Please help me warm up my home

[Gwenhwyfar]

So I have central heating and when it's been on for a while it can get nice and warm. It takes about 3 hours to get properly warm though and I can't put them on a timer. I have to get up to put the heaters on then go back to bed.

I've got a few problems:

1. the areas with no heating, every time I open the door to the hallway the room I'm in gets cold or I myself get cold while passing through. Should I bother trying to heat there or is it a lost battle? I could potentially put an electric heater there on a timer to come on twice a day or something

2. I have a narrow sofa that's only comfortable if I sit on it as if it were a chaise longue with my back against the wall. This means I have to sit the opposite side of the radiator by the French window so it's cold because of the distance from the heating and also because of the draft. I have blinds and I'm thinking of asking the LL if I can put up some curtains. I already have thick curtains, but would need to buy the bar and pay someone to put it up. I don't suppose a tension rod would be strong enough for thick curtains? That would avoid having to drill holes. Or is there another solution?

3. I have a 3 bar heater in the bathroom. Even if I put it on half an hour before having my shower and I don't get into the water until it's hot, I'm still really cold in the shower. The water doesn't cover me totally and because it's a walk-in shower, the shower itself is too big to warm up. I'm wondering if the solution would be a spirella curtain just around me and the showerhead. Has anyone tried this? I read that a larger showerhead could work, but I need one that has a hard water filter inside the showerhead.

I really hate being cold :(

If it takes so long to heat up are your radiators needing bled? Maybe you don't have radiators that need bleeding though. Hope the curtains make a difference!

"Does the hallway have a plug socket or one in a room your could an extension cord from without tripping? I'd recommend a slim convection heater with timer and thermostat."

Yes, there's a plug in a nearby room. I already have a convection heater and a timer plug so I can do this. I don't have a thermostat for it, but if I timed it to come on for half an hour at a time before I get up or something it wouldn't overheat.

"Ditto the bathroom - before your shower you could warm the bathroom up with the convection (use an extension cord if necessary) but just remove it before you shower to avoid the heater getting moisture in it. Alternatively a fan heater?"

There is no reason to do this as I already have a heater in the bathroom that I turn on before and during my shower. The problem I have is that, like all my heaters, I cannot time it so I have to get up early to put it on then come downstairs.

Today, the whole flat was quite warm as I'd been at home all day with the heating on in both main rooms. Before my shower, I put my bathroom heater on too, but was still cold when I stepped into my walkin shower and I think it's coming from the fan. The bathroom fan comes on automatically when I switch the light on so the only way to avoid it would be to shower in the dark or get myself a separate light.

I then went out for three hours and came back to a cold flat. Hard to believe it's gone cold so quickly as it was really warm when I left.

@Sunnysidegold

If it takes so long to heat up are your radiators needing bled? Maybe you don't have radiators that need bleeding though. Hope the curtains make a difference!

The radiators don't need bleeding. I think maybe they're too small to heat the rooms and the draft causes problems.

"I have made a shower enclosure smaller with a curtain before & it did get warmer. You do run the gauntlet of wet shower curtain wrapping itself round you mid shower though shudder"

What shape shower pole did you buy? I've seen some called umbrella/spirella and some called L shaped.
I also hate having to squeegee down the glass panels every time I have a shower and was hoping the addition of a curtain would help that.

"If we get a cold snap when it's off, we have no heating. So I've had to get some electric heaters for those times."

Yes, I would use my convection heater if the heating wasn't working at all. However, in this case, I would not want the LL to find out that, even though I have working central heating, I'm also using an electric heater that he has to pay for.

@Gwenhwyfar if the problem is not having a timer then you can buy plug in timers that you put into the socket then the heater plugs into that. You set the timer to switch your socket on and off at a certain time.

https://www.screwfix.com/p/masterplug-tcm24-xd-mechanical-plug-in-plug-through-compact-timer/44241?tc=FT4&dskid=92700055281954484&dssrl=1249401&gclid=CjwKCAiAtdGNBhAmEiwAWxGcUqaYRFnsCCZfBbTi0HBK8dpJJSuR-kXP5yJsE-M1wemGhkIPd9FFBoCgxUQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Half - yes I know about plugin timers. I have some!
I cannot have a plugin timer with gas central heating radiators and a three bar heater on the wall in the bathroom!
Plugin timers work with electric heaters that plug into a socket.

command.3m.co.uk/3M/en_GB/command-gb/projects/all-projects/curtain-hooks/

You can buy command hooks for curtain poles now, I can't vouch for how good they are but 3 of those and an extendable pole would do the job with no drilling etc. You could do it yourself.

