A mum has shared her “live-saving” hack to create a homemade air conditioning unit using two simple household items – and social media users are calling it “genius”.
Charlotte Russell, the owner of a candle and wax melt company from Leeds, has recently gone viral with her simple tip to help combat the soaring summer temperature with the homemade air con.
As the UK faced record temperatures across the country this week, with highs of 40 degrees in some areas, Charlotte struggled to keep comfortable.
Despite trying multiple home remedies, nothing seemed to work – so she decided to brainstorm a few conventional methods.
Soon, she came up with the idea of putting a frozen bottle of water in front of a fan to help spread “cooler” air.
“It created an effect akin to air conditioning,” Charlotte told NeedToKnow.Online.
“I discovered the hack after trying to keep my products and the children cool.
“I wondered if freezing water and blasting it across my products would help.
“Not only did this mean the wax melts set quickly, but it also left the rest of the room cool and fresh.
“It’s saved me during the intense heatwave we are experiencing this year, as I work in very hot conditions.
“It’s also helped the kids to sleep easier when the temperature has been the most extreme we have seen in years.”
In a bid to share her “genius” hack, the mum decided to upload a video on TikTok, demonstrating how to carry out the process – racking up 1.5 million views and 44,000 likes.
In the clip, she begins by taking an empty milk carton, before filling this up with water.
She places this into the freezer and advises people to keep this in overnight for the full effect.
Charlotte places the frozen bottle atop a makeshift stand and situates this in front of her fan, before holding up her hand and taking in the “icy” air.
She believes this hack has been a “life saver” as fans in the UK tend to only blow out hot air.
Users shared their appreciation for the hack in the comments, with many saying it’s come at the perfect time.
“Brilliant! Thank you. Menopausal and covid positive…couldn’t have seen this at a better time,” one viewer commented.
Another person said: “Wow felt it from here, good job it wasn’t fully frozen.”
“Need to try this,” someone else added.
Others offered advice on how to take the hack further, with one viewer commenting: “Put it behind the fan so it draws the cold air from around the bottle instead of blowing hot air around it. Plus then, the bottle doesn’t block the fan.”
“Bottle of frozen vodka works good too,” someone else wrote.
It’s not the only hack she’s used to beat the heatwave, with other homemade remedies such as soaking muslin cloths at the top of her list.
Charlotte added: “I also find using a hot water bottle filled with water and then frozen or muslin cloths soaked with water and placed in the fridge helps.
“It helps to keep products, little people and big people cool during this heatwave.”
