Preparing for Winter V

wannalot

Hello all, what an interesting thread, full of good ideas.

can I ask: has anyone bought those reflective sheets which are supposed to be place behind radiators to reflect heat back into the room? Are they effective?

my electricity bill is estimated to go up again this winter and I’m keen to prevent this if at all possible…

weenancyinAmerica

Plain aluminium foil should work also.

Auti

Yes I have and they have stopped the outside wall behind the radiator from absorbing heat so I am happy. I cut them a bit bigger than the radiator size and secure them to the wall - they look fine - and make sure curtains are behind the radiator so not letting the heat heat the window. (Edit for auto correct spelling)

YoungBlueEyes

I have foil wrapped round big bits of cardboard behind my radiators. Well the ones that are on external walls. It does make a difference, but not to my electric bill cos my radiators are gch.

Auntycaz

I've made 2 new thicker door draught excluders out of thick curtain samples,  (the bought ones are quite thin and not wide enough for my doors) I've had both my covid and flu jabs before the weather gets too bad, stocked up my first aid box and my food cupboards so if we have any real bad weather I don't have to venture outdoors. I always keep a couple of bottles/cartons of milk in the freezer for the same reason as I do not like UHT.
Make sure to bleed and check your radiators, you don't want to wait until the weather is bad to find out they're not working. I've had to put my heating on for an hour a couple of times recently in the morning just to take the chill off, I don't need it on all the time yet, I've also pinned a spare pair of curtains to the back of the ones I have up for an extra layer of warmth.
I've already started to use my stone pig water bottles and I'm already using my winter dressing gowns. I often pop one on over my clothes in the winter if its chilly as a quilt or blanket keeps you warm while you sit on the couch but not when you go in the kitchen to make a hot drink. Any other tips would be appreciated. Stay warm everyone.

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Laura_Elsewhere

My parents have the main radiator on the wall behind their sofa (I know, I know, who designs these things?!), and we had a flash of inspiration two years ago and bought one of those very very thin foil blankets they wrap round people rescued at sea, after marathons and suchlike. We used ordinary sewing pins to pin it to the back of the sofa, so that it drapes down to floor level, and pools there- in fact we pinned it only at the top edge, invisible unless you stand behind the door (!), and then pulled the floor edge about six inches away from the sofa, so it's at a bit of an angle, hoping that the heat form the radiator would be reflected back upwards into the room instead of being absorbed into the sofa-back- and indeed it works as hoped. Just in the first days of using it, they noticed a distinct difference. 

So if any of your radiators have furniture in front, try a foil blanket!

Also, buying a huge foil blanket was a LOT cheaper than buying foil would have been- from memory it was something like £1.79 and free p&p, for a blanket something like 2m by 2m... 

cornishchick

Laura_Elsewhere said:

So if any of your radiators have furniture in front, try a foil blanket!

Also, buying a huge foil blanket was a LOT cheaper than buying foil would have been- from memory it was something like £1.79 and free p&p, for a blanket something like 2m by 2m... 

I did similarly, there is nowhere else to put a sofa successfully. the foil worked a treat, but I haven't  angled it so I may tweak it, thank you 

dizzyblnd

I absolutely hate winter and try to prep each year to make it more bearable but never to any success. I hate being cold. We have had quite a few of the doors and windows replaced in our house in the last few years but I’m questioning putting an extra layer behind curtains and doors to see if that helps with the cold.

does anyone have any tips for making winter more enjoyable?

Wednesday2000

We have been very lucky with the weather in Cornwall this week, but today is a bit blustery and chilly. I am sitting in bed with the heating on in the hotel at the moment as I'm tired from walking around so much. As we don't have a fridge I bought some cup a soups from Tesco last night and I'm about to have one. I am going to batch cook some proper homemade butternut squash soup when I get home. I intend to do some winter prep when I get home too. Putting the electric fan into the attic, getting out the warm pet beds, and going through the airing cupboard. It is meant to rain later, but it is nice and cosy sitting here and hearing the waves.🙂

Laura_Elsewhere

dizzyblnd said:

I absolutely hate winter and try to prep each year to make it more bearable but never to any success. I hate being cold. We have had quite a few of the doors and windows replaced in our house in the last few years but I’m questioning putting an extra layer behind curtains and doors to see if that helps with the cold.

does anyone have any tips for making winter more enjoyable?

 This is a BBC piece about research on practical ways to help people who hate winter and find it a struggle. Maybe some useful tips?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/4GBxvMRrfS0hPGkQfM9NWHt/look-for-the-light-practical-tips-to-help-you-through-another-winter-with-sad

(I'm the other way round- if it goes much over about 23º in summer I start having problems- in hot weather I get very miserable, weepy, wake up exhausted and find everything a dreadful struggle. So I do sympathise, in an opposing sort of way!)