought a few rolls of the silver foil that they use for sun screens and cut to shape for my West facing windows on the rear of the house and stick them with suction pads, all from Amazon at a cost of £20 or so.
Never used a fan or coolers that summer, thank me later.
eleanornatasha@reddit
The cheapest and most accessible methods in the UK are unfortunately probably what you already know.
Keep curtains and windows closed from when you get up in the morning until the temperature outside drops to similar/lower than inside, and then open up again. Fans are decent at creating an airstream to make you feel cooler, and you can put some iced water bottles or bowls of ice in front of it to increase the cooling effect. You can cool yourself down by taking a cool bath or shower (or even just a cold flannel on you) and making sure you stay hydrated. Turning off electrical items you don’t need can also reduce the amount of heat generated inside the home. Dress in breathable fabrics and wear loose fitting clothes to enable airflow between your clothes and skin. If you can open all windows/doors from one side of the house to the other to create a tunnel that can create a cooling effect, but depends on the layout of your house.
In terms of other methods, obviously AC is the best, but very expensive to install. Exterior screens can also help to keep inside cool as they reduce the amount of sunlight that hits the window and warms up the glass, and those are likely cheaper than AC.
Plastic_Sea_1094@reddit
Use a wet flannel and sit in front of a fan
No_Industry_9362@reddit
Make a fan cave, get an empty quilt cover and put a few pants blowing into it
CptPJs@reddit
go stand under the shower, fully clothed, on the coldest setting. stay there til you can't stand it any longer.
you won't need to cool the room down now, you'll be perfectly happy with it.
DrH1983@reddit
Closing my window doesn't do fuck all as I'm in the attic, so the sun on the roof just heats the room anyway. I've tried having my window open and closed and either way it reaches 30 degrees by 5pm. So I leave my window open so it feels less stuffy
I do keep my blind drawn though.
Realistically though there isn't anything else that can be done, short of buying an AC. The reason windows / blinds advice etc is so prevalent is because there's no magic bullet.
Thankfully it seems to be cooler from tomorrow. Thank fuck.
DDMMYY_@reddit
Attic gang 🥵
I've recently bought one of those Shark Jet Fans that can be rotated landscape and I just let it blast me while I lay in bed, using the duvet cover without the inner duvet
mango_carrot@reddit
Is it any good? I have a couple of Dyson fans and they’re useless
DDMMYY_@reddit
That's what it's replaced and so far so good. Does sound a bit like a plane engine
IAmTakingThoseApples@reddit
You can use this to your advantage - I have a similar set up with a flat with our stairs up to the roof which is basically a ceiling window. Open a window (or door in your case) at the lowest part of the home, and then open your attic window (blinds closed still though). It will create a strong and steady draft because the heat is all wanting to rise out of your window drawing cooler air in from below.
Not only is it a nice breeze to cool you off but it will cool your room no matter what the temp is outside. Because you're basically in a greenhouse with all the heat from the building rising to you and up to your window with no escape. You need to let that heat out
AfterismQueen@reddit
A lot depends on your environment and whether you are trying to cool the room or the people in the room.
Humans cool through evaporation which is why we sweat. In a hot, dry environment, adding moisture and airflow allows us to cool down pretty effectively but adding moisture in a humid environment would just make things worse.
A lot of old houses where I'm from have high ceilings to allow hot air to rise away from the people. They also have decorative transoms to allow air to flow from room to room, often oriented to the most common direction for wind so that it can blow through the house and blow all the hot air out.
Nine_Eye_Ron@reddit
Open windows on cold side of house, kept our place cool by just not letting the sun and hot outside air in.
raccoon-overlord@reddit
Air circulation, open windows and doors, if you have a fan position it to move the air through the room
Lopsided_Skirt324@reddit
Air flow 👍🏻 windows open on the side away from the sun if possible. Fans if possible. Curtains closed on sun side if possible. I’m a night worker with a new build. I swear by this little routine.
Life_Put1070@reddit
I will dampen a t shirt if it's really hot, and sleep in that. Also, at this time of year I tend to have a shower before bed to cool off so I have a damp towel from that to sleep under.
Due-Fail-6806@reddit
Hang a damp towel or sheet in front the fan / in the window
MISPAGHET@reddit
Without AC it's pretty much impossible to actually cool a room down during the day. You can give the illusion of cool with a fan and especially splashing water on your face in front of a fan but you're just covering it up.
At night, open as many windows and doors up as you can and get a strong through breeze going through the house. You'll be able to feel it passing through the house, even from the back door to the front bedroom window.
KowakianDonkeyWizard@reddit
Cover some cardboard in aluminium foil, attach to the outside of the window.
In 2022 that kept my house at lower than 30℃ on the days it was 40+℃ (and my house usually ends up hotter than the outside if I do nothing)
Makes the house look like a crack den if you're not careful, though.
simmyawardwinner@reddit
my neighbour did this and i was worried hed become a crack addict, but then i realised it was just because of the heat.
SnooMacarons9618@reddit
Yeah, we do that with mylar sheeting (emergency blankets are dirt cheap, and easier to work with than tin foil). But it looks like a grow house from outside.
simmyawardwinner@reddit
not without AC, no!
fleurmadelaine@reddit
Day: Open a window at the bottom of the house in the shade, open a window at the top of the house in the sun and create a convection current to draw the hot air out. Close the curtains on the sunny side of the house to block the heat. Add fans in strategic locations to aid air flow. Look for the dog and join her whilst you wait for it to cool down, because she’ll bring the coolest spot in the house.
