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!

Hot water bottle or gel ice pack, get it out the freezer before bed, use it for feet etc
Wring out a light scarf or t shirt in water before bed and drape it over you
Cooling pillow/mat, Amazon have them

I have a new build house, south facing - similar same set up although over 2 floors. In the summer it is unbearable and I feel your pain I did find last year that putting small fans on the window sills with the windows open seemed to suck a bit more of the cold air in. You need to try get a through breeze - windows open on all sides. It was awkward with the plug and I had to be careful it was safely positioned but I would blast the fan once the temperature outside started to drop and it helped a little bit. We spent the last heatwave sleeping on mattresses on the living room floor as the bedroom was 31 degrees. I feel like summer is just about surviving the heat! and I really look forward to autumn. I have tried blackout blinds, but it blocks any airflow too and so I'm sure sure how much cooler it makes things. I'm desperate for an air con but also can't afford one this year and I don't know where I would store it. It makes me cross that they build houses that can't withstand the heat and sadly it is likely to get much worse. I am wondering if a dehumidifier might be helpful as removing some of the humidity can make heat more tolerable? But I need to look into this further. They are cheaper than air cons though... and useful for drying washing... maybe somebody has experience of this?

Exterior shutters. Don't let sunlight hit the glass, and you'll find it's a hell of a lot cooler indoors.

Tips from our place out in Spain. We are in the hottest bit.

Cook outside when it's hot ( slow cooker, microwave, electric grill, whatever plugged in outside).

Ceiling fans in the bedroom. Much cheaper than aircon to install and run. We do have aircon too and won't hesitate to use it when necessary, but in fact running the fan overnight and just sleeping under a sheet is the most comfortable. The aircon can get a bit much. Just get a simple white fan to blend into your ceiling as much as possible. It doesn't need to be massive.

Manage your air flows. Let cool air into the house in the early morning (coolest time of the day is about 6am), then as soon as it starts to warm up shut all the windows and draw the curtains on the sunny side of the house. Keep the heat out, just as you would keep the cold out in winter. Do not fall into the fallacy that opening the windows in the hot part of the day will magically create a breeze!

Any shade you can lend your house against the sun will be very helpful. As well as planting etc for long term effect, don't be afraid to use parasols outside windows, trap a cloth outside to hang over them etc. Prizes for inventiveness! Just keep it out. You could consider having awnings installed over the south facing windows when you can afford it.

Good luck. 😊

PS also the aircoolers that you fill with water can be very effective and not too expensive. I use one here in the UK in a warm bedroom with a velux window.

For immediate (well almost) relief...cool towels from !mazon and other outlets are nothing short of miraculous.. just rinse in cold water. Snap the towel and drape over shoulders and neck.. Bliss...
Just while you are waiting/saving for the air con!!

Solar/heat reflective window film. We had it on the windows when I was in primary school 30 yrs ago, as the classrooms on one side got very hot.
Something like this NB this site is a random google of an example, not a recommendation
www.abodewindowfilms.co.uk/product-category/solar-control-window-film/

Another vote for all curtains closed and all windows shut during the day. When it's cooler outside (eg late evening) open everything up.

Trick I learnt one very very hot holiday in Greece. At night, lie on your back in bed, no clothes, with a cold wet flannel on your chest (covering where your heart is too). Heat will evaporate. Trust me. It really works 😊

I feel your pain. My bedroom is in the loft. Only one side opens so no airflow. Sometimes I sleep downstairs but I don't sleep well on the floor either. At least I have the option to do so as the rest of the house is a bit cooler.
When I lived in Spain with no aircon I used to wet a sheet and wring it out to put over me.

I also go to sleep in a wet nightshirt. Really helps.

Regarding an earlier poster and dehumidifiers.

Yes, I have one in the UK and one in Spain and they are brilliant. If it is really humid heat then they will help with comfort, (but that's not primarily why I have them). Superb for damp weather and easing aching bones, and yes, drying washing in the winter! 😄👍🏻

You need to stop sunshine hitting the glass completely - curtains/blinds help a bit but the glass is still getting hot and that heat is still being absorbed into the house

You need an awning attach to outside the house over every window windows sloping downwards a bit to keep sun off the glass. You can buy them but you could also build your own fairly easily (if a little less stylish) - an opaque fabric attached to the wall above the window, use ropes to peg it out onto the ground.

Upstairs windows are a little harder to do DIY....
External shutter will also work if you want to spend on those - could get shutters upstairs and do a cheaper DIY option downstairs if money is tight.

Don't cook hot food when it's that hot. I find that microwaving is OK, but not standing by the cooker.

We e got one of those fans with a water reservoir. We put water and ice in there and it really works at bringing the temp down. You can get them from Amazon for I think £90

Everyone has made lots of great suggestions already but for something minor and cheap I found this cool pillow thing great when a combination of post partum night sweats and heatwave was making sleeping impossible a couple of years ago.

Oops forgot link www.jmldirect.com/chillmax-pillow-cooling-gel-insert-for-all-pillows

@ColdandFrosty1

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 😭

You can’t beat a dyson fan.

Where do you live OP?

not this one but it’s similar

homedecorbliss.com/how-to-block-heat-from-windows-4-easy-ways/

Some really good tips here for homes that have windows in direct sunlight. I feel your pain, I hate being too hot, it's the worst form of torture to me.

Just realized it is all on one level - no upstairs windows to worry about - DIY awnings would be a quick and cheap fix. Keep that sun OFF THE GLASS.

Worth checking roof insulation too. Insulation keeps heat out as well as in.

Longer term, plant some trees and shrubs around the house.

Have a cool humidifier in bedroom (left over from baby days)

Cooling pads from jml

Open your window and face the fan towards the window not towards the room. Rooms get much cooler this way

During the day if you are wfh sit with your bare feet in a washing up bowl full of cold water.

Get up at 6am and prop open your door and open all curtains and windows. Ou need a draft blowing through if possible. When the warm sun arrives, shut the blinds/curtains. Hand an extra drape if you can still feel heat radiating through the curtains. Just a few towels or sheets can help block a lot of heat when hung behind the curtains

If the sun is on your door, hang an old white sheet or duvet behind it (inside) to reflect the heat away and throw shad

Put a bowl of water with ice in it, in front of any fans you have. It is supposed to slightly chill the air being circulated.

Freeze some damp flannels for a quick daytime refresh and put a damp sheet in the fridge an hour before bed to lay over yourself.

Our cheap aircon unit was £300 and chills out little home office. It's bliss.