Preparing for winter III

raven83

I've given in this evening and stuck my heating on, really didn't want to but just couldn't warm up, now I am feeling all toasty Only going to have it on for an hour though, then jump into a hot bath and hopefully I will stay feeling warm!

Fruball

I am not skimping on heating this year - I held out last year but tbh, we don't have it hot in here, just take the chill off and even in midwinter all of my friend's houses are warmer than mine but we have adjusted to a lower temp.

So, I have set the thermostat to low (24/7) but no way am I going to sit and be cold! My house is well insulated and I have learned a lot from the winter preps board over the years so it doesn't cost nearly as much as it used to!

Comfy in PJs and slippers with no heating atm though

Fruball

I am going to fit a curtain between the living room and kitchen though as the kitchen is the coldest room in the house and makes the living room chilly at the far end. I think that will make a huge difference

the_cake

When I changed the bedding yesterday I thought how sad and flat (and rather old) our mattress protector looked, and remembered the recommendations on here for putting something thicker and cuddly underneath you to sleep more cosily. So .. I did a bit of online research, and today I went to D*nelm to buy a snuggly mattress topper. I went for the 'Rebound' one, as it felt nice and thick (£29.99 for a double, if anyone's interested). The shop, especially the bedding department, was really busy - far busier than usual - I think people are so fed up with the horrible wet weather they all feel like hibernating. I know I do!
I have put the mattress thingy on, and am looking forward to trying it out tonight.
The only heating we have at the moment is a woodburning stove in the sitting room (also slightly heats the kitchen, adjoining). Last month we had the chimney lined, it now burns much better and I am no longer frightened of having a chimney fire. Had one in the really cold winter, and it was horrible. (Nice firemen though!!!) I love the woodburner to bits, it makes the room toasty very quickly, I can dry washing near it, and cook on top of it.
Anyway, happy hibernating folks, and thanks for all your very helpful and useful suggestions. xx the cake.

rising_from_the_ashes

Rainy-Days wrote: »

We had the boiler serviced last night.

Something I'm having an issue with this year .... boiler has always been on a maintenance / breakdown contract that incl a yearly service but this year it's too old to renew it :eek:.

Will have to try to find someone local (who's good!) to give it a service but a bit worried about breakdowns as it's now 15 years old ......:eek: (will be sticking the money that went on the contract away, but it will take a while to mount up)

Fruball wrote: »

So, I have set the thermostat to low (24/7) but no way am I going to sit and be cold! My house is well insulated and I have learned a lot from the winter preps board over the years so it doesn't cost nearly as much as it used to!

I did this last year (and will be doing the same this). The thermostat was kept at 14 deg in winter and my heating bill was less than previous years :T as the house never got really, really cold so I needed the heating on less at a higher temp when I was in (IYKWIM:o) - I really didn't think it would work but after reading loads of posts from people on here who do it successfully, gave it a try and ..... so glad I did!

rising_from_the_ashes

PS - can't wait until the weekend so I can get the sewing machine out & get the fleece linings done for the patio doors .... it's baltic in here (currently have on an extra (proper winter wool thick) cardigan, scarf and blanket over me and I'm still cold ....

Need something for the fingers tho' as they're freezing .... must dig out my pocket hand warmers;)

cosmomo

anguk wrote: »

... Last year I got a second hand dehumidifier off Ebay for about £30 and what a difference it made, no more streams of water down the tiles, no more damp salt and the room feels so much warmer. It's only a basic one but it's surprising how much water it extracts, I ran it yesterday and had to empty the bucket twice!...

Any idea how much it costs to run? I always thought that dehumidifiers were prohibitively expensive to keep running...

SpikyHedgehog

cosmomo wrote: »

Any idea how much it costs to run? I always thought that dehumidifiers were prohibitively expensive to keep running...

I don't know, cosmomo, as I don't have 1, but I suspect that what you expend in using it, you save with the house being dryer so feeling warmer, washing drying, not having damp problems etc?

WeegieWumman

Fruball wrote: »

I am going to fit a curtain between the living room and kitchen though as the kitchen is the coldest room in the house and makes the living room chilly at the far end. I think that will make a huge difference

Fruball,
Once the curtain is in place keep a close watch to ensure that isolating your cold kitchen doesn't incur increased condensation with cooking etc. :eek:

Fruball

rising_from_the_ashes wrote: »

Something I'm having an issue with this year .... boiler has always been on a maintenance / breakdown contract that incl a yearly service but this year it's too old to renew it :eek:.

Will have to try to find someone local (who's good!) to give it a service but a bit worried about breakdowns as it's now 15 years old ......:eek: (will be sticking the money that went on the contract away, but it will take a while to mount up)



I did this last year (and will be doing the same this). The thermostat was kept at 14 deg in winter and my heating bill was less than previous years :T as the house never got really, really cold so I needed the heating on less at a higher temp when I was in (IYKWIM:o) - I really didn't think it would work but after reading loads of posts from people on here who do it successfully, gave it a try and ..... so glad I did!

Same - Never found a price hike when heating is on low 24/7 instead of boosting the heat when it's blimmin freezin!

WeegieWumman wrote: »

Fruball,
Once the curtain is in place keep a close watch to ensure that isolating your cold kitchen doesn't incur increased condensation with cooking etc. :eek:

I have a de-humidifier in the kitchen for use when needed and always have the window open a crack unless it is baltic outside (!) but you are right and I was planning to post to remind people to air their houses properly to avoid condensation and ultimately, damp