Preparing for winter IV

Confuzzled

i've been thinking about the foil covered inserts folks have been putting behind their gas radiators and wondered how effective they are?

also, would those emergency foil blankets work rather than aluminium foil? if so, does it matter which side you use?

i got some foil curtains but never hung them, now i can't, i'm on the high street and I fear the reflection might cause a car accident :rotfl: it's not a huge lose, i don't like the crinkling noise they make anyway so i thought perhaps it might be easier to use them on my radiator thingies (what are they called? heat reflectors?)

i had storage heaters before so i've never had to make these (couldn't have shoved anything behind those anyway!) i reckon if i can use the space blanket material i can just glue it to the cardboard so in theory i should think it would be a bit easier to work with than household foil.

any tips would be much appreciated

[Deleted User]

That would work perfectly CONFUZZLED cut a piece of cardboard to fit cover it with the foil and hang it from the struts that attach the radiator to the wall, job done!

pinkmami

oooh I have a couple of those foil blankets I got after a BUPA run I did. And I have large cardboard in the shed.........off I go!

Confuzzled

well that's two radiator reflectors made and a pair of sore hands :rotfl:


the first one isn't as pretty so i think that one will live upstairs in my room, the second looks very good and i think i will make the cuts for the brackets a little higher so it sits just flush with the top of the radiator so you can't see it in the lounge but that is easy enough to do even though it's ready to go now.


i have 3 more big ones and two small ones for the bathroom radiators to do as well, i may not do the second bathroom radiator one as is on a wall that is a partition that goes into the bedroom so i don't mind the heat seaping into there, downstairs however is on the wall that has the neighbours stairs on the other side and i don't care to share my heat with her (call me stingy, i don't care :rotfl:) so i'll def do that one

once all the cutting is done the gluing on of the space blanket is kinda fun. i'll have enough for 4 large radiators and i think one small radiator that is a bit frankenstein with little bits and pieces of space blanket offcut glued to it, but, waste not want nor right? it's just going to hide behind the radiator anyway.

one thing i have noticed with the one for the living room is that it sticks out a tiny bit from the wall despite me pushing it as close to it as i can, should i just leave it like that for air flow or would it be a good idea to blue tac the corners to the wall?

also, these things won't catch fire or anything will they? i did try clothes on radiators last time we had them so in theory they should be ok but i thought i should ask

pinkmami

so I glue the foil on then tape it on the back? What do you use to hang them? x

Confuzzled

pinkmami wrote: »

so I glue the foil on then tape it on the back? What do you use to hang them? x

i just wrapped the foil around the edges and glued it on the back where it overlapped

you cut slits for the brackets that hold the radiators on the wall, not all the way up obviously or they'd fall off :rotfl: i think i left about 3 inches from the top or so on mine, i also made them about an inch or so wide to give it a little wiggle room for fitting, if it's too snug the brackets will rip the foil off the cardboard when you push down.

now just trying to figure out if i should use any blue tak to stick the wee bit that sticks out from the wall to the wall to make it flush

has anyone used blue tak on walls that have that horrid matte finish you can't wash, why they used that on the walls in this flat i do not know i wish they'd had some consideration for the tennant, it's a two bedroom, did they not think the tennant might have a child :eek:

suzybloo

Hi folks, just wondering if anyone has any ideas about hot water bottles for someone who has severe rheumatoid arthritis in his hands? I know he wouldn't use the wheat bags, but wondered if anyone had come across a type similar to the old style bottles but open easier, as sometimes even for us it's a struggle to get the cork out!

Confuzzled

suzybloo wrote: »

Hi folks, just wondering if anyone has any ideas about hot water bottles for someone who has severe rheumatoid arthritis in his hands? I know he wouldn't use the wheat bags, but wondered if anyone had come across a type similar to the old style bottles but open easier, as sometimes even for us it's a struggle to get the cork out!

i would recommend a heating pad vs a hot water bottle if he has a lot of difficulty with opening the hot water bottles. it gives off a gentle heat, the ones i've had have had very long cords and turn off automatically after 90 minutes for safety's sake, plus there isn't the risk of scalding that he would face if his fingers seized up whilst filling the hot water bottle etc i did a megashopbot search for a good price and found a list here

Rose_Crow

Hi all!

Great to see some of the old gang around, and some new faces :wave: My OH and I have had bits and pieces done to the front of the house which badly needed doing before the winter. We have timber windows, which I adore, but the windowsill on the bay window was on the way out, rotten quite a lot. We had it all cut out and replaced with new wood. Also had the gutter fixed, as the rain was pouring out of it, plus our upstairs windows painted (we can't do it ourselves as our front garden is on a slope) and painted the downstairs windows ourselves.

The deck could do with being painted again but it all takes time, which I don't have much of. Some of you may know I'm a horsey person Suffered with horrible chilblains last year when it got really cold towards the end of the winter. I wear lovely leather country boots, but they just weren't keeping my feet warm enough. Luckily mum found some fleecey muckers in Aldi for £12 so will give those a try this year. I need to think about stocking up my feed store as well, though of course money dictates.

[Deleted User]

I have bought an electric blanket (bargains to be had as the shops aren't selling many when it is 30 degrees out). Green deal was a bit of a failure. Phoned to enquire and was told they rarely fund double glazing or external wall insulation, which is what would really make a difference to our home. At least they were honest and didn't wait until they had taken £100+ for an assessment.