Preparing for Winter

Confuzzled

shellieholly wrote: »

Bathroom. Terrible black mould issues on outside facing wall but leaving the window open freezes the house and doesn't seem to make any difference- Stuck for ideas here. Dehumidifier? Expensive!

Not sure how I'll get the cloth nappies dry without a tumble drier..

Gosh.. now I am super depressed.. that wasn't my aim!

ok as for the dehumidifier, you can get one for around 50 quid sometimes less though i'd ask on freecycle i bet someone has one you could have for free!

dehumidifiers have been repeatedly reported to help clothing drying nearby dry more quickly and the savings in heat (vs opening the window) will be substantial (btw put some bubble wrap in your bathroom window, it works a treat at keeping in the warm air and the cold air out)

another thing to consider is that bathroom MUST be dealt with with a baby coming. that mould is very dangerous for underdeveloped lungs and/or anyone with a mould allergy. we had rising damp behind wardrobes and bookcases (open ones mind you so plenty of air circulation) and it caused my then 14 month old daughter to develop glue ear as well as needing benelyn EVERY night to breathe well enough to sleep (we didn't know we had the mould til we moved furniture) it also caused me to become terribly arthritic with hands so weak i could barely hold a newspaper some days. i gained 2 stone in 6 weeks from bloating and was in intense pain. yes i'm allergic to this kind of mould but i only found out by breathing it in for months on end

the good news is that within 2 weeks of moving to a new home that was mould free my daughters constant catarrh and her breathing problems abated as did my arthritic like symptoms and i was already losing all the weight it had caused me to put on from bloating. her glue ear sadly did NOT go away and after several years of steroidal treatments she had grommits put in but the child that HAD been speaking quite well before the glue ear had had to learn speech that was akin to talking through water. this had her behind in school on an emotional and to a degree developmental way for a few years until her speech and confidence built up to more normal levels... all this because of severe mould!

if there is ANYONE you can contact, any local groups etc that help people with housing issues i'd contact them now, your baby's health might be at risk if not your own.

an airer loaded with nappies in front of a storage heater will take care of drying them and if you have a dehumidifier this will help them dry even faster. if you worry about them being stiff just rub each one between your hands a few times to crumple it up a bit before stacking thema nd putting them away. i dried all my daughters nappies over radiator airers and whilst stiff to start with the crumple method worked fine!

mardatha

Feels cooler today and the swallows are gathering, getting ready to go. Schools go back tomorrow - tha was a VERY short summer ..:(

jackieglasgow

You're right Mardatha, its cold here too today. It was lovely yesterday as well, but we usually get a last wee burst in September. Fingers crossed, I don't want to shut my back door yet!

Confuzzled

in fife we had a wee break the last few days of it being a reasonable temperature during the day, sunlight even!

alas, it's cool and grey here, though thankfully not wet (well not yet!) i just keep thinking of those few glorious weeks in june when i thought we'd have a hotter than average summer...

oh well can't be right all the time

pagangirl

Got a great bargain today - fully lined winter curtains at Age Uk charity shop, complete with tie backs and top frill for £6.99 (and they match colours in living room) Someone definitely watching over me Hope everyone else has had as good a day.

Hugs to all

babyboysmommy

Please forgive me for not having read the entire thread, I know the answers may be somewhere in there... We have lined curtains which is great but can I put up a fleece by tucking it in along the net curtain wire or will this cause condensation problems? Or is there another way I can help cut back on heat loss through the windows, especially the bedroom ones? Many thanks

tinselfairy

Since reading this thread a couple of days ago I've been to Primark and bought a couple of cream fleece blankets to attach to the back of our curtains in the lounge. If that doesn't work then I'll use them in the children's room and re-think the lounge.
I've bought a small rug, and anti slip backing for it, for the dining room and will do the same for standing on in the kitchen.
Need to get a fleecey underblanket as we now have a king size bed and last winter we had a double. I did try and stretch it over the new one, but it just wouldn't fit!
Will look into thermals for me as I'm the cold blooded one.
Also look at stocking up one foods that look set to rise in price.
Thanks to those you have already posted and given me the shove to thinking about maing this winter warmer.

Princess_kate

I recently bought a dehumidifier from argos it was £50 & i am very pleased with it. I dry my clothes inside & keep the window in the room with the airers open slightly but was still worried about damp. I am stunned how much water ends up in the unit & I have taken to put it on for a few hours when I hang up the washing & it dries it so much faster! Totally reccomend it esp with a lil one on the way! HTH

annie123

Mardatha, you measured your bedroom window yet?

beedeedee

A few weeks ago, I was leafing through an interior design magazine at the dentist (I never buy one) and I noticed a photo of a very nice room with what looked like wooden/plasterboard? panels covered with wallpapaper or fabric that just slid on tracks in front of the windows. They looked really good. Has anyone done this or seen them anywhere else? Are they better at heat retention than curtains do you think?