Expert shares clever towel tip to keep your home cool during a heatwave

With the UK on the brink of a heatwave and the Met Office issuing an ‘extreme heat’ warning for the North East, Brits will likely be trying everything they can to keep cool amid the soaring temperatures.

Unfortunately most UK houses are built to keep the heat in, and air conditioning is too expensive an option for many. But one laundry expert has shared a free alternative that can help beat the heat indoors using an item that you’re guaranteed to already have at home.

Deyan Dimitrov, founder of Laundryheap, has advised people to try out a “simple hack” which involves just a towel and some cold water. The method involves hanging wet towels up around windows and doors in the house, The Express reports.

READ MORE: Five amazing hot weather sleeping hacks to help you get your head down at night

Dimitrov explained: “The method allows trapped water to evaporate from the surface of the towels and cool the air flowing around your house. Since this hack can be fashioned out of existing household items, it’s a cheap and useful alternative for houses that don’t have access to air conditioning.”

Dipping your towels in cold water before hanging them up will help bring the temperature down inside by cooling the air that comes in through windows and doors, and works best in sunlit and breezy rooms to allow the water to evaporate faster. If a breeze is lacking then you can instead position the towels next to a fan.

Using light-coloured towels works best, as these will absorb less heat from the sun and stay cool for longer. Be sure to use clean towels so as not to fill the house with unpleasant smells - you can even add in a few drops of essential oils into your washing machine’s softener compartment to spread a nice scent around the house to boot.

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