Night: all windows open with strategic fans. Dog will be sat with face as close to the fan as possible. Don’t join her, she farts in her sleep.
xpl0sad3@reddit
I don’t think the dog tip can be trusted, mine keeps laying in the f’ing sun
Random_Videos_YT@reddit
follow the rules. thems the coolest parts of the house 😂
fleurmadelaine@reddit
I should have specified, I meant my specific dog 🤣 she’s a winter dog. Give her snow and you’ve never seen such joy, but as soon as it’s over 15°C she starts getting very stroppy.
PlaneWar203@reddit
Curtains and windows closed all day, open windows at night when it's cooler.
keithmk@reddit
I live in a small one bed flat. The whole building is very well insulated and built to retain heat. Great in winter, but all windows, and the glazed door from lounge face South. Lounge is always hotter than outside.
My bedroom window is smallish and set back, with external wall of kitchen and next door's lounge wall extending a metre or two further out, giving a bit of shade for part of the day
I have made that room my cool room. Curtains closed all the time and between curtain and window a large "blackout" piece of cardboard. Windows not opened. Get ventilation differently during the day. Fan on continually blowing over the bed. I sleep naked on top of the bedding. When I get too hot during the day I go strip off and lay on the bed for an hour to cool down. It works well. I am up now at 4 am due to having spent most of the last 10 hours on the bed. I will return there in a while to sleep till around 8 or 9 am.
I have a nasty heart condition and not having this cool room approach would lead to a big blood pressure drop, fluid build up on lungs and an ambulance trip because breathing so badly affected. So, for me, it is not a game. It is easy to set up and equally easy to take down for the other 360 days of the year when it is not silly hot
Lessarocks@reddit
I think having great insulation makes a huge difference. I live in a single skinned building so no wall insulation at all. The walls heat up quickly and retain their heat well into the night. I really notice the difference when I visit people with wall insulation. Their walls are much cooler inside
Praelia7or@reddit
I see this misconception all the time, insulation = warmth, "British homes are built to keep the heat in". If they're built to keep the heat in, when you turn the heating off they'll keep the "cold in" too. I used to live in a new build maisonette with wooden window blinds. I'd close them all when I left in the morning, come back and step into a glorious 18c fridge when it was 27+ outside. Upstairs kept her windows open all day and complained how hot it got because of the modern insulation keeping the heat in.
Insulation means reducing the transfer of something, heat, sound, electricity - not increasing temperature.
Fact is homes in hot areas are better insulated from outside just by design rather than with fluffy fibreglass - they have shutters on windows, thick walls, set back and shaded windows/porches/balconies and they're less insulated to the ground which helps take any heat away, single floor villas with concrete floor and tiles.
Praelia7or@reddit
Saw this one recently on Reddit, take a freezer pack, wrap in a towel to avoid ice burn and put it between your legs. Get it right up in there with your legs together, what you're aiming for is the point where the artery runs close to the surface. If you do it right you're now circulating chilled blood around your body.
Tried this in the recent heatwave and when I got up for 10mins I wondered why it got so hot suddenly until I realised it was just working that well.
Technically it will make inside slightly warmer because your freezer will be working harder to chill ice packs as you swap them out, so I'm cheating with your title, but it definitely feels about 5c cooler. Obviously be sensible if you have any blood/heart disorders - I'm not a doctor, talk to one of you have concerns.
For keeping inside cool, when it finally gets cool enough at night, open all the windows and doors (lights off for those pesky bugs). Grab that massive fan you've been using to circulate warm air over a motor all day and get it moving air between openings, wind tunnel style. 10-15mins and you should be able to almost completely replace the hot air in your house, also don't underestimate the bathroom extractor - they're designed to remove all the air in the room and replace it. Just opening a window in a room with nowhere for it to flow doesn't have the same effect.
Sad-Adagio6384@reddit
Love em or hate em, Dyson fan is the way to go. Mine working perfectly 8 years old ( works out at £50/year for the £399 mine cost - now cheaper)
_MicroWave_@reddit
All the comments explaining how to avoid the situation in the first place which isn't what you are asking.
There are no magic bullets here. Something has to take the heat away.
Hug blocks of ice would do it.
itspaulzee@reddit
I put an electric fan outside on the windowsill blowing in cold air at 10.30pm for an hour. Worked sweet
merryfan4@reddit
We had a day of playing board/card games (something we had planned for a few weeks) and no screens today. It definitely felt cooler than yesterday. I think having the TVs/consoles/phones etc off might have actually helped.
m3l1ssa03@reddit
A damp tea towel or ice cold bottle of water over/in front of the fan
Ok-Sherbet-3519@reddit
We went to a Huttopia camp site - basically wooden huts with no ac - in France when it was wild hot there. When we first got in it was horrendous. We did the shut the sunny side out, let the shaded side in thing with the windows/doors and it helped a bit but a fan was absolutely necessary. But honestly, AC. If cost is the main reason you don't want one the cheapest half decent ones seem to be Amcor portable things (not really portable), worth it if you can. If it's environment you can shell out a tonne on a window heat pump (like the ACs they have hanging out of US cities' apartment windows but heat pump). Or wait two decades or more, they're doing something with magnets cooling the air. Apparently reflective films are getting decent and exterior shutters are used in other countries. I would go pipe out the window, £250/£300 portable AC for now,
FD3S_13B_REW@reddit
You need airflow THROUGH the room, so open the window at one end, and the door or if you have one, another window at the other end, but make sure another window is open on the other side of the door and jam the door as wide open as you can. You really need a light breezy day like today for it to work, but when it does work, you'll find the door will keep slamming and your blinds will be trying to fly off.
carbon_dry@reddit
Just take a cold bath you will feel better
Protodankman@reddit
The whole close the curtains and windows thing doesn’t fly in a home office. Quickly becomes a sauna that way.
Late_Reflection4457@reddit
I heard this for the first time this week, can’t imagine why, if this actually works, we are not just hosing our curtains down instead
Bran04don@reddit
I got a migraine hat that goes in the freezer. I did get it for my migraines but those seem to be on pause at the moment thankfully. However still great for those stupidy hot days. Sadly it doesnt last all day. I might need a rotation of hats.
