UK households urged to fill up hot water bottle on Friday | UK | News
Households across the UK are being urged to fill up their hot water bottles this Friday as temperatures are forecast to reach up to 24°C.
The Met Office is forecasting hot and sunny weather for much of the UK ahead of the early May bank holiday weekend, with temperatures expected to rise above average for the end of April. High pressure from midweek will bring a return to largely dry and pleasant conditions, with sunshine prevailing in many areas on Wednesday and Thursday, following a noticeably cooler Tuesday for most. Friday is expected to be the warmest day; It will be hot and humid across much of the UK, with temperatures reaching up to 24C in some central and southern parts.
Met Office Deputy Chief Forecaster Tom Crabtree said: “Conditions are expected to become more unstable by Friday, with rain and showers spreading from the south-west, some of which may be heavy and possibly thunderstorms. Ahead of this, it will feel hot and humid across parts of England on Friday, with temperatures potentially reaching 24C in central and southern areas.”
While warm weather is wonderful during the day, it can be quite uncomfortable at night, making it difficult to sleep, which can lead to a frustrating night of tossing, turning and kicking the duvet in a desperate attempt to cool down. But you don’t need to run fans for hours to cool your room, all you need is a hot water bottle.
Yes, the purpose of a hot water bottle is to keep you nice and warm, but it can also be used to achieve the opposite effect if you fill it with cold water instead.
To help cool your sheets and pillow, fill a hot water bottle with ice-cold water and place it on your bed right before going to sleep.
You can also hold it against your skin to cool yourself down, but be sure to wrap it in a cover or tea towel if it’s icy to prevent direct contact with your skin.
To make it even colder, you can also fill the bottle with cold water and put it in the freezer, but be careful not to leave it there for too long as it can damage the rubber, meaning it could burst the next time hot water is added.
So, if you put it in the freezer, make sure you only fill the bottle halfway rather than filling it to the brim, or keep one bottle separate for cold use and the other for hot use.
Heat-Treats says: “It’s simple; fill your bottle with ice water, ice cubes or crushed ice. The bottle works the same way in reverse; instead of releasing hot heat, it emits refreshing cold. Unlike hot water, which cools slowly, ice water eventually warms up until it reaches room temperature.”
“Some recommend filling your bottle with cold water and then putting it in the freezer to cool it down a little more, but it shouldn’t be left for more than 20 minutes or the rubber may deteriorate and break. The best plan is to have different bottles for heat filling and cold filling.”
“You can also use your cold hot water bottle to cool your sheets or pillow before bed. If your bottle doesn’t have a lid, wrap it in a tea towel or pillowcase to avoid too much cold exposure next to your skin.”
