Preparing for winter III

rising_from_the_ashes

MonkeySaving? wrote: »

RFTA, they are good, but don't expect them to completely clear your windows. The main bonus of a dehumid is that they remove the moisture from the air meaning that your rooms will heat up quicker. I guess it depends on the type of house you live in as well, i've lived in pre 1850's houses all my life and with single glazed windows you will see condensation at some point, dehumid or not.

Thanks Monkey - I live in a pretty new house so I shouldn't really have a condensation problem at all:( so I must be going wrong somewhere (probably as I don't have heating on upstairs and all the washing is up there).

It's really only that room where there's a major problem so I'll try the crystal things and see how much moisture I'm actually getting before running out and getting a "proper" unit.

Fruball

rising_from_the_ashes wrote: »

Thanks Monkey - I live in a pretty new house so I shouldn't really have a condensation problem at all:( so I must be going wrong somewhere (probably as I don't have heating on upstairs and all the washing is up there).

It's really only that room where there's a major problem so I'll try the crystal things and see how much moisture I'm actually getting before running out and getting a "proper" unit.

Can you keep the windows open, even if just a little, whilst washing is drying?

That moisture has got to go somewhere so I would suspect that is the cause of your condensation.

A dehumidifier would help to dry your washing quicker too - I don't think the crystals would be enough for you imo xx

(And, new houses can be worse for condensation as they aren't draughty like older houses - I leave my trickle vents open all year round, unless I can feel an icy gail blowing thru them in the dead of winter)

rising_from_the_ashes

Frugal wrote: »

Can you keep the windows open, even if just a little, whilst washing is drying?

That moisture has got to go somewhere so I would suspect that is the cause of your condensation.

A dehumidifier would help to dry your washing quicker too - I don't think the crystals would be enough for you imo xx

(And, new houses can be worse for condensation as they aren't draughty like older houses - I leave my trickle vents open all year round, unless I can feel an icy gail blowing thru them in the dead of winter)

Don't laugh .... the wee cat sleeps in there so I feel sorry for her leaving the window open:o (in my defence the room is quite cold with there being no heating on in it).

All my trickle vents stay open all year which has helped the condensation in the other rooms ..... didn't know that new houses could be worse for it:( (still learn something new every day;)).

It also explains why I've got more of a problem with it here than the last house which was very old and very drafty! I remember being really shocked how much I got the 1st year I was here - I guess I've adjusted to it and it's become "normal" over the years.

mmmmm think I may have to start putting the heating on in that room when the washing first goes in and see if that helps at all.

Will have a hunt back through the thread tomorrow to try to find the links to dehumidifiers that others have got/found good.

Rainy-Days

My windows had condensation on them when I got up this morning, but in fairness I have been drying two loads of washing on the clothes airers so that is probably a bigger cause. The back porch was quite damp this morning so I have towelled that down and put one of the cheapo dehumid boxes out there to try and trap some of the moisture and I have put one in the front room window as well but that is down to a plant that sits in the bay window which causes condensation.

I have tied up my cordylines this morning and wrapped gardeners fleece around them. I have gave them some some water and put them away in the shed. I lost every single cordyline last winter. I don't know if the fleece and the shed protection will work but it is at least worth a go. I bought the gardeners fleece from £1 land back in the summer for this reason when they had plenty in stock. Hopefully, fingers crossed, they will come through it, but if they don't it will not have been without trying.

I also have ran down my washer bottle on the car. The low fluid light came on yesterday so I have put a stronger mix in this time around. DH will use the extreme -65 stuff in the Land Rover as that froze up badly last year. He is running that down as low as he can before he puts it in.

Left to do:-

-65 washer fluid in Land Rover
Put hose away
Clean & Polish cars
Drain and cover outside tap
Oil gates and locks
Clean windows
Sweep/leaf blower sucker up the leaves - ongoing!!

Sunnyday

Yay my outside tap is now off :j

I`ve not insulated it yet though, i`ll brush all the cobwebs off it and do what i did last year and that was to wrap a plastic bag around it and then a microfibre towel and then another plastic bag

I managed to turn off the valve by pulling the dishwasher out and then moving the washing machine a foot or so, glad that i didn`t have to get the leg off the worktop, the dw is a bit temperamental in that if the drain hose is moved it won`t empty so fingers crossed that it works ok tonight with no fiddling about.

