The Met Office has announced that a third heatwave is set to sweep across much of the UK in July.

While it is not anticipated to match the sweltering temperatures of the June heatwave, many people may still find themselves turning to potentially unsafe hacks and tricks in an attempt to stay cool.

The forthcoming heatwave is expected to be concentrated across southern parts of the UK, with temperatures peaking at 34C to 35C.

The Met Office has cautioned that the hot and dry conditions could persist for several days, leaving many facing a string of restless, sweltering nights.

While England and Wales will bear the brunt of the heat, the warm conditions are also forecast to stretch as far as parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland, where temperatures are expected to reach the upper 20s.

Throughout the previous two heatwaves, social media was awash with budget-friendly tips for keeping cool without air conditioning. However, experts have warned that not all of these seemingly harmless suggestions are without risk, as some could pose a threat to your home, health, and even your insurance.

Window opening times

Numerous reports have advised people to keep their windows shut during the hottest part of the day to prevent heat from entering the home, yet some have taken this to mean leaving windows open throughout the night. While this may generate a pleasant breeze to aid sleep, it also poses a significant security hazard.

Go.Compare’s home insurance expert Tamzin Metcalfe cautioned: “One of TikTok‘s most common heatwave hacks, with hundreds of thousands of views, presents a genuine insurance risk.

“Leaving a window or door open overnight to help bring a breeze inside might help to keep your rooms cool, but if a burglar enters your property through an open door, any claim you try to make on your insurance will probably be rejected.”

Overnight fans

Should windows need to remain shut throughout the night, some people may resort to indoor fans and similar devices to maintain comfort while sleeping, though this too carries considerable health risks.

Product Safety Engineer of Electrical Safety First, Giuseppe Capanna, stated: “Households are putting themselves at risk if a fault occurs with their device while they are sleeping.

“We advise turning your fan off before going to sleep. However, we understand many people will be tempted to keep it on and in this instance, we urge households to ensure they have working smoke alarms in their property.”

‘Portable AC’ hack

A widely shared TikTok tip involves creating a ‘portable AC’ by attaching wet or frozen towels and ice bags to fans, ensuring the circulated air feels considerably cooler.

Capanna cautioned against this so-called ‘hack’, warning: “Both of these could leave you at serious risk of electric shock, as water risks coming into contact with the motor. We advise everyone to ignore these videos that can garner hundreds of thousands of views.”

Draping ice or damp towels over your fan can also trigger mechanical problems should the items become entangled in the blades, or if the added weight causes the fan to tip over.

So, in your bid to replicate air conditioning, you could find yourself left with nothing more than a broken fan during the height of a heatwave.

Another sweltering heatwave is sweeping across Britain, with temperatures set to hit 36 degrees in some areas today, Thursday. According to the Met Office, parts of the UK could see 35 to 36 degrees today and tomorrow, with high temperatures to continue into the weekend. With the hot weather set to continue into the weekend, many people will be looking for any way they can keep themselves and their homes cool.

Shoppers have been snapping up fans and air conditioners, while others have been resorting to some DIY hacks to keep the worst of the heat away. Now one social media user has explained a simple way to keep the heat out of your home, which will be familiar to anyone who’s visited Europe. The trick was posted on TikTok by BAM_Renovate.

Explaining the first thing to do to cool your home down, the man in the clip said: “As early as possible in the morning, open up all your windows and doors in your home. It will be cooler outside, so you’re purging all the hot, stale air from inside your home and inviting the cool, fresh air in.

“Then you want to lock that air in your home. Shut all your windows and doors. Seems counterintuitive, but when you shut all your windows and doors, you insulate and stop that cool air escaping.

“When the outside temperature gets hotter than the inside temperature, it will transfer in, or the cool air will flush out. You want to keep that cool air in. Shut all your curtains and blinds if you can, especially if your windows get sunlight, because you’re going to try and stop that heat transferring through the window.”

He added a common practice in many parts of Europe, where many homes have shutters on the outside of windows, is an even better way of keeping hot air out of the home. “If you’ve got curtains on the inside, the Sun’s radiation is going to transfer through the glass into your curtain,” he said.

“That’s essentially going to heat the curtain up and create a kind of radiator in your home. But if you can put it on the outside of your house, that heat doesn’t get through the glazing, keeping the heat outside.

“Top tip for this one, if you can get a light-coloured bed sheet or towel and hang it on the outside of your window – or an England flag, because of the World Cup – on the outside of your window, spaced off the glass, so it’s not touching the glass, that’s a gold standard.”

He said he had tried this with an ice cover for a car windshield, and it “did a great job”. He added using tin foil to do the same job is “a good option”, saying: “It’s gonna radiate and reflect that heat away from your window and not let it in your home.”

When will the heatwave end?

Thursday and Friday are expected to be the hottest days of the current heatwave, although it is likely to be hot over the weekend as well. The Met Office said: “Saturday could see highs of 34 degrees in south west England and 33 degrees on Sunday, before a gradual trend down.”

Deputy Chief Forecaster Tom Crabtree added: “It won’t be a straightforward end to the warm weather. High pressure is expected to remain in charge through much of next week, but it will gradually migrate northwards. This means that an easterly wind will become established in the south, and the focus for the hottest conditions will migrate towards the south west.

“As a result, some places that have seen the highest temperatures during recent weeks will begin to cool. It will, however, remain very warm – especially in the south west – and heatwave thresholds may continue to be met in places. The overall signal is for continued fine, dry, and very warm weather at times for many parts of the UK into next week. There is, however, a chance of thunderstorms spreading into parts of the south and south west.”