the ice man cometh! (merged with keeping warm)

findingmyownway

is this a rented house? can you ask your landlord to fit central heating?

apart from that i don't know much about electric heaters - are they really that expensive to run? it sounds like this problem is taking over your lives - with illness, moving bedrooms etc.

G-G_4

Wow, that all sounds very complicated...

If you are happy to go to those lengths to save money then that's up to you and good for you.

Me and OH have decided this year we will not scrimp on the heating, if we get cold we shall put the heating or the fire on. Obviously dressing for the weather helps, and I have to remind him to out a jumper on if he is cold in his t-shirt! haha - men!

I dunno, maybe you are taking it a little too far. If you don't have much money though then I appologise as there isn't much you can do about that.

Best of luck x

floyd

I lived like this for 7 years and it is hard. Make sure you have the heaviest curtains you can afford as a huge amount of heat disappears through the windows. I used to dry all my washing on an old fashioned laundry airer that was mounted in my kitchen which meant that all the heat produced by cooking dried the washing much quicker (I did take the clothes down when I was cooking to stop them being smelly)
Could you buy a timer for the electric radiator in the kids room? They are only a few pounds and that way, it won't be left on and cost as much to run. I am also asthmatic and didn't get any more chest infections living there than I do now living in a centrally heated double glazed house.
Another tip is to put curtains over internal doors as well, this will stop any heat disappearing up the stairwell. Is your attic insulated? Have a look here and see if you are entitled to a grant to have it installed http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/proxy/view/full/2019/grantsandofferssearch

Hope that helps

angelavdavis

Hi Sassamac,

How much do you usually spend on gas/electric per month?

One option could be a clothes airer that you can raise up in kitchen like this one (the rising heat from the cooker helps dry clothes). You could always make it yourself, rather than buy one like this.

Pink.

There are lots of hints and tips on these threads that might help you to keep warm:

Avoid using GAS and ELECTRIC this winter !

Preparing for Winter 2007

Pink

TEENY

You can buy electric heaters now that only cost 2p an hour to use and they don't cost much to buy either. I had similar probs when i moved into my first place and i used the heat from the oven to dry clothes on a clothes horse. I have also told been told that if you put tin foil on the wall behind the radiator it will reflect the heat instead of iut soaking into the wall (dunno if that works as i didn't have one!) Hope this is helpful.

angchris

when its really cold i sometimes use my slowcooker overnight to cook the next days meals butttt i prepare it then plug it into to the bedroom sockets so it keeps us toasty warm overnight, its surprising how much heat those things can generate and they are dirt cheap to use, it does however make you feel really hungry in the morning when you wake up :rotfl: make sure you have good curtains to stop draughts and keep the doors shut to keep the heat in also use those sausage dog things by the gap under doors. i dry my clothes on an airer as well, after i have used the oven i leave the door open and the airer in front of it. try putting fleecy blankets under your sheets so you dont lose heat through the mattress. i sometimes wear a hat and gloves to bed when its nippy outside....sexy eh!;) my bedding doesnt get washed as much in the winter either, i don`t care its my own ming im sleeping in :rotfl:

angchris

forgot to say i keep the door to my airing cupboard wide open when its cold as my hot water tank is in there, it keeps my sons room a bit warmer.

cheerfulness4

Maybe you could solve the problem of washing the bedding more frequently by adopting the old 'top to bottom' system that I remember my mum doing when we were small. The bottom sheet went in the wash and the top sheet when to the bottom. Halved the washing.

I hang my sheets over the open wardrobe doors and they dry within a few hours during the day with no heating on. (one sheet suspended between 2 doors) A tip I got off one of these threads.

[Deleted User]

my mum did that with the sheets and she had a ceiling airer. Our only source of heat then was a fire in the living room and a paraffin heater to stop the outside toilet from freezing. 7 children and two parents in a 3 bed terraced. It was freezing cold in the winter so I can sympathise with the OP