Preparing for Winter V

Wednesday2000

I should remember to use my dehumidifier this winter and put it in the room where I dry the laundry as I bought one a couple of years back!

I also want to upgrade my bedding when it gets colder. I am going to buy a thick duvet as we recently got rid of our old one and are using the thin duvet instead while it is still warm.

I did see a YouTuber raving about a heated foot massager and I saw one on Amazon so that is on my wishlist for the winter order too.

ET22

I found that changing the heavy cotton duvet covers and sheets to lightweight better. Much quicker drying time, less moisture in the air 

boultdj

Wednesday2000 said:

I should remember to use my dehumidifier this winter and put it in the room where I dry the laundry as I bought one a couple of years back!

I also want to upgrade my bedding when it gets colder. I am going to buy a thick duvet as we recently got rid of our old one and are using the thin duvet instead while it is still warm.

I did see a YouTuber raving about a heated foot massager and I saw one on Amazon so that is on my wishlist for the winter order too.

We've just got new duvet for our beds,13.5 tog for £12 for the double size at the moment on Amazon. A lot of the winter bedding is on offer as well. hth

Laura_Elsewhere

Our little flat had a mould problem when we moved in, and we have a dehumidifier but we find that what works best for us is opening the windows front and back, wide open, for a short period before closing them again. 

We've used digital thermometers positioned around the room to see how the air temp indoors is affected by window-opening for three minutes, on a day when outside air temp is just below freezing, and we've found that most of the flat only drops by one degree or less; the area near the windows drops more, but all of it recovers completely without any additional heat within one hour, and most of the recovery is within twenty minutes. So we typically open the windows when we have just got back from a short morning walk, and then by the time we have changed our shoes for slipper-socks, and taken off scarves and hats and so on, and sorted out breakfast, the flat is the temp it was. 

We still use the dehumidifier in the sitting-room, but as we have the bedroom window a few inches open in all but the very bitterest weather, that helps keep the bedroom clear of mould. We have a wool duvet, which to our surprise has not only been warm in winter (with a thin patchwork quilt on top) but hasn't been over-warm all summer- I think we've switched to just a sheet on only about two nights, despite its being over 20 at night quite a few times. 

joedenise

We've got 2 wool duvets.  We use a British wool one indoors and a New Zealand wool one in our motorhome.  The British wool one is definitely warmer so if we go away in winter in the motorhome we usually swap the duvets over!

Green_hopeful

Opening the windows to ventilate the house is very common in europe. Because the air is drier outside it allows moist air to escape and dry air to replace it. We have dehumidifiers in the rooms we use most but also ventilate the rooms in the morning. We use a window vac to remove any moisture from the windows as well. We window vac the shower after use. It has made a big difference to our windows. 

We dry our washing outside on hangers on the washing whirlygig. It means you can hang it out and bring it in in seconds. We hang it in the airing cupboard if it needs drying further. 

There is some good advice on using a dehumidifier for drying washing on here. https://www.getenergysavvy.info/post/dehumidifierhacks

cornishchick

Green_hopeful said:

There is some good advice on using a dehumidifier for drying washing on here. https://www.getenergysavvy.info/post/dehumidifierhacks

awesome tips thanks for sharing 

beckstar1975

I'm delurking with a question if you don't mind, about to send DD off to university for the first time, and wondering what duvet to get her. She'll be in uni halls in the Midlands (we're London) but normally runs really cold, do you think 13.5 tog would be too much duvet wise or would it be OK? She has blankets and an electric blanket, really can't work out whether a 10.5 tog with extra bits for when it's freezing would be better? She'll also have a mattress topper as their mattresses are rubbish (going by DS experience but he never wears a coat so is a useless temp gauge!).

I'll make sure one of her sets of bedding is flannel/brushed cotton too.

Any other tips greatly appreciated

beckstar1975

PS - we have wool duvets at home but it's quite a lot to get for something that will only be used for a couple of years, as she's in single bed in hall but has a double at home

Laura_Elsewhere

beckstar1975 said:

PS - we have wool duvets at home but it's quite a lot to get for something that will only be used for a couple of years, as she's in single bed in hall but has a double at home

Why not just send her off with her home wool-duvet? I had a double feather duvet in my student single bed and it was fine, most people did because tbh a single duvet really only works if you’re very thin and sleep immobile- otherwise you just have endless draughts in unexpected places! 

If she nips home during termtime then you can always pinch a spare duvet for her home bed- most homes have some spare bedding that will do for a weekend