Its basically just a jel that wraps around your head.
xX8Havok8Xx@reddit
Damp towel over open window on non sunny side of house/after dark is the only one I know that isn't basic
Rastus547@reddit
For me, I open a big window upstairs and a door downstairs. And have a fan in between them that draws the air through the house
palindromedev@reddit
If you have windows on the sun side AND windows on the shade side you basically follow the path of the sun keeping shade side windows open, and sun side windows shut and curtains drawn or blinds shut.
The trick is to realise when you can't cool a room down, best approach is to point the fan out a window on the sun side and actually EXHAUST the room's heat out of the building.
Having a fridge thermometer helps in rooms to see if you are making it hotter or cooler when trying to solve things.
If you are in flats/apartments, the higher up the floors you go, the more exhausting heat out windows is the only option to stop heat buildup in your place.
Good luck avoiding melting, I can relate.
AveragelyBrilliant@reddit
If you don’t have pets, you can open big windows at the front and back and get a breeze running through the house. That’s worked for me before.
_x_oOo_x_@reddit
Just pretend you're on holiday and enjoy the nice warm weather? Maybe eat some ice cream.
The other option is to buy an aircon
DamnitGravity@reddit
Get bowl of ice, place in front of fan, turn fan on.
Ok, it might not cool the room, but if you sit where you get the cold air on you, good enough.
Failing that, homemade air conditioner
redrabbit1984@reddit
I've decided to invest in a proper air conditioner for the bedroom. I mean one that's actually installed on the wall. Reading reviews people say they're amazing in the winter for heating a room, including the ability to heat it up extremely quickly
I get hot easily so I'd like the ability to cool the room even in mild weather.
My partner bought me these things you put in the fridge and then at night you use them to either lay on or put in your pillow case. They're the size and shape of a pillow and they're very good
Also when it's extremely hot like now, I have a bucket of ice water that I put my feet in for about an hour before bed. Partly to cool me down but also because my feet get so hot, swollen and quite uncomfortable when it's this hot
Larnak1@reddit
Unfortunately, a lot of homes in the UK are not built for that task, so many things you would need would require changes to the building - some more severe than others.
FiveTideHumidYear@reddit
I have read and understand the title, but why not just get a portable AC? Don't they start from a few hundred pounds, or something like that? Definitely a worthwhile investment.
I'm from the UK but moved to Canada ten years ago, and even though our apartment building has central air conditioning we've also got a couple of portable ones for the shoulder periods (when it's pretty toasty outside but they haven't switched the AC on yet due to provincial or city legislation).
TrainingUnlucky9814@reddit
Bernoulli's principle:
https://youtu.be/1L2ef1CP-yw?si=T0UkIZUyZl61coH8
miemcc@reddit
Just having an oscillating fan on works for me.
Crivens999@reddit
Cyprus here. If you have blackout blinds then great. But make sure all curtains/blinds are closed all day. Really helps. Also get mirrored film for the windows. Does a great job keeping the heat out, but it ain’t too cheap. Otherwise, open the fridge/freezer door and stand there for a bit. Wet a towel and put it in the fridge/feeezer. Then after a few hours put it on your neck. Wet towel without fridge also not bad. Look into cooling blankets on Amazon. They have a side that stays cool. Seriously, I’m on one now and they are surprisingly good. Obviously fans, but ceiling fans are better. Useless in the hottest weather really. Oh, and jump in your swimming pool…
srm79@reddit
wet some beach-towels in the bath, ring them out so they're just damp, and hang them over a slightly open window - make sure there is a window open on the other side of the building too, so that the air can pass through. The wet towel will block the sun and as the air passes it, it will dry the towel which uses up some of the heat energy, thereby lowering the temperature of the air as it passes through the room
Chimpy20@reddit
Without pumping heat out, like an AC does, in most realistic situations it's actually physically impossible to cool a room without making it more humid, or to make it less humid without heating it up. Even if you freeze water and then take it out of the freezer, the work the freezer unit has done to freeze the water has generated just as much heat as the melting water takes away!
All you can do is make yourself feel cooler by using fans etc as others have suggested here.
MattHatter1337@reddit
Apparently. Live in a fully terraced house. Ive been here since December and it was toasty in winter and super cool in the summer. We are having massive heatwaves and im genuinly thinking its cold outside, I step out nine the shade and sits still cool then the sun hits and I melt. So confused.
Back when I lived in semis, open windows through the house. From the shaded side, put a fan at the window facing In, and on the opposite side a fan pointed out the window. You create through flow sucking in the cooler air and blowing out the warmer air. Keeping curtains closed and windows on vents if you dint have fans helps
Hraesvelgi@reddit
Dampen a shirt and stick it in the freezer, do the same for your pillow case for when you go to sleep.
FatherofKhorne@reddit
I went mental about this last year, i absolutely hate hot weather. This is every method i found, not all are very applicable but here you go.
Easiest one. Open the windows at night and close them in the morning. Close the curtains, especially on whatever side the sun currently is. Cold air at night cools the rooms down and closing curtains stops sun from heating it up.
If you have fans, put them just away from the window pointing outside at night. It draws hot air out and will pull in cold air from other windows. Being about 6" away from the window lets the fan use the bernoulli effect to increase throughput. Works best if the fan is a similar size to the widow. In our bedroom, i prop the curtains on the window handles just above the fan.
When you have closed all the windows during the day and it's getting warm, generally running the fan just increases the temperature in the room making the situation worse over time, however that airflow is really nice.
If you have clothes that need to be dried, put them in a room and point the fan at them. The evaporation which dries the clothes "spends" heat to do it. If you can put the clothes between you and the fan, the air will be slightly cooled before it hits you.
