The Great 'Ways to keep cool' Hunt

beezel_bug

On a train or underground I found that having a pack of wet wipes with you to wipe your face helps to cool you down quicker. Combine that with chilled bottle of water, helps everytime

Daisies

Fill a (glass) bottle with tap water and keep in the fridge for drinking - you don't need to buy bottled water or run the tap until it's cold then.
Don't do it with plastic bottles though - tastes skanky!

Teecee_3

Come evening, I open windows downstairs and turn on a large fan pointing OUT of our upstairs bedrom window. The fan pushes the hot air out of the house, pulling cool air in from outside (cool air has to come in to equalize the slightly negative pressure caused by the fan).

My wife thinks I'm slightly weird for doing that but it helps keep her comfortable at night.

DuggyMak

If your house has an attic simply open the trapdoor slightly, or if it is really oppressive, remove it altogether and let the warm air escape and be replaced by cooler air. I have a loft ladder and in summer regularly pull it down about a quarter of the way and it is amazing the difference it can make. Just be careful if you have any very tall visitors! This solution has the benefit of not having to open large windows with the resulting risk of burglary and it also airs your attic.

I have a small window in the corner of the kitchen which is covered with metal mesh small enough to prevent flies or insects getting through. I leave this open unless I am going out. Obviously, it is important to try and leave as many internal doors open to let as much air as possible circulate through the house.

GiddyKipper_3

Hi all :cool:

Question - Have any of you ever bought one of those 'Air Cooling' things from stores like B&Q? They look like a smaller version of an air conditioner, but retail at around £50 - £80.

I think the idea is that you fill the tanks with cold water & ice and then the fan inside of them throws the cool air out.

What I need to know is, are they effective at all?

I'd only need it for nights when I'm trying to sleep...as I tend to suffer badly in the hot Summer months.

Cheers :cool:

hulltrucker

GiddyKipper wrote: »

Hi all :cool:

Question - Have any of you ever bought one of those 'Air Cooling' things from stores like B&Q? They look like a smaller version of an air conditioner, but retail at around £50 - £80.

I think the idea is that you fill the tanks with cold water & ice and then the fan inside of them throws the cool air out.

What I need to know is, are they effective at all?

I'd only need it for nights when I'm trying to sleep...as I tend to suffer badly in the hot Summer months.

Cheers :cool:

Yes I bought one from Homebase about three years ago - You put freezer blocks in water and then it blows air over them. I can't say it dosnt work at all, but it's next to useless as a cooler to be honest. Its ok as a normal fan though - apart from being quite noisy - I am going to try the suggestion made by someone else here of putting frozen bottles of water in front of the fan instead of inside it - but not til we get some more warm weather!

hulltrucker

Daisies wrote: »

Fill a (glass) bottle with tap water and keep in the fridge for drinking - you don't need to buy bottled water or run the tap until it's cold then.
Don't do it with plastic bottles though - tastes skanky!

I do this too except I filter the water first through my Brita kettle - tastes much nicer in squash and is also good to use in the iron or steamer(not that it needs cooling for that) as it removes most of the limescale

XRAT

Like DuggyMak we leave the loft hatch open, the hot air rises and escapes through the vents, sucking cooler air into the house.
Since evapouration equals cooling.., I wet the patio once the sun has gone down, the temperature drops several degrees immediately. This helps to keep the air cool before it enters the house. (I know!! But we are big on recycled rain water. 13 butts so far.)
Lollys made from fruit juice are great, but friends and family all favour those made from fresh 'still-lemonade'.

Bananabelly

I'm from Australia so possibly know a thing or two about avoiding the heat...
-Definitely keep all curtains closed during the day,especially if you are out or there is not a lot of breeze coming through that the curtains will block
-Once the sun is starting to set, like other people have said create some sort of through breeze, by opening doors/large windows at either end of the house
-Sleep downstairs if you need to! It's always cooler, especially if you have ceramic tiles on the floor
-Don't use the oven/cooker if possible (don't often feel like hot food if it's already hot outside anyway), and like someone else said, other appliances like TV, but also lights! Keep all the lights in your house off if possible (also saving money and the environment
-Have a cool bath or shower before bed, and then if you have a fan on you in bed it's lovely:D
-If you're quite desperate, a face cloth in cold water is nice on your face
-Stay out of the sun! Especially in middle of the day (simple I know)
-If you can't bear it, go somewhere where you know there will be Air-Con, ie, cinema or shopping centre
-We always used to freeze our drinks for school the night before and take them in the morning, by lunchtime they were lovely and cool iced squash or whatever (if you do that don't fill it all the way or freeze an unopened bottle as it might burst)
That's all I can think of right now. Hope it helps.

dronid

Iced water in a spray bottle. :j
Keep as many appliances off as possible. :rolleyes:
Regular brief cold showers.:eek:
Try not to eat food hot, wait for it to cool.:p
Cream Soda over ice.:D
And if you can get it some Snake Brand/St Luke's Prickly Heat Powder. Have a shower and sprinkle a liberal amount on you. It's Talc with menthol and it feels like personal air conditioning. I don't know if anything like it's available here but they swear by it in the Far East where, lets face it, they've had a bit more practice with high heat and humidity.:T