Can't stand the heat in my house anymore, any advice please I'm desperate!

[ColdandFrosty1]

Shameless posting for traffic sorry!

My house is ridiculously hot in this weather (currently at 29 degrees) and I honestly can't stand it anymore and have no idea if I can cope throughout the summer! It's all on one floor with open plan living/dining and 2 bedrooms. There is no shade anywhere from near by trees. The sun rises and shines directly into one side of the house and then from the afternoon it shines directly into the other side of the house leaving it all boiling. There are no big houses or buildings that can provide shade.

Fans do nothing but blow the hot air around and same with the windows (unless There is a nice breeze). I've tried white and black black out blinds which only helps a little. My front door is boiling hot to touch.

This must seem so trivial to most people but I'm spending these hot days miserable and uncomfortable and have been contemplating living elsewhere in the summer. Cooking dinner is hard with the extra heat as is running my sons bath, its making me angry and irritable too

Any tips would be appreciated so so much!

We bought an aircon unit - just a small one. Having one room cool makes the rest bearable. The small ones are noisy but surprisingly effective. It was about £400 but I have not regretted it for one second. Otherwise I wouldn’t be able to sleep at all. I know not everyone can do this but if you can then I recommend.

I suffer with the heat too. I keep all curtains closed constantly and live in a cave all summer lol. It's darker but much cooler. This year I'm going to try one of those air conditioning units. I hear that they're really good. A bit pricey but if you can afford it, try one.

Yes agree with pp, sadly the only solution is an air con unit. They really work though. Worth the (significant) investment many times over.

Definitely buy a couple of air con units. One goes in a bedroom and you all share the one room for a few nights and the other in the main living space.

You need a wet tea towel!

Get a small towel, wet and wring with cold water, hang around your neck, on your tum, under your boob (anywhere that is too hot)

Sit or lie in front of fan - bliss!

And much cheaper than air con!

Try an air purifier,I bought one with a filter and within two hours the room was freezing in the middle of a heatwave.it's portable within the home.
It cost about eighty pounds.
Or try I've by your fan?
I hope you find some respite soon.

Thank you for the suggestions so far!! I wouldn't be able to afford an air con unit especially for the rest of this summer but could probably save for one for later on! Are the more expensive fans any better thank the cheap ones? Why didnt i think of this when I was buying, I feel so silly 😭

Have a lukewarm shower and leave yourself sopping wet, including hair. Cools me right down. I also sleep in a wet nightshirt - but of a shock putting it on but it really pulls the heat from your skin as it dries.

Definitely air con! Before we had air con, many years ago, we used to open our loft hatch overnight. It helped but was slightly unsightly!

Very cold water on wrists does help.

It doesn't sound trivial at all. That sounds really uncomfortable.

We have a portable air conditioning unit. We cheaped out and got a second hand one and it's enormous and noisy as hell but it does an amazing job of getting a room cold quickly.

Isn't there blinds that can reflect the sun /heat? Do you have these?

Open all the windows at night to cool the house as much as possible. Then when you wake up shut all the windows and close the curtains on the side of the house facing the sun. If possible put up black out blinds or tin foil covering those windows too. Once the sun passes to the other side of the house shut all those curtains and open the other side. Don’t open any windows unless the air temp inside is above the air temperature outside. Put a bowl of iced water in front of your fan. Wear as few clothes as possible and lightly wet as much of your skin as possible from time to time. Water spray over yourself helps too. Drink lots of water, ideally from a jug in the fridge. I hope some of that helps.

Keep the blinds / windows on the sunny side shut and open the other side, when the sun moves round swap over and get an air con unit

Keep the curtains closed on the sunny side and the windows open on the shady side. Cool shower plus refrigerated drinks, running the cold tap on wrists and ankles, a spray bottle of cool water, and cool damp muslins, if you have long hair tie it up off your neck.

We have one of those big floor fans, got it in B&Q a couple of years ago and cost me about £40 but I was desperate as we were roasting and it's amazing. DC love tilting it to point to the ceiling and blowing their socks around though

X posted!

Blinds closed when the sun is directly shining on them, keep those windows closed in the day too, and then open them from about 5pm when it’s starting to cool a little. Get that air flowing through when it’s cooler, not when it’s hot.

Loft hatch open at the same time as the windows if you have one.

Cheap fans work as well as expensive ones. I always have a cloth or flannel with cool water to put on me before bed.

We tend to just bbq when it’s like this. DH is Aussie so this is the one thing I completely trust him on

You have to keep the windows and blinds/curtains shut all day. Once the air temp drops in the evening you can open the windows. Basically make sure the bedrooms (and living if you can) are in pitch black all day with windows shut. They won’t heat up.

It really works.

We have the same issue, made worse by wall to wall windows!

Windows open, curtains closed, then at night you open the curtains and let the breeze in.

Pop a bowl of ice behind the fan, it can't cool the room if it's just circulating warm air! You can get some that you put cold water/ice into a section of the fan and it then circulates the cold air and they work wonders, but are more expensive than the basic ones.

We've considered moving over it, it's horrendous to live in a greenhouse

@KarmaStar

Try an air purifier,I bought one with a filter and within two hours the room was freezing in the middle of a heatwave.it's portable within the home. It cost about eighty pounds. Or try I've by your fan? I hope you find some respite soon.

Can I ask which one please ? This sounds great

The long term answer is insulation. Counter intuitive! My house is super insulated and never gets above 22 degrees, even with big south facing area, windows and door. We will all have this problem with climate change...

Evaporating water is very cooling. Wet a tea towel and hang it a few inches in front of your fan.

We've got one of these as a permanent installation
aircon247.mobile034.com/p/9500470/midea-ma-12nxd0-i-blanc-35kw-inverter-air-conditioner.html?gclid=CjwKCAjwlrqHBhByEiwAnLmYUJjaR1u5YZsWxRqCrU9LKVZbs8w4nZAhLxGk6e7jQ-58-OgCDv3nABoCvp8QAvD_BwE
It's twice the price of the freestanding units after taking account of installation costs (plumbed in through an external wall) but it's unobtrusive, low noise and rapidly makes the room freezing cold (plus it provides heat in winter).