I`ve also sorted out a few pots and tubs as i`m really behind with this due to all the ongoing work inside, it got down to 3 degrees outside last night and is still chilly today but bright and sunny - i even managed to give the grass a quick cut this morning, the neighbours probably think i`m barking but it did grow quite a bit due to the last mild spell.

I need to clean up the kitchen and hop in the shower shortly as i`m working later - wish i could stay here as there is so much to do!

Have a super Sunday peeps :wave:

SD

LavenderBees

Frugal wrote: »

I just bunged mine in the SC with stock, cornflour, herbs, S&P and cooked it all day... Then picked off the bones and fat, and put it back in the gravy. (probably even better if roasted in the oven first, or browned in a pan)

It was the first time I had cooked it and I was really impressed by the lovely meat on it. Yummmmmy

Yep, that's just about the way of it. There'd been a "run" on the farm shop by the time I got there so I only had one piece of oxtail (from the freezer), and bought a small piece of gorgeous shin beef (£1.50). I rolled the meat in seasoned flour, and browned them in the frying pan. I also had a small bag of casserole veges in the freezer so bunged them in the slow cooker, too. Plenty of beef stock (I just used a couple of cubes), a generous glug of red wine, and a handful of pearl barley to thicken it.

The barley and the glutinous meat did the job of thickening the gravy too much, though, and I could literally stand the spoon up in it! :eek: so I added even more water. As Frugal says, let it cool, dig out the meat bits to shred it. Remove the fat (the kitten loved the fat and a bit of gravy for his breakfast). I also whizz the gravy with a hand blender. I've got 6 huge portions of the loveliest, meatiest tasting soup for lunches (will have to freeze some), and had some for breakfast too :rotfl:

If you like meaty dishes (with the added bonus of using hardly any meat), well recommended as a winter warmer :T

If I were a REAL pig, I might even add dumplings...yum...now there's a thought....

x

P.S. Just been watching Johnny Depp on iplayer. Now there's another winter warmer I could make a real meal of...:p

singlestep

I caved and put the central heating on this morning, for a while. Otherwise, I might have been tempted just to stay in bed all day!

Plan for today is this:

- Christmas shopping
- putting away the last of the summer linen and freshening up the winter replacements
- looking up any recipes for Christmas gifts I can make. I loved the HM gifts I got last year but am a little limited as I'm not exactly a domestic goddess!
- doing a check of toiletries, cosmetics and lady products I have or will need in the next few months.
- filling in my repeat prescriptions
- buying my Christmas candles (although I have a lovely big mulled wine one from last year). I get so busy between now and Christmas but the candles help me think of all the Christmas stuff on top of that is less of a chore.

I followed the excellent advice somebody posted a while back and have made appointments at the dentist, optician's and anywhere else I might need.

About 10 years ago, a relative of mine was visiting from abroad and, as a gift for years of missed birthdays, Christmases and graduation, gave me a lovely watch. I'd never have bought myself something from this brand as it cost more than £750 :eek: It stopped working a while back, and I took it to be repaired and they told me it would cost over £150 :eek: and now I have a dilemma. Get it repaired due to its sentimental value or buy myself a perfectly nice watch from a perfectly respectable brand that I won't be afraid to wear. Decisions, decisions.

^!£$&

This may be of interest to some of you I'll be recording it whilst watching Downton there's a show on tonight called Will it snow? at 9pm on BBC 2
Heres the blurb

"Kate Humble, Adam Rutherford and Alys Fowler assess what Britain's weather will be like this winter, following the high levels of snow that caused chaos across the nation in 2010. The presenters explore how methods of prediction have developed through the centuries, from medieval folklore to modern supercomputers, and discover how people and businesses are preparing for the possibility of more severe weather in the months to come."


http://www.radiotimes.com/episode/nnq8s/will-it-snow

savepete

Great hints and tips on this thread. Thank you!

Confuzzled

VJsmum wrote: »

I wondered if anyone had ever tried making a poncho out of a fleece blanket? I was sitting at my desk marking the other day, the heating was off but i thought that i could have done with a blanket over me - didn't want to put on another jumper as that would have been too restricting with typing. DD had a poncho nearby so i used that and then wondered if cutting a square of fleece with a diamond in the middle for your head would work? Might be worth buying a couple of quids worth of fleecey blanket to try it out. COuld even put a fringe round. Whaddya think?

i've done this, i folded the fleece into 4 and made a cut at the junctions, i didn't even remove the frabric just just and x intot the center. when you pull it over your head you can leave the bits sticking up to warm your neck or tuck them inside my daughter loves it