Desperate measures. Using the same technique, if we fill up a container with water and point a fan at it, it will evaporate the water and cool the room. I tested this after a cold bath last year, and according to our thermostats, over approximately 4 hours around midday the temperature dropped from 32C to 28C iirc.
If you have forsaken cooling the rooms, you can get a damp shirt and put it on. Point a fan at you and it is bliss until the shirt dries. This is the mechanics as sweat, just without the sweat.
I finally had enough and bought a portable AC. I am thankful for it every time it gets hot. If anyone decides to get one:
Open windows at night as before, close them then start the AC on it's lowest mode. Depending on the size of the room it can really struggle to get the heat down. They do not struggle maintaining a good temperature though.
And if you can, put it right up against a window. The heat travelling through the pipe will heat the room up reducing efficiency. You still need to make sure air from outside isn't getting in or running it will be pointless, all windows need to be closed.
Rambling over, i hope someone finds this useful.
captaincrunch69420@reddit
Scientifically not much. You need to take energy out of the room and that's very hard without a change in thermal energy.
But to make yourself cooler, you could rinse mouth, feet and face with cold water. Use a cold bottle and cuddle with that for abit. Cold showers obviously. Drink moderate amount of cold fluids (not too much as your body could start burning energy to return to normal body temp)
XscytheD@reddit
Open all windows but close the curtains and mop the floors with just water
ovine_aviation@reddit
Other than getting some sort of AC which would be expensive to run the only measures are preventative.
Windows open wide at night. Closed in the day. I have a tiny little flat but with double doors that open to a garden. South facing so the double doors just magnify the heat. I could leave the curtain closed but then it's gloomy and besides, it's much better to stop the sun entering at all so I hang a white bedsheet, trapped in the doors on the outside. It's currently 29 outside here but 23.5 inside and I still have a light room.
evenstevens280@reddit
Yeah windows open at night, curtains and windows closed in the day is the way
Keeps the bedrooms in the low 20s at least.
n8te85@reddit
I've been trying this for the past few days. At bedtime last night my bedroom was over 30°C. I'm glad it works for some people but it doesn't seem to be the case in my home unfortunately.
evenstevens280@reddit
Try opening windows on either end of the house and keep the doors open. If you just open a window into the bedroom, air won't circulate
n8te85@reddit
Thanks for the response. Already tried unfortunately, didn't really make a lot of difference last night. I'm going to try putting a desktop fan in front of the bedroom open window tonight to see if that helps draw in some cooler air 🤞🏽
opopkl@reddit
Open up any loft windows or even just your attic hatch to let the warm air rise out. Only do this when it's cooler outside.
YetAnotherInterneter@reddit
At night time when it is cooler outside than it is inside - open the window and stick a fan on the window sill facing outwards. That acts as makeshift air conditioner because it pulls all of the hot air out of the house.
It can work the other way - blowing cold air into the house, but I’d advise against it because it also bring in loads of bugs and pollen into the house, which you don’t really want.
FireLadcouk@reddit
Windows open for cross breeze and curtains closed
Oster-P@reddit
Without AC I would say Window reflectors would be the thing I'd try. Stick it on your glass windows, and it reflects the sunlight.
Alternatively put external shutters on your windows, but reflective stuff on your windows is probably the easier and cheaper option
nycromus@reddit
Best way is to hang wet (not dripping) bed sheets from the curtain rail and leave the windows open - Stops the sun from penetrating too much to heat the room and the wet sheets cool the air as it comes in, kinda like an air conditioning unit.
You have to keep turning and replacing them if/when they get dry, but shouldn’t be too often.
If you do that from sunrise through to sunset, you should be able to maintain a reasonably cooler room/home.
Logbotherer99@reddit
You have listed the methods.
Newreddituserw@reddit
If you know the air outside is cooler than inside then put the fan on the window sil with window open to draw cool air into the room
Dramatic-Growth1335@reddit
Sellotape ice cubes to fan blades and then turn the fan on. I tried it with blue tack and pritt stick but they don't work as well
AwkwardDuddlePucker@reddit
I look at the temps having the hive thermostat helps but any thermometer would do. When it's cooler outside the windows are open when the outside temp is due to be hotter the windows, blinds, curtains are all closed. I also close them if we go out and won't be back until after the temperature has risen outside. The house is still hot but the temp has only risen 3 degrees from 6am this morning. I think I could probably get the hose cooler but also have an indoor cat to work around 🙃
CressEcstatic537@reddit
Not really once it's warm. I live in a mid terrace, south facing. With windows closed, curtains closed, loft door open, doors closed having cooled the house around 6am, I can keep the house at around 21-22 until about 4 when it will creep up to 24-25.
Felgar36@reddit
If you have a fan and some empty plastic bottles fill the bottles with water and freeze them then place a frozen one in front of the fans and then turn on the fan as the bottle thaws put you get cold air
Agreeable_Cow_7230@reddit
1 drop of peppermint essential oil rubbed between your palms, then rub your hands (without adding more drops) over your neck, chest, arms, legs. Avoid your face.
Wild-Spinach-476@reddit
Bro I open my windows and is the same room temp even from outside this weather KYS 😭😭
Spinkhorn@reddit
You're letting in all the hot outside air and wondering why your house is the same temp as outside?
Stoppit_TidyUp@reddit
Do you say this about opening car windows?
Spinkhorn@reddit
Cars have no thermal insulation and plenty of windows you can't cover so they heat up from the greenhouse effect, plus by driving you are ensuring there's plenty of airflow. But yes if you open a car window, the coolest it can possibly be is the same temperature as outside.
In a house you have insulation on the walls and you can close curtains and blinds, and/or put reflective sheeting on the outside of windows, to keep the sun and heat out. In this case it's better to keep windows closed so the hot outdoor air doesn't get in. Of course if your house is hotter than outside, then open the windows...
