Portable air conditioners are pretty much sold out everywhere. But, I have found an exception – the Bush 9K Air Conditioner (£375) is still in stock at Argos – and it’s already reaping five-star reviews.

This week, the Ideal Home team is tracking stock levels for the best portable air conditioners, revealing where you can still buy them in real time in our Portable AC live stock watch. Given the week’s forecast, it is unsurprising that these brilliant appliances are practically flying off the shelves.

Hence, it is unusual to see a relatively affordable and well-rated model such as the Bush 9K Portable Air Conditioner still in stock. Unfortunately, we doubt it will be in stock for long – so if you like what you see, snap it up now.

First things first, portable air conditioners are worth it. Period. Offering the same benefits as a fitted AC, without the installation or start-up fee, these handy appliances are brilliant at keeping a room cool during a heatwave. And with the UK expected to reach record temperatures this week, I don’t know about you, but I need all the cooling help I can get.

The Bush 9K Air Conditioner is currently available for delivery, not collection, and offers to take the edge off the heat with auto, cooling, fan and dry modes to keep you comfortable. It has an easy-to-read LED display, and you can control it via the panel or a remote control – so you don’t have to move from your bed or sofa!

It has a sleep mode and a 24-hour timer, while its auto-restart feature will remember your preferences. The machine operates at a sound level of 64dB, which may be a little loud, so bear that in mind if you were hoping for a whisper-quiet appliance (like the new Meaco Circo).

It also has an energy efficiency rating of Class A and uses 1,000W of power. If you’re worried about the cost of running a portable air conditioner, most models are between 1,000 and 1,300 watts (W), with 1,000W costing 26.11p per hour to run, according to the recent July Price Cap.

We haven’t tested this portable AC, but so far, this portable air conditioner has received six five-star reviews on the Argos website, vouching for the appliance’s credibility.

‘I bought this the day before this heat wave in June started, and it’s brilliant! Now that I have found a way to install it in the window without leaving a gap, it works perfectly at cooling the room down in a matter of minutes. It’s the difference between a comfortable night’s sleep and no sleep at all. It’s light and easily mobile, so I can move it from room to room,’ said one.

‘I live in a mobile home that gets very warm when it’s 30 °C plus, so eventually bought this air con unit, it does make a noise, but I suspect most would, but it’s not a deafening noise and i did get used to it but the best thing is that it works it’s made my home cool so would definitely recommend,’ said another.

Alternatives

If you’re yet to snap up a portable air conditioner, now is the time to do so – they are selling really fast. The Bush 9K Portable Air Conditioner, while we haven’t tested it ourselves, comes highly rated and is affordable, too.

As a perimenopausal 46-year-old mum, I struggle with overheating in bed at the best of times, let alone during a heatwave that’s seen temperatures in my area reach 30C plus.

Our home doesn’t have air-con, so my kids are often too hot to sleep during the summer, too. As such, staying cool in bed becomes a real battle during hot weather.

As a result, when I came across the Silentnight Restore Cooling Lightweight Blanket for under £40 on Amazon, I hoped it would be the solution I needed to keep us all cool.

Described by Silentnight as ‘cool to the touch for instant heat relief’ and helping ‘to regulate body temperature’, it sounded like *exactly* what I needed to beat overheating once and for all.

And, unlike many cooling bedding products I’ve tested in the past few years, I wasn’t disappointed when I unpacked it.

The first thing I noticed when I picked up this blanket was how cold it felt to the touch. One side in particular felt noticeably colder than any other bedding in our house, and its coolness was something that both of my sons immediately commented on.

Sleeping under it the first night of warm weather, I felt instantly cooler. Initially, I missed the weight of my regular duvet, but if, like me and my children, you don’t like the idea of sleeping with no covers at all, this hot-weather duvet alternative offers a perfect in-between solution.

I fell asleep quickly, and I didn’t wake up in the night due to overheating. Plus, in the morning, I didn’t feel sweaty or clammy at all like I sometimes do.

Whether that’s down to the innovative composition of the blanket or the fact that it’s thinner than my usual duvet, I can’t be sure, but my children both noticed that when they slept under this blanket, they felt cooler than when they slept under an empty duvet cover like they usually do when it’s hot.

Possibly the biggest test came from my youngest son, who is the clammiest sleeper I know and always wakes up sweaty! He loved falling asleep under this and slept soundly. When he woke up in the morning, he felt a lot cooler and less clammy than usual.

In fact, the one night I tested this blanket pre-heatwave I had to swap it for my usual quilt because I felt too cold!

And it seems I’m not alone in being impressed by the blanket’s cooling powers. One reviewer of the Silentnight Restore Cooling Blanket on the Argos website says, ‘what is this wizardry? I bought this for the summer, and I literally can’t believe the difference it made to my sleep. How it works, I have no idea, but it remains cool constantly – it’s literally like magic. I can definitely recommend this cooling blanket.’

‘Surprised how effective this lightweight cooling blanket was,’ says another owner. ‘I’m at “that age” where I get so hot in the night… my duvet is too hot, but I still need something on me to sleep; this blanket really helped and really worked! It’s lightweight but feels enough weight on you; it’s definitely cooling and quite cool to the touch. I slept so much better.’

Another big bonus is that the Restore blanket is machine washable at 40C, and I’ve found it fits in the washing machine easily and dries quickly on the line (the care label says it can be tumble dried on low, but I haven’t needed to test that in this heat!). It looks as good as new after being washed and didn’t lose its shape at all.

The only downside is that it only comes in one size. On a double bed, it was just big enough to cover two people, although there wasn’t much extra space at the edges if either of us moved around.

Personally, I’d definitely recommend The Silentnight Restore Cooling Blanket for keeping cool on warm nights, as well as for anyone who struggles with hormonal temperature changes during the night.

That said, it’s not the only option out there. I’ve rounded up a few alternatives below, all of which can help you beat the heat on hot, hot summer nights.