Because the temperatures rise, staying cool in our properties throughout a heatwave can develop into a problem.
That is particularly the case for those who don’t have one of many best smart air conditioners, or your AC has suddenly stopped blowing cold air.
And so it isn’t any marvel why many individuals are resorting to intelligent, DIY fan hacks in a bid to beat the heat without AC and maintain snug, particularly at evening.
Social media and TikTok movies are full of bizarre ideas and tips claiming to make a room really feel cooler, and gaining thousands and thousands of views.
Nonetheless, whereas there are easy ones such because the weird viral cooling fan hack of pointing your fan in the direction of the window, consultants reveal a trending, heatwave hack that it’s best to by no means do.
So if you wish to keep away from the danger of electrical shock, keep away from this ‘harmful’ cooling fan hack in any respect prices!
By no means put damp or frozen towels on high of followers
Sure, you heard proper — it’s a factor! Individuals on TikTok have truly been freezing their towels or draping damp towels on high of their electrical cooling followers.
The entire thought is to create a DIY AC unit from the fan producing chilled air into the room — somewhat than spending a fortune.
And whereas this may sound like a intelligent thought (in concept), consultants warn it is a harmful hack to be averted.
“Water and electrical energy don’t combine,” states Luke Osborne, technical director at Electrical Safety First. “Something that’s frozen will finally soften and a towel will doubtlessly drench your fan in water.
This water dangers not solely coming into contact with the motor however any surrounding plug sockets and can actually enhance the danger of an electrical shock. Very like different ineffective hacks, a frozen towel received’t supply sufficient vitality to chill down a room.”
One other hack that has gone viral is to connect frozen bottles of water to the again of followers to flow into cooler air round their room.
“This ‘hack’ just isn’t solely harmful however ineffective too,” provides Osborne.
“The frozen bottles of water will inevitably soften, creating condensation on the skin of the bottle. This can create water droplets that threat coming into contact with the motor of the fan, rising your threat of electrical shock.
You’re additionally including weight to your fan that it’s not designed to deal with, which can put pointless stress in your followers motor and threat damaging your gadget.
While chances are you’ll discover you get a number of seconds of reduction, this hack is pointless in that it received’t provide sufficient chilly air to cut back the temperature throughout a room.”
Prime ideas for cooling down a room
If you wish to be on the secure facet, there are different easy methods on how to cool down your living room without AC.
A simple (and free) technique is to rearrange furnishings away from the home windows to permit air to flow into extra freely all through the room. Or you’ll be able to create a cross-breeze by putting one fan going through inward on the facet the place cooler air is coming into, and one other going through outward on the alternative facet to push heat air out.
“Create a cross wind by opening home windows on reverse sides of the home, particularly within the evenings when the skin temperatures will probably be cooler.
Preserve your curtains and blinds closed through the day. Your first thought is likely to be to open the home windows, however in doing so, you’ll solely let the new air inside. Guaranteeing your room stays shaded may also help to maintain inside temperatures down.”