Stoppit_TidyUp@reddit
That’s objectively not true, many houses are not insulated. And insulation slows down heat transfer, but actually makes it more likely your inside heat will eventually exceed the outside heat.
Spinkhorn@reddit
Most houses have some insulation. Houses without cavity wall insulation are now the minority. Insulation slows down the heat transfer, luckily on heatwaves like this one with overnight temperatures in the teens you only need to slow it down for a day, and then open windows overnight to cool again. Inside heat will only exceed outside heat if you're allowing solar gain by keeping window covers open, or generating a lot of heat in the house.
Petcai@reddit
Opening windows does nothing, the air outside is just as hot as inside in the daytime, how can that possibly cool you down? Keeping them closed in the day and open at night is the way.
Hare_vs_Tortoise@reddit
If you have a loft it helps to remove the loft hatch so the hot air can rise a bit higher.
DonTones@reddit
Damp flannel works a charm
History_86@reddit
I wouldn’t close the window with a fan as it just circulates the warm air around. I close the curtains though especially if the sun is directly shining into a room. I’m dying at the moment in Scotland haha loads of ice cold water in the fridge and I’ve got my hot water bottle in the fridge for tonight too.
mummacoconut@reddit
Put ice packs behind the fan so it's pulling in colder air to distribute to the room :)
SlippersParty2024@reddit
Cool yourself: these are a lifesaver:
Sukeen Cooling Towel 4 Pack (40"x12"), Cooling Towels for Neck,Cool Down Towel,Soft Breathable for Golf,Sport,Running,Gym,Workout,Camping,Fitness,Workout & More Activities https://amzn.eu/d/9iJvSZe
Gold-Collection2636@reddit
You should ask my landlord because my flat is always bloody freezing
---_-------@reddit
I saw a good video that showed that before the days of aircon (or even electricity at home), people used awnings a lot :
https://youtu.be/uhbDfi7Ee7k
If we had guaranteed heatwaves, I would be tempted.
Time-Excitement-1317@reddit
You want a fan that you put water into, so it's not just pushing the air around. I got one from b&m that has a water thing in the top, and you can freeze the filter for extra cold air. Worth the £20
Accomplished-Air5840@reddit
Get an emergency blanket, also called a mylar blanket gold one side silver on the other. They're cheap as hell on Ebay tape to window or make a roller blind out of one, make sure the silver side is facing outwards. They block nearly all the heat out and you can actually see through them. It's a cheap and affective solution.
itsfourinthemornin@reddit
I told someone closing my windows doesn't help due to the fact my room has the roof directly above it and due to it's awkward placement it gets sun beaming down on it the entire day (sun goes from my front garden in the morning, to the side garden rest of the day where the room is, then back on an evening) - random person who doesn't live in, has seen or knows my house, unlike me who has spent 10 (years) summers here, told me I'm very wrong.
aliceathome@reddit
I can't cool a room down much beyond what everyone says (windows/curtains closed during the day, fan etc) BUT I can cool myself at night. Get some ice packs for injury (or those ones for a cool bag) in the freezer. At bedtime, wrap a couple and put in the bed to cool the sheets down. Use as the opposite of a hot water bottle. Put a couple more in your pillow cases on the underside (where your head/neck rests). Works wonders.
cayosonia@reddit
If you have a fan and an empty plastic bottle, fill the bottle with water and freeze overnight. Next day put the frozen bottle behind the fan so that the fan blows colder air. Watch for water condensation from the bottle around electrics of course
marielheslop@reddit
If your house has a loft/attic, open the hatch and a lot of the heat will go up there instead of hanging around in the rooms below
WanderWomble@reddit
Pressure sprayer. I spray the air, basically, then put the fan on. Seems to really cool the room down.
WanderWomble@reddit
Also it's often cooler if you have a shaded side to have those windows open to encourage airflow.
mightyfishfingers@reddit
You don’t cool it down. You just try to prevent it getting as hot as it could.
Andries89@reddit
Get yourself a standing fan with a water tray. Dump ice in the tray with some water and then turn it on, it cools me and the room I'm in down a ton! Other than that the usual, keep windows closed during the day and open all the windows from 9PM until you wake up in the morning
AE_Phoenix@reddit
Cool yourself, rather than a room. A spray bottle of water and a fan is the most effective way to quickly do that, as the water blowing off your skin cools the skin.
ILoveMyCatsSoMuch@reddit
Tinfoil your windows.
Necessary-Crazy-7103@reddit
Buy an aircon
Etheria_system@reddit
Dehumidifier! Doesn’t necessarily cool the room but takes away the sweaty oppressive humidity. Have been able to sleep perfectly every night this week
Akash_nu@reddit
I took the easy way out and took the family away to the countryside for the week!
Got a cottage in the midst of the Shropshire hills.
CriticalMine7886@reddit
well, that's posh - I went to Morrisons and hung out in the freezer section :-)
TSC-99@reddit
Hang a white sheet over the outside of the window
Much-Fall-9515@reddit
Go outside and find some constant shade and hope it becomes windy
Standard_Smoke_9207@reddit
I’ve been putting my fan on the window sill in the evenings to cool down my room, it blows in the cooler air from outside and actually makes it cool enough to sleep, not sure whether it’ll work tonight tho as it’s still meant to be about 25 degrees at like 10pm, I just saw somebody said to put a bottle of water in the freezer and then put it in a sock once frozen, put it between your legs and it’ll cool you down a bit, I also use a spray bottle with water in and the fan feels slightly cooler that way, maybe one of these will help
Trep_Normerian@reddit
If there's a breeze, you should open the windows and close the curtains, to let the air flow through the house and not to let the sun directly cook you inside.
sunlitupland5@reddit
Cover on outside of window if that's possible.
