Preparing for Winter

katylou6180

Hi there, on the winter thread, I have picked up the idea about the curtains, in our house we suffer terribly with condensation and damp, has anyone got any ideas for this other than making a carbon tyreprint opening windows with heating on? We did investigate getting a dehumidifier-anyone know whether this works? Sorry If i have posted on the wrong thread but I am still relatively new here......and WINTER stood out like a sore thumb

oliveoyl

twiglet98 wrote: »

Thinking about putting single duvets under bottom sheets for extra warmth, all our beds are 4'6 doubles and I think our top duvets are all 10.5 tog, what tog rating is best to go under the sheet? Will a 13.5 be toasty warm but too thick for the fitted sheets to go over? Will a 4.5 be too thin to be worth buying them? DD23, DS21 and DD17 are not happy bunnies but I need to leave the heating off for as long as possible and they're all early nighters, so making the beds as cosy as possible seems a great idea.

I have a 4.5 tog duvet and one of those fleecy under-blanket fitted sheets on mine in winter... I manage to get fitted sheets over the top but the duvet doesn't go over the corners/edges... if it did I don't think I could use fitted sheets.

oliveoyl

katylou6180 wrote: »

Hi there, on the winter thread, I have picked up the idea about the curtains, in our house we suffer terribly with condensation and damp, has anyone got any ideas for this other than making a carbon tyreprint opening windows with heating on? We did investigate getting a dehumidifier-anyone know whether this works? Sorry If i have posted on the wrong thread but I am still relatively new here......and WINTER stood out like a sore thumb

Yes, they do work... they also make damp rooms feel warmer by taking the moisture away... you'll be amazed at how much water they collect. They're probably just as eco-unfriendly as windows open though. Not sure about running costs either.

MRSTITTLEMOUSE

I bought a dehumidifier last year as we live in a very old house and they are brilliant.
So good I bought another for upstairs so I don't have to lug this one around.
I used mine through the summer on hot days and it collected loads of water,actually more than you get in winter.
I would leave it on over night and the rooms would be lovely and fresh instead of stuffy when we got up and it would collect loads of water that would of turned to condensation.
They purify the air too and that horrible cold damp feeling seems to disappear.
They don't cost very much at all to run either.
I'm always amazed at how much water they collect in just a few hours.
Well worth the money if only to save decorating costs from damp and condensation.

ktpie

katylou6180 wrote: »

Hi there, on the winter thread, I have picked up the idea about the curtains, in our house we suffer terribly with condensation and damp, has anyone got any ideas for this other than making a carbon tyreprint opening windows with heating on? We did investigate getting a dehumidifier-anyone know whether this works? Sorry If i have posted on the wrong thread but I am still relatively new here......and WINTER stood out like a sore thumb

Our last house was an old terrace and didn't have any cavities in the walls so we had lots of problems with condensation. We borrowed a large dehumidifier from my Mum and it made a lot of difference.

ktpie

fedupandskint wrote: »

I think I will attach some fleeces the my bedroom curtains, just need to work out how now. The curtains have a header tape with the hooks attached to them and then the curtain rings attached to the hooks and then onto the curtain pole.

How could I attach the fleece to the header tape below the hooks level?

• Cut holes in the fleece and attach onto a new row of hooks?

Also what do people do about sizing them to the curtain sizes? My curtains are 66" x 72" drop and 66" x 90" drop.

• Would a normal size fleece fit and would you need one or two?
• If too wide can you cut them straight in half with scissors?

I can feel the cold leaching up from the cellar which is below the living room, does anyone have any tips on what to do about this as I am stuck on this! The kitchen is always lovely and warm even though the cellar door is in there but the cellar does not run underneath

The Ikea fleeces I have my eye on are 170cm x 130cm (sorry it's in cm) if that helps. Lenghwise my windows are short enough for one to fit, widthwise I am thinking I will have to have a few to cover them. I wouldn't think there would be a problem cutting the fleece, it doesn't fray (one of the benefits of using fleece!)

Not quite figured out the attaching part myself yet!

Would a thick rug help with the cellar? Thicker underlay may also help although that would be a big job and costly, I guess something to think about if you get the carpet replaced.

Savvy_sewing

To attach fleece to your existing curtains, if you sew "single tape" to the side of the fabric that will back onto the curtains, then you just use extra hooks to hook onto the lower edge of your triple header tape, that most curtains have on them.
If you have Tap Top curtains, then you can buy Clips and use them to attach to the top of the curtain, between the tabs.
Of course if you have any sewing skills, you could tack the fleece, so that it is easier to remove in the summer.
Hope this is of help to people.
Mooloo

ifonlyitwaseasier

well i'm definitely feeling the cold more, this morning had a nip in the air that forced me to stay in bed for an extra 20 mins!

no heating yet but am thinking about getting a blanket on top of the duvet tonight

[Deleted User]

I put the duvet on the bed this week and am still with crisp cotton bedding so it is cool to get into but lovely all night. I got a new duvet last summer and a mattress cover both by climarelle and they have certainly evened out the night time sleeping temperature. Really good not waking from time to time because I am too hot

Bah humbug to the weather forcasters and their predictions of a very hot summer. I bought an air cooler and now have to decide where I am going to store this twice used item. No doubt it will be much appreciated in the future but does take up room in the house

We are all ready this year and I know that I am certainly ready for the change in season. Must be a mammal thing

Patchwork_Quilt

fedupandskint wrote: »

I can feel the cold leaching up from the cellar which is below the living room, does anyone have any tips on what to do about this as I am stuck on this! The kitchen is always lovely and warm even though the cellar door is in there but the cellar does not run underneath

I'm not sure how practical this would be for you but what about sticking a few layers of newspaper on top of the floorboards but underneath the carpet? Then, you need to get some tape and seal the angle between the floorboards and the skirting board. Perhaps packing tape might do.