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Original poster

Does anyone own a fan that actually cools a room?

37 replies

DemBonesDemBones · 20/07/2021 21:15

I'm currently getting my youngest off to sleep in the bottom bunk and I feel so sorry for the kids sleeping in here. It's so muggy!
I'd like to buy something to cool the room but I've always been under the impression that a fan just circulates the warm air. Has anyone got a fan that works and can link it for me?!

We can see this thread is a few years old so some of the suggestions may be out of stock, but we’ve recently updated our best tower fan and best pedestal fan pages if you’re looking for something to beat the heat this summer. We hope they help.
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OP posts:
TheRealMrsMorningstar · 20/07/2021 21:36

I'm currently sat here with a frozen 2 litre bottle of water in front of the fan and the room seems cooler than it has for a couple of days (could be psychological but I'm not currently feeling like I'm about to melt!).

Yummymummy2020 · 20/07/2021 21:38

I have heard the frozen water or box of Icecube’s trick too works really well! I have a dyson that’s a humidifier too and I find it very good but I know some people don’t find it good at all so I guess we got lucky that it helps us!!!

FizziWater · 20/07/2021 21:38

You need a portable air conditioner to actually cool the room. Fans will make you feel cool which is probably enough.

dudsville · 20/07/2021 21:40

It sounds like you want an air conditioner, but fans do cool you if you're sweaty. That's why in some countries fans are also misters.

HotPenguin · 20/07/2021 21:41

A fan won't cool the room but if you have cool air coming in the window it can help spread that about. You need to close all your windows and curtains in the morning, and keep the internal doors shut all day. That will help keep rooms cool. Then around now get all the windows open to let cooler air in.

user27424799642256 · 20/07/2021 21:42

Fans don't cool rooms, they cool your skin. Aircon cools rooms, but I think you might struggle to find anywhere with stock left right now!

If you position the fan in front of an open window it will bring in the air from outside. So in the evening when it's finally cooler outside that is useful, but not so much when it's hot outside!

TheSockMonster · 20/07/2021 21:42

Regular fans don’t cool a room, but instead create the right conditions for our bodies to cool themselves faster (sweat evaporation).

You can buy fans with built in ‘cooling’ functions that will help even more, or portable air conditioning units (large, expensive and noisy, but they will actually lower the room temperature)

I give the DC ice packs wrapped in tea towels to cuddle like reverse hot water bottles when it’s really hot. They help them to drop off to sleep. I’ve considered those pet cooling mats for under their sheets too!

Firstbornunicorn · 20/07/2021 21:43

Ceiling fans work well! Probably not much good for this summer, though. Maybe a good investment for next year.

TheBitterBoy · 20/07/2021 21:44

We have a Dyson tower fan. When DH bought it (with his bonus) I thought it was a waste of money for just a fan, but my goodness it is brilliant. So much better at making me feel cooler than any other fan I've had, cans so quiet on lower settings. They are pricey, but we have two now, they are saving me this week.

PlasticDinosaur · 20/07/2021 21:45

We have a million pound Dyson bladeless thing that vaguely pushes hot air your way and a £39.99 Screwfix industrial floor fan which is aggressively good. I've never needed to go past setting one. Can't hear the telly over it but I just don't care.

mineofuselessinformation · 20/07/2021 21:46

Put the fan near the window, with its back to the window. It will draw the cooler air in from outside.

TheBitterBoy · 20/07/2021 21:49

The thing with fans is they have to be pointing at you to cool you, which is why ceiling fans work well in bedrooms. You can't just stick a fan in a room and expect it to feel cooler.

BertieBotts · 20/07/2021 21:51

You don't want a fan, you want an air conditioner.

magicstar1 · 20/07/2021 21:52

We have a tower fan from Aldi which cools the room at night

RainbowStarsForever · 20/07/2021 21:56

I think when the room is hotter than the air outside you point a normal fan towards the window to move the cooler air inwards

Polkadotties · 20/07/2021 21:58

Yes a vornado, got it from Amazon. It defiantly cools the room down and doesn’t just move air around.

Polkadotties · 20/07/2021 21:58

Definitely Hmm

Justyouwaitandseeagain · 20/07/2021 22:02

I love our portable air conditioner unit. The only anxious first time parent buy that I have never regretted Wink

MrsPelligrinoPetrichor · 20/07/2021 22:05

I have a nice tower one from Screwfix and it's great by the bed.

Capricornandproud · 20/07/2021 22:06

Can anyone recommend a good air con unit? Willing to pay £££

Neondisco · 20/07/2021 22:06

We have 2 fans in our South facing house. I definitely think they cool the rooms they are in.

TheUnquestionedAnswer · 20/07/2021 22:07

I bough a High Velocity floor fan from The Range today - it is very powerful, quite noisy but really did cool the room, I haven't had it on long as my feet were freezing.

ThisIsStartingToBoreMe · 20/07/2021 22:08

I've had a couple of bog standard portable air conditioners over the years for around £300 from b and Q. They were both perfectly good I use them in the bedroom

isettled · 20/07/2021 22:18

We have a JML fan things that's actually really good, it's a small cube unit that doesn't take up much room. There's a filter you soak and freeze then fill a reservoir with cold water in the fan it's self. It cools the air and dropped our room temp by 8 degrees last night. It's a wee bit noisy but I have it on max while we get ready for bed then turn it down/off later on.