It's too hot to sleep so I made my own DIY air conditioner for just £1 & it cools down the whole room in seconds
THERE'S nothing worse than trying to fall asleep in a hot and stuffy room.
However, a simple hack may be able to help, keeping you cool and refreshed throughout the night.
Since most UK households don't have air conditioning, many resort to using fans or other gadgets in the warm weather.
However, fans only help to cool down your body temperature, not the temperature of the room.
If you want to elevate this and feeling an instant cooling effect, a simple step can help.
The official TikTok account for Iceland Foods shared a handy hack for creating a DIY air conditioner in your home.
"Is anyone else finding it impossible to sleep at night in this heat?" they asked.
The Iceland Foods rep told TikTok users to try a "viral DIY air con hack" using thieir fans "for a much-needed gust of ice-cool air".
They revealed that three simple steps can be taken to transform your fan into a "homemade air con".
First, the home experts recommended placing a handful of ice cubes in a bowl.
They then placed the bowl in front of their fan and turned it on.
According to the TikTok video, this will help you to "stay cool" in the summer heat.
And it won't cost you much, a 2kg bag of ice will set you back just £1 while the cost of running your fan overnight can be broken down with a simple step.
Is this self-cooling can the future for Coke and beer?
This trick works creating a localised cooling effect, similar to a personal air cooler.
According to experts, ice absorbs heat from the surrounding air as it melts.
This is why placing ice in front of a fan can help to lower the air temperature.
The fan then helps to circulate the cooled air, ensuring that the cooling effect isn't limited to just the area directly around the ice.
And while this hack have the same effect as an actual AC unit, it can provide a noticeable and refreshing breeze in the immediate area.
How to keep cool in hot weather
Most of us welcome hot weather, but when it's too hot, there are health risks. Here are three ways to keep cool according to the NHS...
Keep out of the heat if you can.
If you have to go outside, stay in the shade especially between 11am and 3pm, wear sunscreen, a hat and light clothes, and avoid exercise or activity that makes you hotter.
Cool yourself down.
Have cold food and drinks, avoid alcohol, caffeine and hot drinks, and have a cool shower or put cool water on your skin or clothes.
Keep your living space cool.
Close windows during the day and open them at night when the temperature outside has gone down. Electric fans can help if the temperature is below 35 degrees. Check the temperature of rooms, especially where people at higher risk live and sleep.
It is also more cost-effective than running an air conditioning unit.
However, it is also worth noting that this method can increase the humidity in your room.
And a doctor has revealed the exact time to shower to keep cool in the hot weather.
Plus, six methods for keeping cool in the hot summer conditions, including repurposing your hot water bottle.
Or there are savvy steps you can take to keep your space cool without breaking the budget.
2
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
12 minutes ago
- The Independent
Putting cancer warnings on alcohol would help me drink less
Back in the early noughties, the indoor smoking ban led to an outcry over 'the nanny state'. The same happened when cigarette advertising was banned, and when manufacturers were required to plaster packs with images of diseased lungs. Yet over the past 40 years, according to Cancer Research, lung cancer rates in men have dropped by around 60 per cent. We may think we crave the rugged freedoms of the Marlboro Man, but given the facts, it turns out we don't actually want to die. And yet when it comes to alcohol, one of the world's biggest killers, a key driver of cancers, heart disease, strokes and obesity, there are no images of rotting livers on the chilled Sauvignon. The presentation of booze in the supermarket aisles is as benign as kitchen roll and chicken pie. It's described on restaurant menus with biblical reverence, it's advertised on TV in a hazy, golden-hour glow, and every other greetings card carries a hilarious reference to the booze-addled nature of the recipient. It is both normalised and celebrated, despite being the fifth greatest risk factor for death in the UK. Now, a group of major medical and health organisations have signed a letter to the Prime Minister calling for alcohol to carry explicit warnings that its consumption can cause cancer. The World Cancer Research Fund, which spearheaded the letter, cited 'shockingly low' public awareness that alcohol raises the risk of seven types of cancer – these being breast, bowel, stomach, head, neck, liver and mouth – and insisted that 'bold and unambiguous labelling' is urgently need to help save lives. Token efforts have long been made by the industry to toe a wavering line of responsibility – the number of units a bottle of wine contains written in a font the size of a gnat's IKEA instructions, or a glancing mention that pregnant women shouldn't drink. According to the Advertising Standards Authority, 'Lively, but responsible, social interaction or party scenes with alcohol present are allowed but…no behaviour may be adolescent or childish.' If only that diktat held true in real-life 'party scenes.' Initially, like much of Gen X and our wine-necking Boomer parents, I was resistant to the idea of cancer warnings. If I wanted to slowly kill myself in a responsible and socially acceptable manner, I felt it should be my choice to do so. But after another night of drinking slightly too much with friends, waking bathed in shame and a light prosecco sweat, I reconsidered. Women, particularly, are at risk of harm from alcohol, simply because we're smaller. If every time I picked up the wine bottle to top up my glass – over a healthy dinner! So civilised! – it reminded me that I was increasing my risk of cancer, I suspect I might put it back down. Humans like to ignore the dangers when it's something we want to do until it becomes impossible to turn a blind eye. But this time, it's not so much the consumers resisting warnings as the enormously powerful drinks industry. It's already up against Gen Z's wellbeing crusade, with a tsunami of kumbucha and kefir washing away the old-school shots and spirits from nights out. The risk of drinkers murmuring, 'Actually, I don't think I do want seven types of cancer' and switching the kettle on instead is a step too far. A spokesperson for the Portman Group, which oversees UK alcohol labelling in the UK, says: 'Whilst we do not dispute the link between alcohol and certain cancers… blanket cancer warning labels…can create unnecessary anxiety, eroding trust in health advice and alienating the very people who require support.' As an argument, this is weaker than a sixth-form debating point scribbled on the bus. Imagine the motor industry saying, 'Road signs create unnecessary anxiety. Let's not warn people that they might crash, lest we alienate drivers.' The spokesperson added that most alcohol products already include advice to limit drinking to 14 units a week, and claimed that 'most people drink within guidelines.' According to NHS Digital, however, 24 per cent of Brits drink more than this, while the charity Drinkaware has found that 32 per cent of men and 15 per cent of women regularly sink more than the recommended limit – and it is a limit, not a target. Doctors repeatedly warn that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption, and in April, the World Health Organisation advised that women should drink no alcohol at all to avoid a heightened risk of breast cancer. I'm aware that even reading this is annoying. I share the general British resentment over finger-wagging admonishments from the Fun Police. I want to say, 'You'll prise my Picpoul from my cold, dead hand.' The only thing is, I'd rather not be cold and dead – and I'm increasingly convinced that warning labels can only be a good thing. Although, of course, we must be careful how we approach this new regime. After all, we wouldn't want to alienate anybody.
