With the UK enduring some of its hottest June nights on record, many people are turning to creative and sometimes unconventional methods to remain cool. While some rely on standard practices like keeping blackout curtains closed throughout the day, others are utilizing unique DIY hacks to find a reprieve from the intense heat.<\/p>\n
Bethan Earley, from Rugby, works to maintain a cooler home by taping foil blankets to the exterior of her windows before shutting them. She reports that while the home still warms up, the process takes significantly longer. John Turbefield, a 38-year-old from Chichester, has taken a similar approach by attaching white bed sheets to the outside of windows in the sunniest rooms. During the weekend, he also utilized survival blankets, which are designed to reflect heat, taping them to window frames to deflect light. Additionally, Turbefield has been freezing two-litre plastic water bottles to place in front of his five household fans, though he cautions that the large bottles require a couple of days to freeze completely.<\/p>\n
The UK Health Security Agency recommends that residents open windows only when the external air is cooler than the indoor temperature and suggests powering down non-essential electronics, such as chargers, televisions, and laptops, which can generate extra heat. For those like 39-year-old Stephanie Reed from Chorley, managing the heat is a health priority as it triggers her epilepsy. She places a wet hand towel at the end of her bed and sleeps with her feet on it to help regulate her body temperature. She also freezes her seven-year-old daughter’s bed sheet for thirty minutes before sleep, ensuring it is cool enough to help the child settle into bed.<\/p>\n
Gordon Cooper, 73, from High Wycombe, has been hanging a wet bath towel in his room near a fan to cool the air. Meanwhile, others are changing where they sleep to escape the heat. Anabelle Holschuh, a 30-year-old from London, previously resorted to sleeping on a hallway floor but now prefers her north-facing living room sofa, which benefits from high ceilings. In Bradford, 29-year-old Aimie Ludgate has stopped using her oven or hob, instead opting to use an air fryer for tasks like boiling eggs or cooking steak. She also freezes large water bottles to take to work.<\/p>\n
Dietitian Kate Hilton advises consuming iced water and hydrating foods such as tomatoes, cucumbers, melon, berries, peaches, and citrus fruits. She notes that smoothies or fruit juice can be frozen into ice pops for children. Hilton warns against excessive caffeine or alcohol intake, noting they can be dehydrating; she recommends drinking alcohol in moderation and alternating it with other fluids, as non-alcoholic liquids contribute to hydration.<\/p>\n
Many are adapting their working environments to stay cool. Oren Brown, 27, of County Durham, has moved his workspace from a stifling upstairs office to the downstairs area. Similarly, Gillian Cooley from Peterborough has set up her office in her bedroom, which she identifies as the coolest room, and shifted her work hours to the evening. For fashion, 31-year-old Jess Jepson from Manchester recommends loose, light-colored clothing and wearing hair up in a claw clip. Stylist Chantelle Znideric suggests natural fibers like linen and cotton for their breathability, advising against synthetic fabrics. She also recommends wide-brimmed hats over baseball caps for better coverage.<\/p>\n
Pet owners are also adjusting their routines. Annie Smith, 27, from St Albans, walks her two dachshunds before 8am or 9am, relying on indoor enrichment thereafter. She has purchased cooling vests for the dogs and keeps their wet food in the fridge. Annie also completes her household chores by 10am to remain stationary and cool for the rest of the day. Meanwhile, 55-year-old Helena Kandzialka has been spending time outside in the shade to take advantage of the breeze, while avoiding unnecessary car travel.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As the UK faces some of its hottest June nights, residents are sharing their unique and practical DIY strategies to manage the stifling temperatures.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":696,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[106],"tags":[272,155,273,274,271],"class_list":["post-695","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-other","tag-diy-hacks","tag-heatwave","tag-staying-cool","tag-summer-health","tag-uk-weather"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fastblogtheme.com\/pressnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/695","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fastblogtheme.com\/pressnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fastblogtheme.com\/pressnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fastblogtheme.com\/pressnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=695"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fastblogtheme.com\/pressnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/695\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fastblogtheme.com\/pressnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/696"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fastblogtheme.com\/pressnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=695"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fastblogtheme.com\/pressnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=695"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fastblogtheme.com\/pressnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=695"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}