freezing cold house with no central heating - help!

Bungarm2001

Just thought I'd add my bit here too as someone who spent most of her childhood absolutely freezing! My mum used to pile up loads of coats on our beds to keep us warm...I had so many on top that I could hardly breathe ...anyway, my tips are; wear loads of layers. I find that you can buy really thin wool jumpers in the charity shops and layering them up with t-shirts, long and short sleeved with a fleecy top over the whole lot works really well. (I had 5 layers on one day...!) Keeping the layers thin is the trick.

Don't forget tights are almost always warmer than socks.

Hot water bottles are a real must, in or out of bed.

Fix holes in the windows with wet paper (good suggestion by another poster) and use the plastic 'hair dryer' double glazing if you can get it.

Big thick curtains right down to the floor...I used to sew velcro to the lower 2 feet or so of curtain, then stick the other strip of velcro to the wall so the curtains stayed right up against the windows (bit over the top I know, but it worked!)

Don't forget the floor too...sometimes, even carpeted floors can be really cold. Buy a few rugs or if you don't mind the look of 'em, spread a few blankets on the floor (another one of my mum's tricks)

Last but not least, as others have said here candles can actually help, and make sure you eat well and have lots of hot drinks.

sammy_kaye18

AS someone who really cant afford to heat the place alot and i was on meters last year (my god i hated them) i picked up these few tips

• put any extra duvets/fleece blankets under bottom sheet of bed - helps insulate heat and you'll be shocked how much snugglier the bed is and how well you sleep
• Plenty of soups and other warming foods.
• When finished cooking, leave oven door open to allow heat ot escape into the room
• Get the cling film stuff if it helps.
• Put cardboard covered in tin foil behind any outer wall radiators to help reflect heat back into the room
• Fill any holes at windows (filler in £1 in poundland and the special pump thing you need is abotu £1.50 in wilkinsons) small price for big effects
• Line any windows with curtains or spare blankets (check charity shops)
• If possible snag a few blinds as these help keep outheat and drafts (as i found this year!
• Layers , Layers , Layers - whether its a vest or tshirt under work stuff or a jumper or fleece blanket wrapped round you in the home.
• Candles - a god send in black outs and will help to psychologically trick you into thinking it warmer
• Make sure if any littlies in the house have PJs, slippers and dressing gown.
• Rice bags can be usedin little ones beds and are prety snug but make sure you use them correctly, i find them much safer for my DS aged 3 tan a hot water bottle
• Hot water bottles - put them in bed to heat it up before getting in or sit cuddling one whilst watchign telly, even under feet whilst at the computer
• If no hot water bottles, make rice bags. Easy and effective but make sure you use tem properly
• Draught excluders. Easy to make or cheap to pick up and you'll be surprised the draughts they keep out. You might even find making a window ledge sized one will help with draughts at windows too or if not it can be used to tuck curtains under and therefore keep your heat in
• When closign curtains sit them on the window ledge or tuck them behind the radiator - what point is there closing curtains and them falling over the radiator becasue then all the heat is trapped behind the curtain and escapes
• Buy Pyjamas for bed and some bed socks.
• buy a slow cooker - mine is tiny but you'd be surprised hwo much heat it gives off - i have a tiny kitchen and its always lovely and warm in there form my little slow cooker plus i have the bonus of a warm meal too
• If ou can do it and its really cold why not go to bed early and sit in bed watchign TV or reading a book, witha nice cup of hot chocolate etc
• Make your bed in teh morning, you'd be surprised hwo much warmer it is than getting into a bed that has been unmade as the sheets are always freezing (this form someone who has NO heating in her bedroom and forgets on more than a few occassions to make the bed)
• Any bare floors, add soemthing to it , whether its rugs, blankets or even a spare duvet - you'll be shocked at how snuggly the place feels with somethign nice nad soft under your feet.
• Put cushions on any chairs if they are leather for example - leather tend to be pretty cold (speakign form experience) when in an unheated living room and at 6am! not only do cushions make the chair comfier butthey are there to snuggle in and in turn help you keep warm by insulating you!

and if your still stuck check out the preparing for winter 2007 thread - lots of helpful ideas and solutions for various problems.

