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!

You could fit window film to interior window panes. This is very effective and can reduce solar heat gain by up to 30%. We have used it at work and the difference is very noticeable.
It can be fitted yourself or professionally. Seach for Solar window film.

Ice packs in front of the fan help.

Thank you so so much everyone. I honestly don't trust myself with water near electric especially with a 3 year old! I will be looking at all the options that's been suggested as well as starting with the blinds suggestion!

Keep a few wet tea towels in the freezer and get some icepacks for the sofa.
How old is your son?
I fill ice-cream tubs with water and freeze them for my kids to play with (1-8) .
We couldn't afford the electricity for a fan so we just keep icepacks and ice everywhere when its boiling

Sorry if it's already been mentioned, I've only skimmed replies. We have a few cool pillows, I think they were about £5 from B&M. You're meant to slip them inside your pillow case but we sit on or against them/ put them on top of us. We also have one that's designed for pets as it was cheaper at the time, does the exact same job!

Our home is boiling in summer (south facing with lots of large windows), but it also means it's never cold in winter.

"Without being too outing, South Wales 🙈 I've always really struggled with heat and the sun"

OMG! I can't believe this is happening in south Wales. I used to live in Cardiff, which I would have presumed to be the hottest place there.
I had a fan, but never needed to take it out of its box because my flat was bearable even in the occasional heat wave.
I've seen people on MN complaining about the heat before and just assumed the south of England must be very different, but this hot in Wales!

@Gwenhwyfar I live maybe 10 miles from my parents. We both live in apartments but different styles/built in different years/face different directions etc. My apartment is colder than outside usually so on a hot day it was 19c. I messaged my dad and he replied with a pic, his place was 27c
Crazy how the buildings affect it, mine seems to be a haven of cold!

@househousehousefox when my children were little I used to freeze small plastic toys, a few coins etc in big tubs. You just fill it up with more water and toys a little every day in the freezer to spread the toys out. Then I gave them water cans and water guns (empty ketchup bottles are better than water guns) etc so they could melt the ice. Once I put some glitter in too. They loved it! 🙂❄️

*watering cans

Mini legofigures also work well to freeze..

I have this issue too and really struggle when it's so hot.

I've never read the advice to put an awning up before but it makes so much sense. I think I'm going to do this.

I also read a good article about house plants lowering the temperature indoors so that could be something to look into OP.

If you're looking at blinds, a study I read showed honeycomb blinds are best for temperature regulation

@Summerhillsquare

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...

I have to say we're planning our garden out at the moment and thinking about hotter summers and climate change and making sure we have plenty of shaded areas...

@sbhydrogen

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

If you can't afford that right now and are desperate you can tape some foil over the windows during the day

Wet windows, then smooth aluminium foil over the inside (the water will hold it in place even after it dries). Leave it up as much as you can and definitely when the sun is on that side of the house. Makes a big difference

Thanks for the thread and the tips!

I freeze hot water bottles and put them in my bed at night.
Definitely helps keep my body temperature down.

Lined curtains and blinds.use an old sheet pinned up if necessary

Make the outer layer white.

Open windows overnight is safe to do so or first thing in morning close windows when the inside is cold to trap in the cold air. Monitor temperature and open windows when the house heats up to get a through draught.

Close curtains on the sunny side.
Drink plenty of cool drinks
Cool baths
Wipe yourself over with a cool flannel. And use a fan. Put a frozen water bottle or cool pack in front of the fan.
If you are allowed hang a wet sheet over the outside of the windows,

Grow plants in your garden to provide shade

For teas, batch cook and have some dinners you can defrost in the fridge/microwave.

Top floor flat dweller. Flat got to 30 today.

Not allowed shutters, face south West no cool side as we only face one way.

These ideas are really great. My living room is 28 degrees right now and I feel so sick.

Ooooh I'm getting some interesting ideas from this thread, I'm really struggling in my flat. Rented and 2nd floor so I can't make changes or do anything outside windows. I'd never even heard of those cool towels or the cooler things, fans with water in. I'm going to see if I can get one! I'm only able to open one window in the flat so no cross-breeze or anything.