Rextherabbit@reddit
Closing the window doesn’t help if there is no way to exhaust the warm air.
Better way is to create circulation by having windows open to draw fresh air through.
Best way is to prevent heat coming in to start with using external shutters or blinds.
Shinkiro94@reddit
In the end there is only one actual way, expel and replace the warm air with colder air. Realistically the most viable solution is A/C if you want to have a constant cooler temperature.
KKae@reddit
Windows open curtains blinds whatever closed but letting air in go a long way to reducing temperature otherwise you just sitting in a hot box with no ventilation.
jimmy_o@reddit
I’m sure a very smart person (astrophysicist) once told me that the shutting windows during the day thing isn’t true because the air flow that having windows in opposite sides of the house generates cools you down more than you’re heated up from the warmer air coming in.
SeniorMoonlight21@reddit
Open windows at night. Even better if you open windows on opposite sides of the room or house, it creates a natural breeze that pushes hot air out. If you have multiple fans then put one facing outward on the hot side window to blow hot air out, and a fan inside pulling cooler air in from the opposite side.
DIY AC. Put a small/shallow bowl of ice or a frozen water bottle in front of a fan
Reflective film or taping aluminum foil on windows facing the sun
Dehumidifiers help.
Background-Rabbit-84@reddit
Aluminium foil? The idea conductor of heat. You are better off with cardboard
ManikShamanik@reddit
Yes, exactly; cardboard is an insulator. Aluminium foil on the windows will conduct the heat AWAY from the windows, if you use cardboard, you'll be trapping the heat inside.
The SI unit of conductivity is watts per metre kelvin (W·m^(−1)·K^(−1)), the higher the number, the better the conductivity. The conductivity of aluminium is 237, the conductivity of cardboard is 0.05. The higher the number, the better the conductivity.
If you use cardboard, it'll simply absorb the Sun's energy and turn your house into an oven.
Basic physics (I'm guessing you didn't take physics GCSE).
Algelach@reddit
Have you never noticed how you can take tin foil out the oven and it’s cool to touch almost immediately? Tin foil loses heat incredibly quickly.
seriousrikk@reddit
Cardboard heats up and becomes a thermal mass.
Aluminium foil reflects afar more infrared heat.
SeniorMoonlight21@reddit
Shiny surface of the foil reflects a lot of the radiant heat (infrared radiation) from the sun before it even touches the window glass or enters the room. Because it reflects this radiation, much less heat energy passes through the window to begin with and its transferred away from the room.
Cardboard can actually make things worse because it can absorb heat from the sun and then slowly release it inside the room, which might make things warmer rather than cooler. So while it blocks light, it’s not as effective at keeping heat out compared to something reflective like foil.
OutAndAbout87@reddit
I think the way forward is shutters outside of your window. The biggest issue is double glazing with the sun turns the room into a greenhouse. So you need to tackle that , but they can be expensive and that's the thing.. every year I consider it especially with my south facing windows at front of the house.
Another option is Sticking film that reflects the sun's heat back out, whilst reducing the light. Not ideal but again it's about deflection not.
A shade over your windows would even help massively, i.e. and awning especially my house which the front pointed almost directly south.
I have nets on the back doors and windows. And at night I open it all up. Downstairs cools pretty quick but upstairs remains like an oven. Hot air rises.
I considered putting some system to suck the hot air out of the top of the house at night. But again it is a cost.
Our country is just crap in the summer nothing is set up to enjoy it. Shame as I like the summer. Overcrowded beaches, hosepipe bans, no shade in play parks.
RetroBoxRoom@reddit
Open a window, and point a fan to blow air out of the room through the open window, not air into the room.
JAKFRY@reddit
A couple things really help me: run cold water over forearms and face every so often and using a spray bottle when I have the fan on me makes it way more effective because water is an excellent conductor of heat
Sharks_and_Bones@reddit
Do fans work if you out them running in a different room but leave the door open? Cannot sleep with the noise of a fan in the same room.
MandaZePanda84@reddit
I saw somewhere if you have windows that open at the top and bottom you open the top windows in the rooms with no sun on them and the bottom windows where the sun is and it should drag through a cool breeze. Seems to be working for me although my flat is still 23°. I get the sun beaming through my front room window all morning then it goes to the other side of my flat in the afternoon. Great time to be on doxycycline
4u2nv2019@reddit
My indoor temps throughout the house didn’t drop below 29c. It’s recently re-built with the thicker insulation in the walls and ceilings. Only thing that helps is opening the three skylights in 3 rooms and keeping the skylight blinds closed.
4u2nv2019@reddit
We just open our skylights and put the blind on them. Indoor Heat can escape, and sun heat can stay where it is
coffeewalnut08@reddit
Close curtains, open windows. Fan.
PardonRoseGarden@reddit
RemindMe! 1 day
RedditMrJay@reddit
Buy an ice fan from amazon - it's the poor mans AC. A large tower fan that holds ice blocks
mcsnoogins2612@reddit
2 fans, one at either side of the house/flat/room, one blowing air in and one blowing air out, windows shut that the fans aren't using
mcshaggin@reddit
Open all windows and leave internal doors open to let the air circulate. Just use stoppers to stop the doors slam.
Major_Toe_6041@reddit
No idea but I am leaving a comment so I can remember to come back.
I have an AGA and 3 skylights with no blinds. It’s hotter in here than it is outside.
Mesa_Dad@reddit
Use "RemindMe! X days" without the quotes and with whatever number in place of X and you'll get an automatic reminder
SterlingArcher68@reddit
RemindMe! 1 day
SterlingArcher68@reddit
RemindMe! 2 days
SterlingArcher68@reddit
RemindMe 2 days
WoodSteelStone@reddit
We had Pilkington Activ Blue glass fitted in all our south facing windows. It's incredibly good at keeping the heat out. I can stand behind it with the sun blazing on it the other side and I cannot feel even the barest hint of heat through the glass. The house stays nice and cool however hot it is outside. The glass also happens to be self-cleaning.
