This week it feels like everyone is trying to get ahead and rectify any mistakes they made during the last heatwave. And for me, that means ensuring I have a much better supply of ice than I did during the hottest days of the year last week – especially given that at every supermarket I went to I was greeted by totally bare freezer shelves.
To solve the problem, I must admit I've been eyeing an ice maker (like this one from Amazon for £62.99) that can sit on my kitchen countertop during the hottest days. As I'm not blessed with a freezer with ice-making facilities (or a very big freezer at all!), I think I'm going to have to outsource this need to a standalone appliance like I have with one of the best ice cream makers. Here's why.
This is one of the most affordable ice makers available right now, available of creating 14KG's worth in one day.
I've tested a great microwave from CASO before so I'm warming to this compact, sleek looking ice maker from them.
This is another sleek option to keep your countertop neat and it comes with a scoop for good measure!
Of course, I was desperate for more ice during the heatwave in order to keep my water and other drinks cool in order to rehydrate. But there are lots of other reasons, many of them owing to the hacks I've learnt from my Ideal Home colleagues, for me needing large quantities of ice in the hot weather.
The most pressing of which was so I could enact the cooling hack our News Writer Kezia put me onto last year: placing a bowl of ice in front of my fan in order to mimic the effects of an air conditioner. It's a way to use a fan that actually lowers the temperature of a room and it was a true godsend for my sleep last week when paired with my Dyson fan.
When I do invest in an ice maker I'll also be picking up this £6 fan attachment that we wrote about last week to DIY the air conditioning effect even further. If you own a fan and not an AC, it's an essential! It'll certainly be an upgrade for me from placing my ice in a bowl on a stool.
While an ice maker, much like the Ninja Slushi (which has also been running non-stop in my flat this summer), is hardly a kitchen essential, it can make those unbearably hot days a little more livable – at least, that's according to the reviews these Amazon buys have racked up. I reckon every little helps for when we're faced with the next hot spell!
