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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

or is 13 degrees a warm enough home.

210 replies

BlackBag · 29/01/2011 17:21

DH does n't feel the cold. So we have the Spring duvet (8 tog) on the bed and never the whole thing.

The kitchen thermostat is 13 degrees and the woodburner get the sitting room up to 16 sometimes.

The children run around and don't seem to feel it. The cold makes me sluggish, irratable and depressed. If I'm running around tidying up it's ok but once I sit down at the lap top or to read a book I feel like my brain is grinding to a halt during the winter time.

DH is a DIY kind of person but tends to ignore all advice to fit extra radiators or get a proper plumber in to get the ones we've got work properly.

AIBU to want a warmer house.

OP posts:
bestmamaderwelt · 29/01/2011 23:16

I just read an article that said centrally heated, comfortable houses make you fat. My house is always boiling, cant abide the cold. And i think i may prove the theory right Grin

gaelicsheep · 29/01/2011 23:19

We have this strange macho thing about the cold in this country. Countries with much colder outside temperatures respect the cold, take its health impacts seriously and keep their homes warm. Living where I live in Scotland has made me respect the cold too. There are no prizes for being uncomfortable in a cold house.

Lots of people have no choice because they have an uninsulated house that they can't afford to keep warm. It really annoys me when people who can perfectly well afford it boast about not using their heating, especially when they have children. It's one of the most worrying manifestations of this competitive thrift that's now prevalent. Of course the flip side is those equally silly households who walk around in T shirts indoors in tropical temperatures. There is a happy medium!

SoMuchToBits · 29/01/2011 23:21

I once lived in a really cold place. I was never ill, no colds or anything. But I spent my life in the winter seizing up, muscles contracting with the cold. Had to sit next to the radiator all evening and couldn't do anything. I wouldn't go through that again. But I wasn't any fatter or thinner than at any other time.

Alibabaandthe40nappies · 29/01/2011 23:36

gaelicsheep - that is so true.

I am really quite shocked at the number of people on here who have their houses so cold because that is what their DH insists on. Why does he get to be in charge, seriously? Tell him to go and sit in the garden if he's overheating that badly.

zukiecat · 29/01/2011 23:37

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cerealqueen · 29/01/2011 23:37

OP, that is way too cold. I love the warmth but do wear wear lots of layer at home in the day so the heating doesn't have to be on too much as we are in and out all dayy

Our house used to be much colder until we had the loft lagged and bought new front and back doors that fit, i.e. no chill winds coming in anymore. Its has made a huge difference.

We don't have the heating on in the evening at weekends, just light a fire in the living room. Its a bit indulgent I think as we can only burn smokeless fuel which isn't cheap but its lovely.

gaelicsheep · 29/01/2011 23:47

Oh God sorry, I hadn't read your first post. That is dreadful. Have you discussed this with the Hydro? Is there nothing they can do to help you out? Is it your own home or is there a landlord you can speak to? Help with insulation? Nobody should be that cold in their home zukiecat. Sad

You need to get yourself a heater for your bedroom. Even putting it on for half an hour before you go to bed would make a difference.

zukiecat · 29/01/2011 23:58

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Candleshoe · 30/01/2011 00:00

YANBU - get a DIY plumbing book and fix it yourself? I would have checked into a hotel by now and be charging the bills to DHs credit card!

gaelicsheep · 30/01/2011 00:05

That is ridiculous. We've been in debt to Scottish Hydro for 4 years since living in an uber cold house with ancient storage heaters. We pay by direct debit and I've had to persuade them to make the payments high enough to gradually pay off the debt! The reason we got in debt was because I kept telling them we were underpaying due to the amount we were using - running one big storage heater - and they didn't believe me! It makes me furious when people like yourself on pre-payment meters are treated so much worse. Have you spoken to the council?

fivegomadindorset · 30/01/2011 00:07

Deal with it, we have to, stick an extra jumper on.

gaelicsheep · 30/01/2011 00:14

If they can afford to make their home warmer why should the OP just "deal with it"?

fivegomadindorset · 30/01/2011 00:17

Then if they can afford to stop moaning and stick the hetaing on.

zukiecat · 30/01/2011 00:18

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Message withdrawn at poster's request.

DirtyMartini · 30/01/2011 00:19

Zukiecat, that's not good at all.

How old are your kids?

Candleshoe · 30/01/2011 00:21

Electric blanket in bed is more economically sensible than electric heaters in bedroom btw - I once did the 'maths' on that!

gaelicsheep · 30/01/2011 00:25

I reckon that depends on the roof insulation, (and whether you have a baby in the room). We find that once our bedroom is warm we can keep a heater on absolute minimum and keep it pretty comfortable. Once the heater goes off it will get very cold after a few hours, but it quickly warms up again. Before we had the roof re-insulated the upstairs rooms just leaked heat.

Quattrocento · 30/01/2011 00:28

I am comfortable at 20+. Uncomfortable below 20 and above 28.

zukiecat · 30/01/2011 00:28

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BuntingHill · 30/01/2011 00:30

Electric blanket was really cheap to run compared with even the cheapest heater on low....honest I did the sums!

PatPending · 30/01/2011 00:31

This is interesting - I grew up in houses with no central heating. Scotland, by the way, just in case anyone was wondering.
Only one room was heated (the living room) - if we complained of being cold we were told to put a jumper on.
Bathrooms were only heated during bath times with a paraffin heater.
Kitchen - only heated when oven/gas rings were on.
Bedrooms - never heated.
We survived and I can't help but wonder about the correlation between rise in central heating (dry atmosphere) and rise in asthma. Yes, I know that lack of exposure to antigens is possibly the main culprit but still ...... I think we have become soft.
Scotland by the way is a sight warmer than Norway or Canada, so I don't understand why people think we have it so hard up here??

There were no radiators - central heating in the 1960 -70's was only for well off people.

We run our radiators at about 17-18 degrees.
I hate the bedroom being heated and I really wonder what the heck we are going to do when the coal and oil run out in a few decades.

threefeethighandrising · 30/01/2011 00:31

"I just read an article that said centrally heated, comfortable houses make you fat" I was going to post about that too!

Central heating encourages colds and infection too - it dries your lungs out which makes it harder for them to fight infection. (You can counter this by humidifying your house I think).

However this is not good "The cold makes me sluggish, irratable and depressed. If I'm running around tidying up it's ok but once I sit down at the lap top or to read a book I feel like my brain is grinding to a halt during the winter time"

YANBU to want the radiators to work properly IMO.

What's stopping you calling a plumber?

gaelicsheep · 30/01/2011 00:39

BuntingHill - it's no good with a baby in the bed though! And it doesn't stop your arms getting cold when cuddling said baby. If it wasn't for DD we wouldn't keep heater on all night. I haven't dared do the sums!

gaelicsheep · 30/01/2011 00:40

PatPending - they keep their homes warm in Norway and Canada. For a start they're actually built with the cold temperatures in mind.

BuntingHill · 30/01/2011 00:41

Awww Envy - I want a baby in bed with me again - DH's no substitute really Wink