HTH

xSx

LisbonLaura

Charity shop discarded blankets hung from the walls, & over the windows. Done it, it helps a lot, stops much of the dreaded downdraught.

I bet there is no roof/ceiling insulation? --- Esp. if there is a flat above you. All you will be doing is keeping the folk above you warm(er)

Friends bought the downstairs of a house in Scotland. The vendors lived upstairs......smart ...........Just guess who has the huge heating bill?

twisty37

I saw this idea: http://lifehacker.com/software/video-demonstration/build-a-solar-heater-on-the-cheap-325275.php
and tried making one. I now have 3 and even tho' I'm in Northern Ireland, they do make a real difference and take the edge off the cold if you've no central heating. Raid the penny jar if you have one and give it a go. To be honest I didnt think it would make much difference but have been really surprised.
Good luck and happy building!

annie123

twisty37 wrote: »

I saw this idea: http://lifehacker.com/software/video-demonstration/build-a-solar-heater-on-the-cheap-325275.php
and tried making one. I now have 3 and even tho' I'm in Northern Ireland, they do make a real difference and take the edge off the cold if you've no central heating. Raid the penny jar if you have one and give it a go. To be honest I didnt think it would make much difference but have been really surprised.
Good luck and happy building!

interesting web site.

good science project idea, now to convince DH that he does want to build one!! just to see if it works:D

thriftmonster

Huge sympathies - we don't heat the upstairs of our 3 storey Victorian house and until we could afford double glazing ( several years in) or in fact heating for downstairs, we did:

layers and layers on beds - duvets, quilts, blankets, fleece cot blankets on sale in Mr T which the children still use, those freebie tartan blankets from the garage

the children slept with us for warmth - for PC sake I will say follow advice re co-sleeping up to whatever age

hot water bottles - if your feet are warm, it's much easier to get to sleep

layers and layers in the house - we wear thermals - yes they can be expensive but compare it to the price you pay for anything else

And I agree with the poster who mentioned proper slippers - my mum bought us all proper sheepskin slippers one year for Christmas and they helped a huge amount.

Steve-o

twisty37 wrote: »

I saw this idea: http://lifehacker.com/software/video-demonstration/build-a-solar-heater-on-the-cheap-325275.php
and tried making one. I now have 3 and even tho' I'm in Northern Ireland, they do make a real difference and take the edge off the cold if you've no central heating. Raid the penny jar if you have one and give it a go. To be honest I didnt think it would make much difference but have been really surprised.
Good luck and happy building!

That is a wonderful idea! :beer: There is a downside, and an upside to it: the downside is that it only works in the daytime, and the upside is that you could make big ones to absorb more heat when you are not in the house (warm room when you get back, and doesn't matter that more window area is covered cos you're not in).

Bricks that have been painted black, with daylight shining on them, will store heat and then give it off at night. Putting them on the window sill in the daytime would mean a nice amount of heat absorbed (as long as it's not drafty there), and then bring them into the room at night when the curtains are drawn.

Slightly less obvious (if your room gets plenty of light in the day) is a coffee table with the base made from bricks painted black, with a glass top: the bricks absorb the daylight heat, and the glass top allows the light to hit the bricks at the back.

sandy2_2

laptop on your knees and fingerless mittens

champys

both OH and myself wear long johns around the house for most of the winter - my winter trousers are a size bigger to accommodate them! if you tuck them into your socks they are a lot warmer than tights.
our other favourite is the electric blanket - of course hot water bottles work too, but this is just magic!

200

a bit of cavity wall insulation,
and window films wich if you google it youl findloads of
insualating film. other than that a small wood burning stove fan assisted is all i
can sugest.