Preparing for winter IV

the_frugal_frog

I don't have my heating on, I am pre payment meters and just cannot afford it. Last night I woke 4 or 5 times as it was so cold, I have duvet and covers and an eiderdown but the whole house was just icy. I slept in my jammies and my woollen dressing gown but still it was cold. I was wondering if anyone has an electric blanket and if they are economical??? I am a little worried about being frazzled but I am sure they wouldn't be sold if they weren't safe. not sure how MSE they are though. I cant seem to get warm in this big house, its just me roaming around.

I have a hot water bottle but at 2 am finding it with my feet , it was stone cold :rotfl:

Upsidedown_Bear

the_frugal_frog wrote: »

I don't have my heating on, I am pre payment meters and just cannot afford it. Last night I woke 4 or 5 times as it was so cold, I have duvet and covers and an eiderdown but the whole house was just icy. I slept in my jammies and my woollen dressing gown but still it was cold. I was wondering if anyone has an electric blanket and if they are economical??? I am a little worried about being frazzled but I am sure they wouldn't be sold if they weren't safe. not sure how MSE they are though. I cant seem to get warm in this big house, its just me roaming around.

I have a hot water bottle but at 2 am finding it with my feet , it was stone cold :rotfl:

This is from 2009 onwards but it's still helpful

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2064219

the_frugal_frog

thanks so much for the link, I am sold!!! will see if I can pick up one tomorrow from Argos. Wondering if it will work as a throw over the sofa whilst I am watching tv, never actually had one so will see.

pinkmami

the_frugal_frog wrote: »

I don't have my heating on, I am pre payment meters and just cannot afford it. Last night I woke 4 or 5 times as it was so cold, I have duvet and covers and an eiderdown but the whole house was just icy. I slept in my jammies and my woollen dressing gown but still it was cold. I was wondering if anyone has an electric blanket and if they are economical??? I am a little worried about being frazzled but I am sure they wouldn't be sold if they weren't safe. not sure how MSE they are though. I cant seem to get warm in this big house, its just me roaming around.

I have a hot water bottle but at 2 am finding it with my feet , it was stone cold :rotfl:

Best thing to warm up - HOT WATER BOTTLE!!! Love mine. Do you have a cover on it?

the_frugal_frog

hi, yes I have 2 water bottles, both have knitted covers on them, its ok for a while but I am waking from midnight til 5 am when I get up as its so cold.

bluebag

the_frugal_frog wrote: »

I don't have my heating on, I am pre payment meters and just cannot afford it. Last night I woke 4 or 5 times as it was so cold, I have duvet and covers and an eiderdown but the whole house was just icy. I slept in my jammies and my woollen dressing gown but still it was cold. I was wondering if anyone has an electric blanket and if they are economical??? I am a little worried about being frazzled but I am sure they wouldn't be sold if they weren't safe. not sure how MSE they are though. I cant seem to get warm in this big house, its just me roaming around.

I have a hot water bottle but at 2 am finding it with my feet , it was stone cold :rotfl:

So sorry that heating is something unaffordable at the moment, you are not on your own.

I use an electric blanket, they are very safe these days as they have an overheat protection.

Mine costs about 3p a night to run, if I have it on all night. Amazing invention and I would buy one again in a flash, I'm always freezing in bed without it.

bluebag

the_frugal_frog wrote: »

thanks so much for the link, I am sold!!! will see if I can pick up one tomorrow from Argos. Wondering if it will work as a throw over the sofa whilst I am watching tv, never actually had one so will see.

The blankets are designed to be kept flat so they don't overheat so it shouldn't be used as a throw.

It is also important not to use a hot water bottle with them as if it leaks that can cause a problem.

Maybe you can use the now redundant hot water bottle on the couch instead.

Becky_2

SuiDreams wrote: »

Think I need to rethink the drying washing process for the winter had heating on and dehumidifier on all day yesterday and some things still didn't dry (cardigans), so back to the drawing board.

SuiDreams, I know it has been mentioned on here before but I can really recommend the heated dryers (I got mine from lakeland). I know they are fairly expensive but we don't have a tumble dryer and drying clothes before was a pain. Clothes dries overnight. I put a normal washing rack next to the heated one and then close the door, this way I can dry 2 loads in one go. I also put an old duvet cover over the heated one and hang everything on hangers. Good luck in finding a way that works for you when drying your washing

SuiDreams

Becky_2 wrote: »

SuiDreams, I know it has been mentioned on here before but I can really recommend the heated dryers (I got mine from lakeland). I know they are fairly expensive but we don't have a tumble dryer and drying clothes before was a pain. Clothes dries overnight. I put a normal washing rack next to the heated one and then close the door, this way I can dry 2 loads in one go. I also put an old duvet cover over the heated one and hang everything on hangers. Good luck in finding a way that works for you when drying your washing

I have an older flat version which I haven't used for years as found it didn't dry very evenly, even with moving things round on it. I found certain (polyester type) fabrics smelt odd after drying ad needed to be rewashed. I'm going to try the double spin with my next load of washing.

SuiDreams

Read the meters this morning and am a bit shocked at how much gas I've used this week with such a small amount of heating (the boiler is definately getting less efficient each year by the looks of it). Dread to think how much it will use when its really cold. Having the throws on the floors yesterday evening and overnight really made a big difference. The dogs seemed very disapointed when I took them up this morning, but thought the dog walkers might think I was a bit mad having throws all over the floor, plus the dogs would probably just bunch them all up to make little nests anyway. Definately need to go rug shopping.