We're going to change our north facing windows over to the same glass next year. We thought it wouldn't be needed on that side but for a few weeks either side of the summer solstice the sun shines on the northern side of the house morning and evening.
More practically, if you have an upper floor, harness the 'stack effect' at night. Leave a window or several open downstairs and windows open upstairs. The hot air will be drawn out at the top overnight, pulling in cooler, fresher air behind it through the downstairs window(s). You need to leave the doors open between.
Harvey_Sheldon@reddit
If you have a friend with a suitable garden ask if you can sling a hammock between their trees and have a night outdoors.
I did that a couple of years back, during a heatwave, and it was amazing. If I had a garden of my own I think I'd be "camping" more often.
acceberbex@reddit
Open windows when it's cooler outside and shut them when it's warmer. Same with curtains. Try and open windows and doors that allow an air flow (wish this worked for me as it's much cooler but with indoor cats, I can't!)
Putting a tray of iced water infront of the fan.
Turning off anything that you can that releases heat, so lights and TV - minimal impact but a darker room to me often feels cooler.
Keep yourself cool - I find the sofa retains heat so changing chairs regularly, bare feet, pjs rather than proper clothes. Keep hydrated Putting your feet in a bowl of cold water will help (but just be careful incase you slip on wet floor).
I haven't tried it but you can get pet cooling mats which I'm tempted to try sitting on!
Also, if you have a loft, open the hatch. Hot air rises
paperpangolin@reddit
Freeze a towel. Hang in front of a fan, washing up bowl underneath to catch the drips. Larger surface area than the frozen bottle/bowl of ice method so cools quicker.
This will increase humidity in the room so be warned if you have an issue with mould.
artfulmonica@reddit
I was told that if you put a bowl of ice in front of the fan it actually cools the room rather than moving the warm air around. Never tried it myself as the sound of the fan drives up the wall.
Spinkhorn@reddit
Sort of, but all that heat is now in your kitchen as the freezer has to work harder to freeze the ice, and most houses don't have insulation between rooms so it'll make its way back to your other rooms soon enough. It's also a fairly negligible amount of energy anyway.
JacenKas-Trek-Geek@reddit
It works for 30 minutes then the ice has melted.
evenstevens280@reddit
Fans don't help cool the room, they actually heat up the room as the motor produces heat. The point of a fan is to cool you via sweat evaporation, and secondarily move stale air around to prevent humidity build up.
OneCatch@reddit
Victorian AC is a valid one. If you have vertical sash windows open them a bit at the bottom and the top - hot air in the room will leave the top, and cool air will come in from the bottom.
deadeye-ry-ry@reddit
Close windows during the day and open them during the night / early hours when it's cooler
Place a large bucket of cold water ( with ice preferably) in front of a fan that way it cools the room
Fill a bath to the top with cold water
buginarugsnug@reddit
I read that you should freeze your pillowcase before you go to bed, haven’t actually tried it as I’ve not overheated yet (I’m a very cold person)
horrible_goose_@reddit
Cooling a while room? Couldn't tell you.
Cooling yourself? Soak a t-shirt, wring it out so it's wet but not dripping, put t-shirt on, enjoy evaporative cooling
_a_m_s_m@reddit
If not sure how well it works but when it gets ridiculously hot I have tried hanging the curtains out side of the window. This (seems to) block a lot of the heat from even entering in the first place.
krappa@reddit
The design of British windows makes this impossible
_a_m_s_m@reddit
Not all of them & for me I only hang part of the curtains out, but it’s enough to block out any sunlight.
Lo_jak@reddit
Solar reflective film that you can put on your windows is a very good way of stopping the heat getting in via the windows. The quality stuff is expensive but it works very well.
Other than that you cant really cheat physics..... unless you can stop the heat getting in your home you only have the option of removing the heat that's got in there. And unless its cooler outside than in your house its not possible without air conditioning, its all about moving the heat away but this is extremely difficult / impossible if the temperature outside exceeds the temperature in your home.
Tiled floors are much better than carpets in this weather but on the flip side they are a worse option in the winter unless you have underfloor heating.
____JustBrowsing@reddit
Hot water bottle filled up and put in the freezer. Also dog cooling mats are super. I am an XL dog.
EdmundTheInsulter@reddit
Is everyone going to get a white house with green shutters, then it'll be 22 max in summer for the next 10 summers.
Have you tried firing a fan at a wet towel? I don't agree with sealing all your windows as a method.
GromitWallace@reddit
Put a bowl of ice Infront of said fan
hyper-casual@reddit
Freeze a bunch of 2L bottles of water and stick them in front of your fan.
It's not amazing but if you sit in front of it you can feel the slight difference.
siblingrevelryagain@reddit
Or freezer blocks tied on works too
Sleepyjenstar@reddit
I'm currently trying a car/van windscreen sunshade hung up at my window (it's 90 inches wide and always super hot in summer and cold in winter) and it's keeping my room about 4-5 celsius cooler than usual. Without it my room hits about 28/29 and stays that temp overnight but seems to be stopping at 24/25 ish at the moment.
wearezombie@reddit
I did a year abroad in a country with 43c summers and I did have air con but it was expensive to run and I wanted to spend the money on beer, not bills, because I was a student. I had instead multiple 2l bottles filled with tap water. Freeze, put in front of a fan to blow cold air around. Always keep a secondary bottle of water in the freezer to replace the one in front of the fan. When the one in front of the fan is melting enough for the condensation to pool on the floor, I’d drink that because it would still be deliciously cold. I also had electrolyte sachets to pour in. Just a constant rotation. It helped!
zebra1923@reddit
You can’t cool down a room that’s already hot unless it’s cooler outside or you’re using AC. You CAN do things to stop the room getting hot through the day. Examples include using blackout blinds, thermal lined curtains, keeping windows closed, removing heat sources (computers, people(!)) from the room.
