Preparing for Winter

MRSTITTLEMOUSE

rosieben wrote: »

I've really struggled with not putting my heating on but I fear for this old house because it stood empty for over 12 months before I moved in and had got so damp. Wish we'd have a glorious hot summer so it would have dried out better quote]


When we moved in here the house was very damp and it was all down to condensation.Leaving the windows open at both ends of the house to allow a through draught and using damp/moisture crystals has dried it out fine.It's a sad fact that heating in old houses causes more damp rather than drying it out.We have to leave the windows open all summer long as the rooms get very warm and we can get mould in the corners if we don't.

whatatwit

Like Justamum, I get dry inside the shower cubicle....but I only use either a face flannel or a small hand towel.
As it small, I really have to get rubbing to dry myself (sounds dodgy) and then I can get back into my dressing gown when I emerge all glowing (picture Ursula Andress)
I find that this really saves on the washing also as I only have little flannels or hand towels to wash and dry instead of a big fluffy bath towel.

Top tip.....be careful not to knock the shower control just as you are almost dry

sammyjig

Its nice and sunny here at the moment. No heating for me yet. I've just "borrowed" a huge rug from my mum. She has had it in her loft for 15 years since she moved as it won't fit in her house. It is lovely in my back room and is much warmer than the laminate. Hoping it will insulate the room to reduce the need for heating.

elljay

re Coopers of Stortford. As well as the towel warmer they've got some other good offers, for example, dynamo lanterns and solar outside lights. It's a great find, thank you nesssie1702!

Liz

Triggles

We had to leave the heating on now. It's on a timer, so we've kept the times as short as possible to take the chill off. But DS is 2 and takes his shoes and socks off at every opportunity and his feet were freezing. Other than putting him in a sleeper 24/7 (which really isn't a good option), we decided we needed to warm the house up a bit. We have a bit of a draft coming from under one window in the living room, but DH is going to be sealing that up this weekend. Poor guy has a list of DIY to do this weekend! We did cave and bought the heated dryer rack from Lakeland for £75. We don't have a dryer, and with 5 people in the house, we really wanted something that would dry things like sheets, towels, and clothing indoors during the winter. It only costs 3-4p per hour to run, and I am willing to pay that in order to keep the damp down in the house - as that will cause more problems.

nesssie1702

elljay wrote: »

re Coopers of Stortford. As well as the towel warmer they've got some other good offers, for example, dynamo lanterns and solar outside lights. It's a great find, thank you nesssie1702!

Liz

Glad to have been able to help - only buy the papers at the weekend as a treat, so the catalogues are a bit of a bonus!

We're trying not to put our heating on, but we're a wee bit further north than most in the Outer Hebrides, so it's colder and darker for longer come the winter

Got a fill of the oil tank on Monday - 860 litres at 62p a litre :eek: So going to try and eke it out as much as we can. We're wrapping up warm and so far what we've done is use a halogen heater in the living room to take the edge of it. Only using 1 section or 400W worth, so should only be pennies to run for an evening (based on 1KWh of heat cositn 10p with Scottish Power - for the time being! :rolleyes: )

bertiebots

cheerfulness4 wrote: »

Do the flannelette sheets etc make a big difference compared to normal cotton?
I was tempted to get some as I remember them being so soft on my own bed as a little girl and would scrape together the extra cash if it would make it warmer for my sons as we can't afford the heating on either for a while.

I would say so...we always had them on our beds when I was a kid and dont remember ever waking up cold...despite no heating or double glazing! Plus they last for years and are really soft . If you have a market nearby have a look out for them as this is the cheapest place to buy them,or perhaps ask on freecycle?:D

newlywed

No heating on at ours. And the bedroom window (small window) is still open most of the time (though not quite as wide as it was a few months ago )

Finally started up my account to keep the prepay gas and leccy money separated (keep spending it on other stuff ). Hopefully if we can hold out as long as possible before putting the heating on, there should be a bit saved up as an emergency pot and from next month I'm going to increase the payments into that account slightly.

Still need to find some hot water bottles or microwave packs, but debating trying to make my own microwave rice pack - spotted a jar of brown rice in the cupboard yesterday and we very rarely eat it anymore and I'd like the jar to put pearl barley or green lentils in

Will any rice work? Have some out of date pudding rice as well as the brown rice

Justamum

nesssie1702 wrote: »

Got a fill of the oil tank on Monday - 860 litres at 62p a litre :eek: So going to try and eke it out as much as we can.

Ours costs 70.7p a litre :eek::eek:. When we bought some in February it was "only" 52p a litre. I am trying to avoid putting the heating on for as long as possible (or even at all :rolleyes:). I don't want to spend a fortune on oil only to be told our lease isn't going to be renewed at the end of January because we sure as he!! won't be getting a refund from the owner!

Woohoo!! I've just noticed that I've got my first medal. :j (saddo aren't I? :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:)

bertiebots

newlywed wrote: »

No heating on at ours. And the bedroom window (small window) is still open most of the time (though not quite as wide as it was a few months ago )

Finally started up my account to keep the prepay gas and leccy money separated (keep spending it on other stuff ). Hopefully if we can hold out as long as possible before putting the heating on, there should be a bit saved up as an emergency pot and from next month I'm going to increase the payments into that account slightly.

Still need to find some hot water bottles or microwave packs, but debating trying to make my own microwave rice pack - spotted a jar of brown rice in the cupboard yesterday and we very rarely eat it anymore and I'd like the jar to put pearl barley or green lentils in

Will any rice work? Have some out of date pudding rice as well as the brown rice

I made my own "wheat bags" using pearl barley which is only about 35p from mr s so its cheaper than using rice etc ...hopefully this link will work!
http://tipnut.com/make-your-own-microwave-heating-pad/