BBC News
18 minutes ago
- BBC News
Update on Guildford paddling pool plagued by problems
The public paddling pool in Guildford's Stoke Park is no stranger to opened a month late last year because of staff sickness and in 2022 was forced to shut just days after a £141,000 refurbishment because parents said its floor was too slippery for the pool is once again more than a month late to open as engineers try to balance the chlorine levels, and are yet to determine what is causing the asked how much the ongoing work is costing the taxpayer, the leader of Guildford Borough Council was unable to answer. So what exactly is going on at Stoke Park and what needs to happen for the pool to reopen? Respiratory problems Council leader Julia McShane told BBC Radio Surrey that the current high levels of chlorine in the water could be a public health said it would particularly affect vulnerable people and might lead to skin or eye irritation as well as stomach and breathing problems."We don't want to be causing people those issues to their health," she said. "I can reassure people that the teams are working incredibly hard with experts to try to find out what the problem is and to resolve this as quickly as possible so we can get this pool open again."But with temperatures in Guildford set to hit 32C on Monday, many families have been left feeling frustrated."It doesn't seem like they can get it right on anything really, it's a real shame that it's like that again, we had a lovely summer here last year once it was sorted," one parent told us: "We're all sad because we used it last year and it was lovely, a lot of people enjoyed being there, but unfortunately it's not open." What happens now? Ms McShane said it would not be fair to give a reopening date to the public as a timeframe for repairs is not yet clear, but she did say work would continue from next week."The team are going to empty the pool again, flush it through, fill it back up again, probably try a different chemical treatment and then test it again," she said."When we're absolutely certain that the pool is safe to use, then we'll reopen."And how much is this all costing?Ms McShane was unable to give a figure and the council did not provide us with one either when we followed it for now, families will just have to keep their fingers crossed and hope the sun is still around when the pool eventually reopens.
BBC News
18 minutes ago
- BBC News
Parents of Orlando Davis welcome national maternity inquiry
The parents of a baby who died as a result of hospital negligence have said a national inquiry into maternity services will "unravel a huge wider picture" of injury and midwife Robyn Davis and her husband Jonathan, from Steyning, West Sussex, lost their son Orlando 14 days after he was born by emergency caesarean at Worthing Hospital in September Health Secretary Wes Streeting announced an investigation into maternity failings in England, the couple said: "Unfortunately, this is happening everywhere."University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust's chief medical officer Prof Katie Urch, said it was "fully supporting this investigation to help improve maternity care". An inquest into Orlando's death found he had suffered brain damage after clinicians failed to recognise that Mrs Davis had developed hyponatremia - a lower than normal level of sodium in the bloodstream - during couple told the BBC they were told by University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust that their case was "really rare".But, after speaking to other families, they discovered "this was not the case whatsoever". "We've very quickly found that, of course, there are multiple families that are not only going through baby loss, they're going through birth injuries, they're going through birth trauma," said couple said they hoped for a wider public inquiry, adding that they wanted to see real change."How many times do we find ourselves hearing of a maternity issue – children dying, mums passing or almost passing or being left with lifelong injuries," said Jonathan."[Then] it happens again."Improvements are also needed in how regulatory organisations support families looking for answers, he said, adding that the process felt like "an endurance race"."Robyn was a midwife at Worthing Hospital... so what chance does a normal member of the public have?" he said. 'Immense courage' Nicola Wise, the Care Quality Commission's director of secondary and specialist care, said: "Safe, high-quality maternity care for all should be the minimum expectation for women and babies – and is what staff working in maternity services across the country want to provide."The Nursing and Midwifery Council's interim chief executive and registrar, Paul Rees MBE, said: "It is vital that when people raise concerns with us, their experience is as positive and supportive as possible. We are working to improve both the timeliness of our investigations and the experience for everyone involved."A General Medical Council spokesperson said: "We take our responsibility extremely seriously and will investigate when there is evidence that indicates a doctor's current fitness to practise could be impaired."UH Sussex's chief medical officer, Prof Katie Urch, said bereaved families "have shown immense courage in sharing their experiences and we remain committed to listening to and learning from them".
