Preparing for winter II

Fruball

hahaha was just remembering when we lived in the countryside (right out in the sticks) and the kids in the village would hide behind the hedge when the school bus came (on snow days) and then wander home telling their parents that the bus didn't come... which it often didn't when it was really bad :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

AND they did this with NO COATS :eek::eek::eek::eek::eek: Apparently coats were 'uncool' :mad:

Fruball

All my radiators need bleeding but I have no key to do it with... Anyone know where I can get one from? What sort of shops sell these things?

Supermarkets could do with selling simple things like that

NualaBuala

Frugal wrote: »

All my radiators need bleeding but I have no key to do it with... Anyone know where I can get one from? What sort of shops sell these things?

Supermarkets could do with selling simple things like that

I think hardware shops have them. And I've a feeling I might have seen them in the supermarket too - at the end of a bay where householdy things are hung up in little plastic packets (fuses, light fittings, door stops - that kind of thing).

diddly74

Frugal wrote: »

All my radiators need bleeding but I have no key to do it with... Anyone know where I can get one from? What sort of shops sell these things?

Supermarkets could do with selling simple things like that

I was in my local B&M (Lichfield) and they had a pack of 3 keys for £1.

Thats 33p a key - bargain.

Confuzzled

happyin_devon wrote: »

when does everyone close their curtains for eve?
i close mine at dusk,but am wondering if there is any benefit of closing them sooner,as although still light outside,theres no direct sun on any of the rooms at the front of my house,would this help to conserve any accumilated day heat?? or am i going nuts??:rotfl:

i should say that the rooms in question are the lounge and ds1 bedroom,so not usually used til after dusk.

i've always found it best to close them before there is a noticable change in temp outside.

i also noticed when living on skye that if i didn't manage to get my fireplace burning fairly well about 30 minutes before the sun set it felt like the house just never did get warm enough that night. i suspect that the amount of passive solar heating i gained from the sun rapidly vanished as the sun set so that's probably why, if you get the chill in you in a stone house it can be hard to shake it!

Confuzzled

cloudberry45 wrote: »

All I know is I cant bear sitting on a cold toilet seat for much longer! The heating is going to have to come on soon !!

:rotfl:that reminds me of when i first moved to scotland from the states... even though i moved in may i was convinced that EVERY toilet seat in scotland was ice cold all the time, as if it was some symbol of ones inherant scottishness

mardatha

:eek:They are !

Kitchenbunny

Got another item ticked off my list. As it is (to me) cold enough today, we put the heating on for a 15-minute blast to make sure it is working correctly and that all of the radiators heat up well and quickly. We also had the benefit of a short blast of slightly warmer air around the house. At least we know that when we really really really do need it, the heating should work.

KB xx

in_spired2

Any recommendations for a dehumidifier (budget price :k ) ?
As well as helping deal with the mould in my house, I thought it could help dry our clothes quicker too (I don't use a tumble dryer). How noisy and expensive are they?

How do they compare to those moisture capture things (you know, the little tubs with crystals in them) Pricewise and efficiency over a year, and say, over 3 years. If I use the tubs, I'll probably need several (3 bed house, cold, damp and always battling mould) and when I used them in the past (1 room only) I had to refill them after only a couple of weeks - neither cheap nor effective.

I am due to have new upvc external doors fitted soon. Hoping they will help a bit in my quest to keep warm over winter. Have filled the football socks with rags, same as last year to make 2 draught excluders today. Shopping list tomorrow includes the foam strip that you put down interior doors as we have a really gappy one that rattles on a windy day and separates a "lived in" room from a barely used and barely heated entrance room.

Got a couple of bags of salt ready for the icy paths after xmas. Also, wind-up torch, candles and lighters handy. Where I live (rural village in East Anglia), we rarely get really bad weather, certainly we don't get cut off for days on end*, so main concern is to keep warm (and keep the gas bill down lol ) I get my groceries online every couple of weeks, so if it looks like we have a bout of really icy weather due which might prevent a delivery, then I'll order a bit earlier instead or order for a month rather than a fortnight, etc.

Still to do: something to line the bedroom curtains with. Flannelette sheets. do something about the bathroom window (currently no curtains or blind for it ) Bathroom is the coldest room in the house with 3 uninsulated outside walls. I should really tackle the no curtains and no carpet situation in there, but also don't want to spend too much because I intend to move out at the first chance I get. :cool:

* I hope those are not famous last words :rotfl:

notjustlaura

happyin devon - Last night was *freezing*. I woke up in at dark o'clock and had to put the electric blanket on. Tonight I'll have extra blankets. I saw the first frost this morning. Ick! Also, thanks for sharing your experience with cat litter. As I've two moggies and plenty of litter I've been tempted to use it for gritting the paths - I know not to now!

dandy-candy - If you *must* have the window open, all I can think of is to make the bed as cozy as possible - extra blankies and fleeces, electric blanket, wheat bags, etc.