Customers praised for leaving water bottles in mailboxes during US heatwave

As a sweltering heatwave grips the southwestern United States, a delivery driver has shared his appreciation for a customer who left him a frozen water bottle in their mailbox during the 100F weather.

In a viral video posted to TikTok, a postal service worker gave insight into the difficulties of delivery driving during rising temperatures. As @ThatPostalDad made his usual delivery run in 102F weather, he opened a person’s mailbox to find a cold water bottle waiting to be taken.

The postal worker immediately grabbed the water bottle and poured the entire bottle on his head to cool off. “When it’s 102F outside and someone leaves an ice cold bottle of water in their mailbox,” he wrote over the post.

In the caption, the delivery driver revealed that temperatures actually rose up to 110F where he’s located in Bakersfield, California. “Thank you to everyone who does this, we appreciate you!” he said.

As the video received more than 250,000 views on TikTok, many people in the comments section thanked @ThatPostalDad for the friendly reminder and assured they will leave a water bottle for their postal workers during hot weather.

“I never thought about this but now I will,” one person wrote.

“I didn’t know you could do that,” another said.

“I’ve never thought to do this. This is sweet,” commented someone else. “I’m gonna start doing it.”

Meanwhile, other postal workers shared how they stay cool during hot delivery days.

“Every time someone has a sprinkler in their yard I slowly walk through it,” joked one person.

“I deliver for Amazon! Any sprinkler I see gets a sloooow walk through it,” another agreed. “Thank you sprinkler gods!”

This week, the National Weather Service issued a heat advisory in many states across the US, from California to south Florida – affecting more than 100 million Americans. In California, an excessive heat watch is in effect through Sunday in Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties. Temperatures are expected to be the hottest of the year.

Apart from leaving ice cold water bottles in the mailbox for postal workers, there are many other things people can do to help keep themselves – and each other – safe during a heatwave.

While dogs are able to cool themselves down by panting and releasing heat through their paws, they can still be at risk of heatstroke. If a dog owner suspects their pet is overheating, they should move their dog to a cool place, wet their coat with cool water, and contact your vet immediately.

The RSPCA also recommends only walking your dog in the morning or evening at the peak of summer, to help prevent them from burning their paws on the pavement or suffering from heatstroke.

For those who don’t have air conditioning during a heatwave, people can stay cool by keeping their curtains or blinds closed, turning off appliances, buying house plants, and keeping the lights off.