Preparing for Winter V

MrsStepford

Our first winter prep will be getting the boiler fixed. Husband has been trying to get someone to do it, since it sprang a water leak in June. I don't think it's even five years old yet. Husband used to be qualified to fix all sorts of gas appliances but became a manager and didn't bother to keep updated. 

As husband was diagnosed with COPD last year, we haven't bothered to get the chimney swept. I think I need to find a chimney balloon. Slowly, I hope husband will able to shift the logs into bags and leave out the front for people to take away. 

Might get a bigger slow cooker as although only the two of us, the size of ours is pretty inadequate. 

Floss

MrsStepford said:

As husband was diagnosed with COPD last year, we haven't bothered to get the chimney swept. I think I need to find a chimney balloon. Slowly, I hope husband will able to shift the logs into bags and leave out the front for people to take away.  

Have a look at these natural alternatives - felted Herdwick wool: 
https://chimneysheep.co.uk

MrsStepford

Thanks @Floss that's super helpful ! 

Laura_Elsewhere

Floss said:

MrsStepford said:

As husband was diagnosed with COPD last year, we haven't bothered to get the chimney swept. I think I need to find a chimney balloon. Slowly, I hope husband will able to shift the logs into bags and leave out the front for people to take away.  

Have a look at these natural alternatives - felted Herdwick wool: 
https://chimneysheep.co.uk

Yes, my parents got a Chimneysheep one in 2020 and it has made SUCH a difference! 

HappyinDevon

Had a bit of a lightbulb moment when I was away camping this week, I’m planning on using my microfibre towels in house rather than “normal “ ones through winter, as they dry so much quicker than standard ones, we don’t ( like some people do) have a fresh towel every day after showering, and our heating isn’t on during day when we are at work, so towels can sometimes hang around in a cold damp bathroom for hours before heating comes on….. this year microfibre one and training family to bring them to a clothes airer in porch is the plan!!

Cherryfudge

That's an idea, @HappyinDevon. We are coming up to that time of year when towels don't dry between uses. My version of it is to use a hand towel rather than a bath towel: it doesn't dry as fast as a microfibre towel, but I can have a fresh towel more often without increasing the amount of laundry, so it's cheaper. I also get out of the bath or shower onto a face cloth placed on the bathmat, as I'm fed up of soggy bath mats! The face cloth dries faster but I still get the benefit of a warm soft mat.

joedenise

We always use a microfibre cloth (the small ones they sell for kitchen/bathroom use in the SM!) to get the worst off before using the normal towel to finish off so the towels don't get soaked anyway and dry off quickly ready to be reused next time.

Floss

HappyinDevon said:

... I’m planning on using my microfibre towels in house rather than “normal “ ones through winter, as they dry so much quicker than standard ones, we don’t ( like some people do) have a fresh towel every day after showering, and our heating isn’t on during day when we are at work, so towels can sometimes hang around in a cold damp bathroom for hours before heating comes on…..

I change my towels weekly (there's only me) and hang my bath sheet up when I get dressed. The hand towel around my hair goes on the end of the towel radiator, which, when the heating is on, will be warm for half an hour before & during my shower. My bathroom has a permanent ventilation thingy in so it doesn't get damp due to moist air being extracted. The bath mat gets hung over the bath to air between showers.

SuzeQStan

Cherryfudge said:

That's an idea, @HappyinDevon. We are coming up to that time of year when towels don't dry between uses. My version of it is to use a hand towel rather than a bath towel: it doesn't dry as fast as a microfibre towel, but I can have a fresh towel more often without increasing the amount of laundry, so it's cheaper. I also get out of the bath or shower onto a face cloth placed on the bathmat, as I'm fed up of soggy bath mats! The face cloth dries faster but I still get the benefit of a warm soft mat.

Great idea Cherry! Am pinching this one 🤌🏻

Laura_Elsewhere

We try to avoid using our small microfibre towels due to the laundry:oceans problem (see below) but damp cotton towels are a problem in our small top-floor flat esp as we don’t bother using any heaters. In summer we hang them up by open windows, but in winter they really have to go in the tumble dryer- and ours has just started to take a Very Long Time…
so we have a new heat-pump dryer on the way! It will apparently take longer but much less electricity and much less heat so probably better for our clothes too!

(everyone has their personal priorities- we avoid plastics but still eat meat; others might use microfibres but be vegetarian.. no criticism intended!)