It turns out that you've been using your fan all wrong, and there's actually a way more beneficial way to use it that can cool you down - but there are conditions10:37, 26 Jun 2026Everyone in the UK is struggling to cope with the heat, and many will be trying different things to stay cool, including extra ice in drinks, wet towels around their shoulders, and even going to bed with damp socks. But if you've been using a fan during the heatwave, did you know that you've probably been using it completely wrong?‌A stressed-out, boiling hot mum has admitted that she's been using a fan wrong for her whole life, and wants to spread the word about how you should actually be making the most of it, according to the rules of "physics".‌Charlotte, who posts on Instagram as @charlotte_family_life, shared: "POV: apparently physics says pointing a fan OUT of the window cools your home down..." alongside a video of her trying it for herself.‌She said that it's meant to "pull hot air out of your home," therefore allowing the air in your home to be cooler than it would've been otherwise."I thought it sounded completely backwards because surely you’d want the fan blowing cool air IN?" she queried, and that's what most people likely believe.Content cannot be displayed without consent‌Also, there's nothing quite like feeling that, perhaps slightly underwhelming, breeze on you when your tower fan is set to oscillate.However, Charlotte said that she did think that it was working, saying: "The living room feels noticeably cooler than it did an hour ago"."Has anyone else tried this, or is it just a heatwave-induced placebo effect?" she joked at the end of her caption, because, let's be honest, everyone is feeling a little bit delirious right now.‌Does pointing a fan outside of the window actually help?According to Physics Stack Exchange, it does work, but only if the air outside is cooler than the air inside. Because fans don't actually lower air temperatures, the direction you point them dictates how effectively they cool your space.Which? shares that forcing hot air out creates a vacuum that automatically pulls fresh, cool air inside through other open windows in the house.But it needs to be in an optimal placement. The fan should be positioned about two feet (0.6 meters) away from the open window rather than pressing it directly against the screen. This allows it to drag more of the room's trapped heat along with it.Article continues belowIn the comments, someone said: "Been doing this for a while now and while it's certainly no AC, it at least makes my room bearable to be in lol. But in those scorching days I just take a cold a** bath".Another added: "Yes, this works, I've done it before, works great cuz it essentially takes all the hot air in the room and shoves it outside while the other fans take the air from outside and shoves that inside."Thing is that only really works if outside is cooler than inside, even if just by a few degrees. Also, the entire window needs to be sealed, other than around the fan. So like a sheet or smth to cover all the open gaps. But it's better than nothing".