A charity is warning against the use of a cooling hack that is going viral on TikTok due to risk of causing electric shocks.
When temperatures soar, I’m the first person willing to try anything to keep cool. If you don’t have one of the best fans or best portable air conditioners, stifling heat can soon become unbearable.
It can be tempting to search for a hack to try and beat the heat at little cost, but consumer safety charity, Electrical Safety First, is warning Brits to avoid a popular TikTok that involves placing frozen or damp towels on a fan due to increased risks of electric shocks.
The warning
Going viral on TikTok, the hack consists of freezing tea towels or bath towels, or even just wetting them with cold water, and placing the towel over the front of the fan.
The idea is that the fan has to blow air through the towel, which, being freezing cold, results in a blast of cold air. It sounds easy, cheap and effective, right? While you may get slight relief with colder air circulating around your room, experts say the dangerous risks of this cooling hack far outweigh any benefit.
‘Water and electricity don’t mix,’ says Luke Osborne, technical director at Electrical Safety First
Anything that is frozen will eventually melt, and a towel will potentially drench your fan in water. This water risks not only coming into contact with the motor but any surrounding plug sockets and will really increase the risk of an electric shock. Much like other ineffective hacks, a frozen towel won’t offer enough energy to cool down a room.’
Luckily, there are other cooling hacks you can try without combining electricity and water/ This loft cooling hack only requires you to open your loft hatch, while this fan positioning hack uses clever positioning and an open window to create a funnel of cool air.
Alternatively, you can invest in a misting fan such as the bestselling Shark Flexbreeze Hydrogo Misting Fan Fa050uk (currently £99.99 down from £129.99 at Shark). This clever fan has a 150ml water tank so it can provide you with a fine cooling mist as a steady supply and cold air, without getting any surfaces wet.
Stay cool
Affordable, lightweight and compact, energy efficient and easy to use, this is Ideal Home's best-rated portable air conditioner.
An oscillating fan distributes cold air more evenly around a room helping to cool it faster.
This clever fan wraps around your neck to provide instant relief from hot, humid conditions.
It can be tempting to try social media-approved hacks, especially when the heat is really getting to you, but if it involves using wet towels or water, it’s safe to say the hack is a big no-no.
