In case you hadn’t noticed — it is hot. Scorching, in fact. We’ve all struggled through this heatwave, and so have our properties. When summer hits in the UK, our buildings and our bodies are often ill-prepared for the hiking temperatures. So, Ferris & Co have scooped up a list of top summer tips to help your home survive the summer! Grab a notepad and a magnum, and read away.
How to sleep through the heat
Have you had some of the worst sleep of your year in the past fortnight? Tossing and turning with barely a dream in sight? Unfortunately, this is the same fate most people in the country are facing right now. Fortunately, we’re here to help!
Firstly, get rid of your duvet. Well, the filling at least — it takes seconds to gut your duvet and leave yourself with a light, thin, airy sheet that feels about half as stuffy as a full plump duvet. You’ll also do yourself a massive favour if you stay hydrated throughout the day; not only does water cool your inner body temperature down, but one of the main reasons we wake up in heat is due to a dehydrated body. Another way to cool your body temperature down before you sleep is by resting a cold flannel on your forehead: keep your head cool, and feel your body drift off to sleep.
Keeping the house cool
And what about the daytime? You’ve survived the furnace of your bed and now you have to face the rest of the house. We hear you, and there are some simple ways to keep the walls from melting around you…
A very direct fix is to buy the best fan you can find (and there really are some great ones out there), but don’t underestimate a good, natural ventilation system. Heat rises, so make sure that the windows at the very top of your house are open so the warm air can pass through naturally — you’ll be relieved at the results! Keep your blinds shut, use your oven sparingly, and even place bowls of water around the house! It may not look the most stylish, but it helps to naturally cool rooms down. If you’ve got a dog, however, someone will have to be on refill duty...
Manage your garden
You cannot survive the summer without keeping your property’s outdoor areas tidy and well-managed, trust us! When the sun’s beaming down and tempting you outdoors, you need your garden to be a place that you want to utilise.
We could go on about mowing the lawn and cutting back weeds, but you dedicated homeowners know this already — there are other ways to make sure your back garden looks the part, however. During hot spells like this, make sure your lawn is getting a sprinkle of water as well as your plants. And let your garden play a part in the local wildlife network: attract birds by leaving out bird feeding stations and bird baths: you’ll enjoy the winged company, and they’ll appreciate the food and water! Lastly, make sure your garden is primed and ready to host with our expert advice on arranging your garden paradise.
Fruit fly trap
Come downstairs in the morning to find a rabble of fruit flies having a party in your kitchen that you were not invited to? These pesky things fester around overripe and decaying produce (fruit and vegetables, mainly), and with all our windows open in the summer months, many households end up with fruit fly congregations. Shutting windows is obviously not an answer, nor something we recommend — but homemade fly traps are pretty simple.
Get a glass (one you don’t care about, preferably), pour a bit of apple cider vinegar into the bottom of it (fruit flies can’t get enough of this stuff), and cover the top with clingfilm. Then, poke some very small holes into the top of the clingfilm so they can get in — it seems improbable, but they will never be able to get out of the holes they came in through. But to avoid this arguably inhumane solution, cut them out at the source by keeping your kitchen tidy and throwing out your overripe produce!
If you were caught off guard by this heatwave, use these tips to make sure you're ready for the next!
