freezing cold house with no central heating - help!

cantstopshopping

hello,

im not sure if this is the best place to post this question... but any advice would be very much appreciated!

I live in a rented flat in a very old house which doesn't have central heating. The windows are all very old and seem to let in a lot of cold - and let out any heat.

I tried masking tape last year and am going to make some thick curtains but i now need to find the best way of actually heating the flat.

At the moment i have plug in electric heaters which let out hot air from the top. these cost a small fortune to have on and the second i turn them off all of the heat dissapears from the room!

I am just constantly so cold that it it making me feel miserable to be at home. any advice as to the best way of heating my flat and actually containing th heat would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

tanith

Thermostatically controlled oil filled radiators seem to do quite a good job and although they cost more than Central Heating they are not so bad as the hot air heaters you are using.. thick curtains is a good idea and draught excluders around the doors too... trouble is if the rooms have high ceilings and large rooms it takes an awful lot of effort to heat them affectively... sorry not to be much more help I know how miserable I feel when I am cold .... thermal underwear maybe...

donny-gal

There is nothing worse than being cold, so my sympathies. Going to sound rather old fashioned but the best way to keep warm is to dress unfashionably. Find a thermal vest and weat it under a t-shirt and then jumpers. Layers are best. Wear tights and socks, you will surprised how much warmer you feel with tights on. Slippers not mules. Look around the discount stores which sell home goods, curtains, beddding etc., to find some thermal linings for curtains and hang them inside your curtains. More efficient than just thick curtains. Get a tube of filler £1 have them, and fill up any cracks where the windows meet the frame, and if there are big gaps in the frame.

Be careful with the heating, if you have gas or paraffin (neither of which I would have) then you have to have ventillation so that is a l counter productive, even though the fuel is cheaper. Maybe one of the energysave sites may find out which type of electric heating uses less electric -v- heat. I think I saw some where it was Halogen, but I may be wrong there.

This may help.
http://www.eartheasy.com/live_cheapheat.htm

Good Luck
DG

shed_head_2

I also used to live in an old cold house, so you have my depest sympathy and empathy. Something I did was to buy a plastic film and cover the wondows with it. kind of worked like a secondary double glazing. Worked really well and I just took it off in a summer so that I could open the wondows. I think I bought it from "betterware" I experimented with clingfilm one year but this was not sucessful. I also experimented with those see through bin bags they use in stores. The ones they use so that you can see the contents. That worked really well. I taped them together till they were big enough to fit the wondows. didnt look great but they kept the drafts out and let the day light in.

There is also no substitute for ski socks for keeping your feet warm!

Em

belfastgirl23

I cut up some old sheets and used them to make curtain linings. I doubled them over for about a foot or so at the bottom to keep the draught out properly. Very cheap (in fact I think someone gave me old sheets for free) but time consuming since I sewed them by hand, for a bay window...

It's horrible being cold. I agree wiht the poster who suggests oil filled electric heaters...also what about a hot water bottle in the meantime?

kunekune

I have spent much of my adult life in houses which only have heating on the living area, often inefficient heating. The advice so far is good, here are some other ideas.

1. Make some willie snakes for the doors. You might be surprised at how much heat is lost under the doors. Also, if you end up furious with someone, they can be quite helpful, LOL.
2. Bedrooms rarely need any heating, just make sure everyone is properly dressed and warm the bed with a water bottle before you get in. The first time in my life I had a heated bedroom was a year ago, when we returned to the UK from NZ. My instant reaction was to turn the heater off, and it hasn't gone back on.
3. Exception to 2, if you have a small child in there. Those sleepsacks are good, though, they can't wriggle out of the warmth. I reckon you'd find some of them on ebay quite easily.
4. The best lining for your curtains if the rails will take it (I realise it's a rental and things aren't always quite right) is blankets. You can get blankets on ebay or, even better, charity shops and jumble sales (do people still have jumble sales here? I admit I haven't seen one this last year).

dorry_2

When we were first married we didn't have any heating and oh used to have to lite the coal fire to keep the whole house warm:eek:

Have you got any of those microwavale beanies?? just warm in micro for 2 mins, great for keep your feet warm under a throw

titus.a.duxarse

I agree with Belfastgirl. A couple of nice hot water bottles would help.

JenniO

never underestimate just how much heat candles give off!

trying-very-trying

I would agree with everything that has already been said, and I would like to add that drying washing in a cold house is neither good for the washing or the temperature in the room.

I also go for the layering up of clothes, I always have a body warmer close to hand, it's easy to take off, you ever do get too warm.

I would also say that hot food and drinks do help, so start the day with your steaming porridge rather than your cornflakes, the have a good hot bowl of soup at lunchtime, and a hot dinner at night.

Lastly, I can't recommend those little halogen heaters highly enough, you can get one from poundstretchers for about a tenner, or you could try a freecycle request for one. They give out a good heat for as little as 400wph. I use one for warmth in the tween seasons, when I have the central heating is switched off, but need a bit of heat in the morning and last thing at night.

cantstopshopping

wow! lots of ideas thankyou!! Blankets or old sheets to line the curtains is a fantastic idea so i will give that a go. I have been wearing lots of layers and i dug out my hot water bottle yesterday which actually made a lot of difference last night!

i will have a look in to the oil heaters too.

I feel warmer already!! thankyou