There's no denying that it has been HOT this week, and with temperatures set to continue to soar throughout the weekend and into early next week (eep) we need to be prepared.
You may have seen that we covered some fan deals for Prime Day, which saw prices slashed across table fans, desk fans, and floor fans. We were fans. As were you (probably).
Dunelm has reported a flurry of sales of fans, parasols, and products for drying clothes outdoors as temperatures soar across the UK. The retailer saw an increase of over 250% in sales of fans this past week alone, with sales of the £20, 16-inch white pedestal fan shooting up over 400%. Parasols sales are also spiking, with sales of this cream cantilever parasol increasing by nearly 400%.
The warmer weather is a burden for some of us, with uncomfortable temperatures day and night, but you can utilise this dry, sunny spell when it comes to drying laundry. If you have outside space, then hanging the washing out to dry during this hot time will mean that not only will you churn through the laundry faster, but it'll also be better for your health to not have damp washing hanging around the home.
It may be an obvious thing, but drying your clothes and bedding outside uses no energy – but what you might not know is that it's also better for your clothes (more on that below). In my household we do this through the summer months, (weather permitting) and much prefer it. It's a chance to give the tumble dryer a break and save energy.
Below we've listed some top tips from Dunelm for getting sunshine-savvy with your laundry.
Top tips for drying laundry outside
- Use bright days to brighten your whites. The sun naturally bleaches lighter fabrics, and UV rays can even help to kill any lingering bacteria.
- …but watch your brights and darks. To avoid sun damage on darker or bright clothes, hang them inside out, or pop them in the shade.
- Hang delicate items on hangers from your clothesline or airer. This helps them keep their shape – and it might reduce your ironing pile too.
- Shake it off! Avoid fabrics feeling stiff or crunchy once they’re dry by giving clothes and bedding a good shake before you hang them out.
- Stop knitwear from sagging by laying it flat to dry on the tiers of an airer. For heavy knits, turn them at least once while they’re drying to allow moisture to escape.
More tips...
Aside from drying laundry outside to keep costs down while harnessing the weather, there are a few things that you can do to keep the costs down inside the home, too. Using a fan to keep cool is far more affordable than running an air conditioning unit, as it uses less energy. Got a battery-powered fan? Then it'll just be the cost of the batteries that you'll need to spend to keep the fan running.
It's also worth doing things like setting the washing machine to turn on in the early hours of the morning (if that works for you) since energy prices are a little lower in the more unsociable hours. If your machine has an eco cycle, using this will also help to save the pennies.
Where to buy energy-saving appliances?
Below we've listed out some deals which have proven to be particularly popular of late. You'll see that a couple of the products are still on sale after Prime Day but we're not sure for how much longer this price will stay, or the stock. If you see anything which you like the look of then it'll be best to start cooling off with an energy-efficient deal, sooner rather than later.
![Ninja Blender with Auto-iQ [BN495UK] : £99.99 £66 at Amazon
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