To ask how you are keeping your house cool in this heat

[ER1992]

I live in a mid terrace house which holds the heat well in cooler temperatures so in the current heat it is ridiculously hot.
I have a 9 month old who's bedroom thermometer is currently reading at 28 degrees. Has anyone got any tips on how I can cool this down before his bedtime?
I have kept the curtains shut all day with the window open and have just set a fan going for the afternoon

OK thanks for the suggestions everyone, I had no idea about keeping the windows shut. It's too late to do anything about it now so I'll be shutting them first thing in the morning and re open later in the evening and hopefully this will make a difference. I just home my baby will be able to sleep tonight

Curtains closed, windows open. French windows open with the vertical blinds in front closed.

Fans in front of house help shift what breeze there is towards the back of the house and out.

It's about creating air movement and a pressure differential.

In Spain, Morocco, Portugal, Middle East etc where these temps are the norm, everyone hangs very pretty blankets over doors and windows, and regularly wets them throughout the day. Soak all bed clothes n pj's etc before going to bed. Sleep on or under wet towels. Regularly get up during the night and have a warm-tepid hot shower NOT cold! The body produces heat to warm you up again so a cold shower is self-defeating. Drink plenty of tea, hot. They swear by this in India etc and it does work. Drink plenty of fluids but not too cold.

I'm not convinced about the closed windows. I am in my shaded kitchen with the windows and back door open, creating a very pleasant, if very light breeze. I'm sure it would feel much hotter with the windows closed.

Definitely both windows and blackout curtains closed.
I had windows open this morning but shut them all before 10am. I’ve popped out a few times with washing and the heat hits me as I go outside, so it’s definitely nice and cool in here. Will open them up again when (if) it cools off this evening.

Our house is fab in heat. The front is broadly south facing and the bs k, with kitchen diner and playroom north facing. I keep all blinds and windows at front shut. Back windows and doors open, but with curtains/blinds. High ceilings and old, so not terribly thermal efficient.

Is fab.

Our bedroom is in loft though and is like a furnace. Will go to bed tonight with cold wet flannels from the freezer and ice acts. With the fan on this will be bearable.

My house is lovely and cool because I’m fanatical about leaving windows and curtains shut. The breeze is too warm, you are just allowing warm air to enter if you leave windows open. If already too hot, wet your head and wear a damp t-shirt.

I bet everyone who was slagging off ceiling fans on that house thread a few weeks ago is eating their words now...

You need to create an updraft early in the morning. Open everything, so the warm air rising sucks in the cooler air. Then trap the cool air as much as poss. Keep the windows open in the shady side of the house.

Windows and curtains shut all day. We've taped cardboard to our velux windows as the dog sleeps upstairs on the landing and we haven't got blinds fitted yet. Windows open when the sun goes down until we go to bed and fans on. Our bedroom is on the ground floor at the front (north facing) so tends to stay cool. The kids rooms are hotter but they stay cool enough to sleep in if we do all he above. Thursday may be another matter!

Don’t shut them first thing. Have as many windows and doors open as you can overnight then fling them all open when you get up. Preferably by 6am. I eat my breakfast at the front door to let in a breeze. I also open all my kitchen drawers and cupboards to let out the heat trapped in them. Around 9 am I shut everything up. Windows, curtains, blinds and internal doors. We have black out blinds.

We live on high ground and we usually have a pretty brisk breeze bowing in off the Estuary. We moan because for 99% of the year it makes out garden chilly to sit in but on the odd very hot day it’s worth it’s weight in gold

First thing in a morning all windows are opened wide to let the cool air in, an hour or so later they are closed except for an inch wide opening to let the air circulate. All curtains and blinds are closed so the house is dark.

Pretty cool in my house in all rooms except the loft conversion which is currently 34 degrees. Unfortunately that is my home office so I am sat here in front of a large fan which just about makes it bearable.

I've got a big fan on which is on me, poorly dd and the dog. It's a life saver

When it gets dark (so air is cooler outside than in) face your fan at your open window. It seems counter-intuitive but my parents live in a hot country and swear by this.
Also, you can buy pet cooling pads (have a google) to put in dog beds -they work just as well for humans.

We open the loft hatch to allow the hot air to rise , not sure if it really works , but it makes us all feel better .

We have a west-east house, it's perfect on hot days like this as the sun shines across from one side so we have a sunny garden but the house doesn't get hot - there are no windows except the kitchen on that side.

Our house is cool downstairs, old house with thick stone walls. The upstairs bedrooms are dormer type, so right under the roof, and they can get warm. Last year we put solar window film on those windows and it's really made a difference.

Windows and curtains closed all day here too.
Currently 26C in our living room, way hotter outside.

Splashed out on a mobile air conditioning unit for the DCs’ room. Decided it’s a long term investment cos climate change is here to stay!

Absolutely keep the windows closed. You are only letting in the hot air! You don’t keep the windows open in the winter to keep it warm, right? When it cools off in the evening, then open the windows. You want to trap as much of that cool air as possible by closing the windows in the daytime.

I would go with curtains shut and windows open. As soon as sun goes round to the other side of the house, then curtains back open. Thick lined curtains are best but any curtains/blinds will help. It also helps when you can open windows quite far; sash windows are great if you can have the 2 sections covering each other and air coming in top an bottom. Fans won't make the room any cooler; they will just make you feel cooler if you are sitting in the vicinity of the fan.

Air conditioning.

Probably been said already but I'm married to a someone with qualifications in the field

Open windows at night only if outside is cooler. Close in day as soon as outside is warmer than in. Keep all inner doors and windows closed in day, curtains drawn esp on sunny side of house. Basically keep the heat out and cold in.

Fan helps circulate air. (I think also if blowing over cold pam of water.)

I think we need air con unit as our bedroom is in loft 😲