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!

@Phyllis321

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.

Second this for getting to sleep if that’s a problem. A long time ago, in Portugal in a heat wave with no air-con, the only way we got to sleep at night was after swimming in the non-heated pool until our body temperature was reduced a bit.

www.screwfix.com/c/heating-plumbing/air-conditioning/cat840494

Screwfix have an air cooler for £60 it's like a fan but you add water and ice

@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.

Thank you, I hadn't thought about an air purifier!

I absolutely feel your pain, we get the sun from 12pm til sundown on the back of the house and it's literally like a sauna! We've come to exactly the conclusion mentioned by PP's, we need to stop the sun hitting the glass as that's what heats up the house, exactly like a greenhouse. DH is (very slowly) building a sort of lean-to type arrangement right across the back of the house so it shades the windows and back door which I'm praying does the trick. Off to look for the heat resistant film someone mentioned now as still need to do something with the upstairs windows! Oh and cooking-wise we're living on salad and meat we can chuck on the George Foreman grill because it doesn't throw out heat like the cooker

@Applesandpears23

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.

All really good tips, thank you! I'm already walking around pretty much half naked which isn't a pretty sight

I live inland in southern Spain. Last weekend it was 41 degrees. We have no air con. The secret is to close all the windows in the morning and use blinds /shutters/curtains to stop the light getting in. Keep everything as dark as possible. When the outside temperature is cooler than indoors in the evening, open the windows to let the cool air in.
Big fans don't really work if the air is hot, they just move hot air around. If you can keep the house cool and dark in the day time then fans are helpful but they can't cool the air.
Ceiling fans are good if you are keeping windows closed during the day and opening up at night.

Has anyone got the Dyson fan that cools in summer but also heats up a room in winter ?

@Hopeisnotastrategy

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. 😊

Thank you so much! Unfortunately i don't have a garden otherwise I'd just spend my days out there under an umberella and wouldn't moan at all

The most important thing is to keep the windows closed and shaded /shuttered until the outside temperature is cooler than inside. Otherwise you just make your house the same temperature as outside.

Attach a bottle of ice to a fan. Google instructions. I'm not mad, honestly!

@KarmaStar

Which one have you got?

@Gwenhwyfar

Where do you live OP?

Without being too outing, South Wales 🙈 I've always really struggled with heat and the sun, I'm very pale and light and always seem to become really agitated when I'm hot! I used to dream family holiday to Egypt, Turkey etc. Most of my family are dark haired with olive skin so don't struggle. The funny thing is is i love it when the sun is out, I love how everything looks and it makes me feel so happy!

dread

The best thing you can do OP is to stop the sun hitting the windows. It's a bit of an investment but if you buy awnings that stop the sun hitting the glass during the hottest part of the day then you'll really notice the difference. The type you want depends on the construction of your house. I've attached some pics here - the glass ones arent correct as they are for rain, but they do something similar in mesh for sun.

You can get solar reflective film for your windows, which will reflective heat and light. It’s quite easy to stick on yourself.

Funnily enough dh spotted them in Lidl of all places, we started with putting them in the rooms which caught the most sun in the morning. They worked an absolute treat, so he went back and bought 8 boxes so has now done the whole house!

You can also get them online from Amazon and other companies. If you just start off doing one and see if it works, it definitely did for us!

When I was a wee thing in Queensland summer with no aircon, my mother would always put bowls of water full of ice right in front of a fan, which basically creates a heat exchange effect so instead of moving hot air around, you’re getting cool air. She also put a damp (not dripping) tea towel or muslin over the fan though I think the water works better.

I’m not sure whether you can do any outdoor improvements such as shade or awnings or shutters? I always think shutters make such a difference but of course they’re ££.

Thank you guys, I own the house but its also leashold so I'm assuming i won't be able to do things like the awnings as it counts as doing something to the structure of the building? I'll have to check the contract! So far the best ideas sound like the air con, films/blinds for windows and the fan with ice water! I'll be giving each one a go during the summer so fingers crossed i find something!

Ceiling fans have worked well for us - have one in the lounge & one on the landing.

Also - we have one of those Dyson Air/Heat units at work - can confirm it is very good but expensive.

I assume you have to go out shopping or for some other reason each day. Perhaps the timing of when, assuming you go into air-conditioned shops (or ones with fridges) may help.

Try a bowl of ice in front of the fan

I used to work somewhere very hot and they installed an aircon in my room, which I controlled: I think it was around £180 but I am sorry I do not know how much it was to run. I have also heard that putting iced water behind a fan was helpful, but I was too fearful of electricity and water combined with my own clumsiness to try it.

Gazebos positioned right outside the windows are temporary structures and would block the sun from hitting the glass. You'd probably only need them up a few weeks a year

Open the loft hatch if you have one

@LadyEloise yes, we have one in my loft office at work. The warm air is like running a hairdryer-great until you turn it off, then cold again quickly. Also whilst on it drys out your eyeballs!

On the cool setting, like most fans it just circulates air, so if the air is already warm it's just a tool for blowing all the stuff off your desk.

Order something like these. Wrap one around your upper arm and one on the opposite thigh. It's cool you down enough.to be able to sleep.

www.amazon.co.uk/Koolpak-Luxury-Reusable-Cold-Holster/dp/B06XZPXDFB/ref=zg_bs_2826694031_11?psc=1&_encoding=UTF8&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&refRID=YN4M2E9YMH2NMDP6ZEBX