Channel 4 Grand Designs presenter Kevin McCloud has shared a little-know heatwave tip as the Met Office provided an update on 30C temperatures in the UK.
The final weekend of the month could once again reach scorching temperatures as the British summertime draws to a close.
It has been a summer of extreme temperature with many Brits struggling to keep cool in their homes after record 40.3C temperatures earlier this year.
Ahead of the 23rd series of Grand Designs, McCloud spoke to Radio Times, where he shared a tip he learned from “little old Italian men” living in rural Italy.
He suggested mopping the floor could prove a cost-effective tip, saving Brits as much as £3,000.
He said: “Mop your floors in the morning but don’t mop the water off, just leave it there to evaporate.
Speaking of the men he spoke to in Italy, he said: “They’re not doing it to keep clean. The water evaporates; to do so it draws energy from its immediate environment. So, sun heats water, water evaporates off, stone becomes cool. Air passing over stone into house becomes cool.
“Or go and sit under a tree – because the water is evaporating off the leaves you get evaporative cooling.”
He added: “This is basic physics, it’s exactly the same physics of evaporative cooling in air conditioning. You can put your hand in your pocket and pay £3,000 or you can let nature help.”
Met Office update on reports of 30C heatwave
Met Office experts predict that temperatures will rise steadily to a peak on Wednesday. Midweek temperatures could hit 30C in some areas this week, they say
"Temperatures generally near average today, but gently rising during the coming days reaching a peak midweek," they warned.
"Temperatures could locally exceed 30°C in one or two spots across the south and east on Wednesday," it added.
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