Help me survive this week’s heatwave

Tepid shower before bed, wet your scalp. Don't towel dry just wrap a sheet around you lie down and let the water evaporate.

Sleep on the sofa on the ground floor.

Yes, I noticed the Meaco fans someone mentioned have gone up in price too. Naked Profiteering at its finest.

This ha increased in price substantially since the first sign of the heat wave! They're normally around £20!!!

Cooling mats made for dogs! £12 in pets at home. My daughter really wanted one and she has been sleeping with it over her. It also has a nice bit of weight so is relaxing too. I think I might borrow it and take it to work tomorrow (school, no air con)

It was these people. It looking at their website now they have much less on offer than they did when I looked. But might be worth calling them.

https://www.airconco.com/hire

The delivery man didn’t bring it up the stairs - had to prevail on male friends to help…no way I could have done it myself!

Completely sold out now, sorry but the delonghi pinguino air conditioner has been transformative for our room. Yes it does need to be vented out a window but once set up its ability to cool the room provides a cool haven.

I’m no longer apprehensive when hot weather is forecast.

When we got it, a good few years ago, the weather broke on the very day it was delivered. Kicked myself at the time but now it’s so good to know it’s available when needed

I live in a three storey house and you won’t be able to sleep on the top floor. My son hasn’t been able to for about a month now as it gets so hot. Just move your mattress onto ground floor and sleep there.

alternatively hang a sheet on the outside of your windows to stop the sun directly hitting the window. That will take and edge off and help it generally be cooler but you still won’t be able to sleep there.

Hire aircon unit for the wk. Pricey but so worth it

Came here to say this. Best idea, if you want to do the hot/cold water bottle thing is to have two separate ones (different colours so you remember which is which - maybe red and blue).

You do not want to risk damaging the bottle rubber or the seal - could be disastrous when filling with boiling water in the winter.

Wash your hair and don’t dry it, go to bed with it wet

Library with air-con???? Good luck with that

I'm fine with a floorstanding fan and earplugs to block out the noise. And I'm defo somebody that runs on the hot side and doesn't really feel the cold.

This is exactly what I was going to post. My dogs weren't interested in them so I put them on the sofa and in the bed. I don't know how much they are now, but I paid £5 for each of them a few years back from B&M.

These are the bra inserts https://issviva.co.uk/products/issviva-cooling-bra-inserts
it says £19.99 but seems to give a £5 discount at checkout, or a slightly bigger discount if you buy two pairs.

They are amazing and should be better known!

I have a Dyson fan which is pretty good.

You can get a flat thing you freeze and put in your pillowcase and your pillow will be cooler for much longer.

I have some cool gel inserts I put in my bra. I freeze them and they are amazing. Because they are over your chest/heart they really make a difference.

On holiday in Italy with no air con we froze large pans of water and put them in the bedroom an hour or so before going to bed. This was quite effective and the ice cracking sounds might help cool you as you pretend you are in icy seas.

I drink a hell of a lot of water - if you are like me and risk drinking too much, put a pinch of salt and sugar in to replace electrolytes and ensure you stay hydrated.

https://amzn.eu/d/05KrrWBQ

I've bought this blanket off amazon. It came today. I don't know how it works, but it's absolute saving me right now. Just me, my period pants and this blanket are having a fabulous time. It's 23 outside right now which is hotter than the 28 in my bedroom so I've got the window open for as long as I can.

I absolutely cannot sleep with them (windows) open through the night. Hard no. We are very rural and have bats etc.

We are in a Victorian loft conversion and it’s hot. Through trial and error I have pretty much decided that it’s actually better to leave the windows open (velux one side, normal the other) as other wise the heat gets trapped and it ends up like an oven. I understand the theory about not letting the hot air in but I think there a limit as to how effective that is. I do have thermal blinds on the velux windows but keep them open.

I keep both bedroom doors open to make the most of any breeze.

I bought a gel cooling mat for my dog, but looking at the reviews people use the large pet ones to sleep in in bed

I sleep in the lounge on the sofa in this heat.

OP I also sleep on the top floor of the house and work here and it’s baking. When it gets above 30 my brain actually doesn’t work and fans don’t help. I finally gave in and ordered an ac unit last week. I only use it for 2 to 3 hours in the afternoon, but gosh it makes such a difference.

Same problem but sleep on a Jay-be folding bed downstairs (Argos). Failing that I recommend a Vango inflatable mattress, one of the 15cm plus thickness ones.

Australian here in Perth.

We have a reverse cycle air conditioner and mostly run it on Dry mode. I save the Cool mode for the worst part of the day. Movement of dry air by fan is much more comfortable than still humidity. So, my biggest tip is to close up your house and get out your dehumidifiers. You really will be so much more comfortable.

I find a larger airspace cooler than a smaller, enclosed room so often sleep in my lounge room near the doorway as that’ll be where the air is moving.

I may also have a fan on. I don’t like the fan on me directly so point it at the wall and have the air slide over me that way.