@GigantosaurusRex

command.3m.co.uk/3M/en_GB/command-gb/projects/all-projects/curtain-hooks/

You can buy command hooks for curtain poles now, I can't vouch for how good they are but 3 of those and an extendable pole would do the job with no drilling etc. You could do it yourself.

Thanks. That ad does say it's for lightweight curtains though.

Iirc it was a bit of a bodge with two tension poles at right angles to each other.

An oil filled radiator would help in the hallway. When I lived in an icy house I would put the oil filled radiator in the bathroom turned up high for an hour before I bathed. Then take it out (due to the electric and water risk) before I ran the bath.
I would get a battery light and shower by that and turn the fan on when you’ve finished. Those 3 bar wall heaters aren’t great and the fan will just suck all the warm air out. I don’t think it will ever be really hot but it will be more bearable.

Just leave the heating on all
The time at a level that is comfortable for you.

You’re not paying more for it so don’t feel bad. Set the radiator in your room and the hall to 1 if you like them colder.

So did you turn the heating off before you went out?

If money isn't the primary concern, I would try to heat the entire house, on a timer if you can.

If you aren't consistently heating the house (and are heating only a small part of it), you'll never heat the walls through, and until the walls are heated through it's a bit of a losing battle.

Also, if your house is damp at all, a dehumidifier can make a huge difference in terms of heating efficiency and perceived comfort.

Is the bathroom and hall next to your bedroom? If you're not putting the heating on in that room then the other rooms will get colder. As the heat will be escaping to the unheated rooms (even if the doors are shut).

When you say turning the heating 'off' when you go out is that off completely? We only turn the thermostat down to 15 when we go out. Most days it doesn't come on at all but sometimes it does in the winter. While it's not our comfortable temperature it's also not cold when coming in from the outside and doesn't take hours to warm to a comfortable temperature, which it would of it had dropped lower.

Have you looked really carefully to see if there is a switch to turn the fan off on the bathroom? Only use it if you can open a window after your shower though, or you’ll get mould. There is usually a separate switch, often high up.

I really wouldn’t bother with putting a curtain up, just leave your heating on a bit longer with all the doors open.

Silicon grease your double glazed window black rubber seals. It'll help stop draught.
Find source of all cold air loft hatches doors windows vents and find a way to insulate over winter

Seriously, instead of faffing about with curtains, electtric heaters and bubble wrap on the windows, just leave the heating on low all day and night.

I used to live in a draughty old terrace and it was the only way of keeping the house warm in the winter. It made absolutely no noticeable difference to my gas bill either.

"Is the bathroom and hall next to your bedroom? "

No.

"When you say turning the heating 'off' when you go out is that off completely? We only turn the thermostat down to 15 when we go out."

Thanks, but I have explained that I don't have a thermostat.
I turn the radiators either off or on low if I'm going out for a while. Sometimes I leave one on if I'm just out for a couple of hours.

"I would get a battery light "

I have no idea what these look like, but I'll google.
I really am starting to think the fan is a big problem in the bathroom.

@whyohwhyohwhyohwhywhy

So did you turn the heating off before you went out?

Last night I did yes because it was really nice and warm when I went out and I thought some of that would be retained for a couple of hours. Sadly not, at least not in the living room.

@PicsInRed

If money isn't the primary concern, I would try to heat the entire house, on a timer if you can.

If you aren't consistently heating the house (and are heating only a small part of it), you'll never heat the walls through, and until the walls are heated through it's a bit of a losing battle.

Thanks, but I have explained that the central heating is not on a timer. The only way I can use a timer is with portable heaters, which is why I asked about having one of those in the hallway.

I would say that I do heat consistently when I'm working from home. The heating is on in the kitchen all day and in the living room in the evening. I'm heating more than if I was out in the office all day.

@Guidancillary

Silicon grease your double glazed window black rubber seals. It'll help stop draught. Find source of all cold air loft hatches doors windows vents and find a way to insulate over winter

Does that mean you can't open the windows? The worst draft is the French window and I do want to be able to open that sometimes, same goes for the kitchen window (cooking smells), bathroom (humidity) and bedroom (smells).

@Thegreencup

Seriously, instead of faffing about with curtains, electtric heaters and bubble wrap on the windows, just leave the heating on low all day and night.

I used to live in a draughty old terrace and it was the only way of keeping the house warm in the winter. It made absolutely no noticeable difference to my gas bill either.

I'd just be worried about the LL finding out. It just doesn't seem to be very responsible. And the curtain would be more environmentally friendly.