ODFoxtrotOscar@reddit
A small note on sash windows - if you have these, when you have them open, open equally top and bottom. This helps the air circulate
Whole_Will2919@reddit
Stop flying and eating meat. Try and reduce your overall consumption.
Violet351@reddit
You can get temporary heat blackout blinds but my dad saw something on tv a few years ago about putting cardboard on the inside of south facing windows during a heatwave. He did it and his house was the only cool place
NorthWishbone7543@reddit
Mirrored window film keeps the heat out in summer and cold out in winter. Works a treat.
YahYahPapaya@reddit
I read somewhere that if you have a loft window then to open it and keep the loft hatch open and open a downstairs window. The logic is that the hot air in your loft will escape through the window and drag in cooler outside air.
For most people the breeze effect this creates will make your house feel cooler.
The same logic should apply with an upstairs window and to open a downstairs window diagonally opposite to the one you've opened upstairs. Thus creating a breeze flow through the whole house.
No idea if it works but the logic seems sound.
Ambitious_Jelly3473@reddit
Black out blinds during the hottest parts of the day help to keep some of the heat out, as do reflective coatings on the windows themselves but they're limited in ability.
Keep the air moving, with open doors and windows to create a through draft. Fans help, especially if you can place ice/water in front of them which helps to exaggerate the cool feeling.
Cool yourself by carrying less weight and wearing lighter, looser clothing, such as cotton.
Having said all that, none of it is as effective as air con. I bought a portable unit for our bedroom a couple of years ago, cost about £400 and it was an absolute game changer. Our bedroom was a converted loft room, with velux skylights, so it quickly became a sauna. Black out blinds and ventilation had some, limited success but the air-conditioning was like magic.
tradandtea123@reddit
I hang the winter duvets over the top of the curtains to keep heat from coming through the windows. Once it's hot there's not much you can do to cool it down until it's colder outside though.
InfiniteBaker6972@reddit
You get those suggestions because that’s the best solution to your question. In a hot climate you open the windows & doors in the side of your home that’s in shade and close windows & curtains on the sun side. That’s it. A fan will move air around and AC will actually cool the air but the best move is to cool yourself not the room.
Lumpy-Combination847@reddit
Crack open the loft hatch, windows/doors open. The hot air rises into the loft creating a draft. It works for me. Not as cold as AC, but the air moving through the house definitely helps.
vbloke@reddit
I refer you to a previous post of mine...
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskUK/comments/1lfo088/comment/myrlyfk/
JacenKas-Trek-Geek@reddit
I close the windows on the side of house the sun is on and open them on the shade side, then swap through the day. Curtains closed and fans. It’s about all you can do without AC. We got one on Amazon and it has been a life saver.
Background-Rabbit-84@reddit
Invest in a digital inside and outside thermometer Temu sell them cheaply.
Emitime@reddit
Basic logical incorrect things. Fans make you feel cool because they're making sweat evaporate from you, but they actually heat up the room.
Temp outside lower = windows open (both ends of the property if possible for through draft).
Temp outside higher = windows shut.
Curtains/blinds shut when in direct sight of the sun.
And that's about it. It's just physics.
elbapo@reddit
Buy supermarket ice- put it on a tray with a fan
RobertGHH@reddit
To cool down a room you need to move the heat. The only practical way really is AC.
There are lots of ways to prevent a room getting hot in the first place, but that is a different question.
RabbitRabbit77@reddit
After all the posts this week, last night I tried the frozen hot water bottle approach and my god it worked! I filled my hot water bottle with cold water and stuck it in the freezer for a couple of hours. Popped it near my feet when I got into bed and, after I got over the initial shock, settled down to a refreshingly cooler and better nights sleep 😴
Real_Possible_1199@reddit
Curtains closed during the day, windows and curtains open at night. It does mean getting woken up early by the sun though!
Senuman666@reddit
Absolutely nothing, maybe it’s time to spend on an aircon
zigzog7@reddit
As others have said, curtains closed in the day and windows open at night. But also, once it is cooler outside than inside, put a fan right by a window pulling the cool air in.
Gnosys00110@reddit
2 litre water bottle in the freezer overnight, then put in a shallow tub of water in front of a fan
two_beards@reddit
Same way that was posted about yesterday.
kipha01@reddit
Fan moving air flow out, curtains closed, window open so the inside air between window and curtain superheated by the window goes outside not in the room.
Least-Raddish1930s@reddit
Ceramic window film prevents a lot of the heat from getting in in the first place. I also wear a neck fan with a cooling plate and am looking into getting a cooling bed pad.
mobuline@reddit
You get a ceiling fan. You do keep the windows and curtains closed during the day, in the height of the heat. Open when the sun goes down.
SpiffingAfternoonTea@reddit
In the day, blinds down windows open
At night, frozen hot water bottle in a cover or pillowcase
Apidium@reddit
You don't need to cool down the room. You just need to cool down the folks in the room.
Water spritzer one of the ultra fine ones and a fan. It evaporates basically instantly and so you are cool and not just wet
Mina_U290@reddit
Reflective silver screens on the south facing windows, North facing are open to catch the breeze. I've tried this advice to have windows shut and it's definitely hotter! Maybe if there was no breeze?
FumbleCrop@reddit
You can't really.
What you can do, if there's any thermal mass or insulation worth speaking, is let it cool at night and stop it heating up during the day.
Pidgeot93@reddit
Browsing reddit at this hour tells me that I don’t have the answer as I’m sweltering!!
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