Agencies-Gaza post
TikTokers call on fans not to attach bags of ice to their backs
With high temperatures in parts of the UK reaching record 40.3C on Tuesday, many desperate Britons are making great efforts to keep cool.
Experts warned against the dangerous trend circulating on TikTok of tying the ice to the backs of fans to fight the heatwave.
TikTok videos show users tying ice bags to their electric fans to create “homemade air conditioners,” hoping to inflate cooler air around their homes.
But users who try the supposed “hack” risk giving themselves an electric shock, according to the Consumer Safety Charity (ESF).
The presence of ice anywhere near any electrical device may lead to water contact with the motor, increasing the risk of electrocution.
Moreover, the excess weight of the bag mounted at the top of the fan will risk falling and damaging or impeding the circulation of blades.
The ESF warning comes after Britons were forced to endure the hottest day in recorded history on Tuesday, with temperatures exceeding 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius).
The Met Office recorded a provisional reading of 40.3 ° C (104.5 ° F) in Coningsby, Lincolnshire at 3 pm. Tuesday – record.
Giuseppe Cabana, product safety engineer at Electrical Safety First, said: “Videos on TikTok encourage hot Brits to practice unsafe hacks with their electric fans.”
Attaching a bag of ice to a fan is risky because it can destabilize the fan which can cause it to fall, causing the blades to hit the guard and place the engine under extra pressure, as well as potentially breaking your fan completely.
“However, most importantly, the water dissolving from the bag has the opportunity to come into contact with the engine and cause an electric shock risk to anyone touching the fan.”
Putting a bucket of snow in front of an electric fan is already a tried and tested way to keep cool.
But the important thing is to keep it as far away from the fan as possible – and not allow the two to connect.
ESF also reported what to do and what to do when it comes to using a fan safely – one of which does not keep it overnight.
Unfortunately, hundreds, if not thousands of Brits, will have turned on their fan overnight to help get them through a sticky, uncomfortable heat.
