How do you keep yourself cool in the heatwave?

MSE_Ruby

We're writing a new guide on ways to cut the cost of air conditioning and cool the human, rather than the home.

Do you put your pillow case in the freezer, wear wet socks or set up shop with frozen peas on your head? If you've any other tips and tricks to stay cool, comment them below, and they may take a spot in the guide!

FlorayG

I don't have any qualms about pouring a glass of water down my back when I'm out and about.

At night I have a freezer block wrapped in a tea towel against my back

QrizB

I always wear a wide-brimmed hat when I'm outdoors.

I started because I'm going bald & don't want a sunburned head (or the risk of skin cancer eventually) but the shade does keep you cooler.

A century or so ago hardly anyone went around without wearing a hat; just look at street photography from the 1920s (here's an example). These days hat-wearing seems to have fallen out of fashion but it's still a very practical garment, keeping you cool when it's hot and warm when it's cold.

Evil_Olive

I'm a ginger so probably should, by rights, be living up in the Orkneys or somewhere but have to suffer in the heat-bowl that is Greater London.

I suffer from the heat really badly - ever since I can remember I've always got whatever the heat equivalant of 'hangry' is at anything over about 76 degrees - and it's worse now as it's coupled with regular menopausal hot flushes, so I utilise a lot of coping mechanisms for the sake of my husband :D

Some of these I use anytime it's a bit hot, others only when it's really hot - hope someone finds them useful :)

I open every window in my flat to get a through-draught and, when I had a back door, I opened that too.

I have thick curtains with white or light coloured linings and open/close them in different rooms throughout the day so they are always closed during times of the day when the sun faces those side/s of the flat.

When it's very hot I'll hang a wet white (white reflects heat) bedsheet, big enough to cover the whole window, over the curtain pole on those windows with the curtains open on the non-sun side of the flat to cool the air coming in through the open windows.

I have white 'nets' (nylon fine-mesh curtains) on all windows - they allow the light and breeze in but reflect some of the heat back out and diffuse the rest - Granny knew best! The plain, non-lacy, ones don't look 'old fashioned' to my mind. You can spray water on those too but they dry out pretty quick.

I wet a cotton 'bucket hat' and wear it with a 1 or more inch gap between my head and the top of the hat - the water evaporating from the hat refrigerates the air in that space, keeping my head cool.

I have a full length, loose, thin jersey dress that stands away from the body ('parachute', 'lagenlook' or 'tulip' dress' - a tenner or so on Amazon). I'll wet it in the sink, wring it out only lightly, and wear it wet - same effect as the hat.

If I need to sit for a period of time, eg. at my computer, I'll half fill the washing-up bowl with cold water and sit with my feet in it - and when I'm finished, it's a good time to scrub all that hard skin off :)

When possible, I plan my day to do anything that requires movement (eg housework) early morning or in the evening when it's cooler and do anything where I'm sitting still or going somewhere with air-conditioning (like shopping) during the hottest part of the day.

I have a small desk fan and hang a wet handtowel in front of it on the clothes-horse to cool the air it puts out.

CapricornLass

When it was really hot, OH and I would have a very quick, cool shower just before bedtime. (And I mean quick, literally just a minute to pour cool water over ourselves) It cooled us down enough to get 4 hours or so of decent sleep.

We also slept with just a sheet over us - or even a couple of times, nothing at all.

annieb64

QrizB-one of the guides at our local hat museum told us that hat wearing declined as more people started using cars.

Husband has Parkinsons and is really suffering in the heat.

silverwhistle

Panels of celotex or shiny insulation roll on the outside of windows..

RipleyG

My body doesn't regulate temperature properly (a side effect of a disability). We've experimented using a thermometer to see what works best in our house. What we've found works:

Close windows and curtains based on temperature - as soon as outside matches inside, they're closed. That's different times on different sides of the house - 7am on the sunny side yesterday, 8.15am on the shady side. Some days there's a 3 hour difference.

Opening windows overnight cools the house - but ONLY if the outside temperature is lower. Some nights not until 10pm. Good humoured debate with the neighbours on this - they swear by windows open except in the middle of the day - but thermometer proved them wrong. The draft feels good, but it's bringing warmer air in. Proved better to use a fan indoors with the windows closed - helps the body evaporate sweat but keeps the air cooler.

Using a small fan pointing inwards when windows are open helps draw cooler air in.

Closing ALL curtains (not just sunny side) makes a difference of about 1 degree by the end of the day.

And a resounding 'yes' to @silverwhistle and the external shading. We hung a large sheet from the guttering using pegs. One room has two identical windows, so we covered one, but not the other, closed the blinds as normal and after a few hours checked the air temperature between the window and the blind on each side. The one with external shading was a massive 5 degrees cooler. We're now investigating a permanent solution for future years.

As they say, the weather now is the least severe we'll experience in our lives given global rising temperatures. But, it's not to late to take positive action - it just needs a lot of us to take small personal action, and government to initiate further change.

moneysavepound12

We have a shark water fan, which is really helpful, can only use the water outside though.

Rosa_Damascena

Try not to be menopausal - hot flushes can be a nightmare when it's 34°C. HTH.