Page 3 | Why would you not want a heated blanket?

Swanfairydust · 2021-12-02T00:38:08+00:00

I live with another person and they have been working from home all day. The heating has been turned up to 23/25 degrees (I can see from the app). I didn’t think it was partially cold today - between 8-10 degrees but I have been told my spare room can get cold. The thermometer is usually kept in her room but it was in the living room for a few weeks (she was away, didn’t want it kept in her room). As the radiators were turned down low the temperature didn’t increase in the living room and as a result her bedroom radiator has been on full power all day (there is no tmv). I have told her to put the thermostat back in her room (third time of asking, so this time it was outside her room and told h

TheDuchessOfBeddington · 02/12/2021 02:04

I’m also glad I’m not your lodger! Use your new bills to increase the rent next year to cover it. Or give her notice.

I personally am a fan of 20.5 degrees but everyone is different.

Original poster

Swanfairydust · 02/12/2021 02:06

@TheBabyBoo

Just seen your updates.

I would expect someone who was paying to live in my home to have some say in household matters and not just be “my roof, my rules, soz”.

You are benefitting financially from having a lodger and you should treat her with some respect too.

And basically she isn’t your child to be pulled up on “poor behaviour”. You’re confusing a financial/social relationship with a familial one.

You sound are uncomfortable having a lodger at all and you are taking that discomfort out on her.

And heated blankets can be sweaty and uncomfortable. A heated blanket might also not met her needs- she might also want to be warm in the room while she does things in there, not just while she is in the bed. And you can have a heated blanket on and your body is warm but still get cold ears/nose etc and get earache.

But it also might just be careful hat you are very controlling and you are making her uncomfortable.

Ultimately it is my house, my rule. It’s not a shared house, it’s my own home. I have the upper hand and that person is free to leave whenever they want, no contract.

If I was as controlling as people thought, I wouldn’t be allowing my lodger access to the app to remotely control the heating. I wouldn’t have changed their radiator valve at a cost to myself to make it warmer for her.

A heated blanket can be sweaty which is why mine is on a plug connected to an app that I set for 20 mins. I gave her that option as well. The heating is on until 10.30 - so from 7pm and she gets home at 7.30-8pm. So my understanding is that if you get slightly cold you can put on the electric blanket when in bed.

If she needs it warmer she can, but she needs to make sure the other radiators are of for the night - do you think that’s fair? It’s still allowing her full control of her room.

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MsThinksAlot · 02/12/2021 02:10

@Swanfairydust

Callxte already wrote what I was thinking:

If you're afraid of a sudden high bill, maybe discuss with her what the usual bill is (based on last Dec/Jan/etc. if you're happy with that, adjusted for any rate change) and have her agree to pay anything in excess of x amount?

I'd go with their post (I assume the £10 in that post is per week though, not per month.)

Kanaloa · 02/12/2021 02:11

Gosh that doesn’t sound like a good living situation at all. For me, I don’t like being trussed up in a blanket, especially in the day time. It would make me feel sweaty and sleepy and uncomfortable.

You shouldn’t be going through her room looking for blankets either. If it isn’t working out give her notice and get someone else.

Original poster

Swanfairydust · 02/12/2021 02:12

Me controlling? would you really allow a bill to get out of control? My gas price has gone up 40% due to the current situation. I haven’t lowered the temperature because of this, I too have a comfort level and can’t stand it being too hot. At the same time my bill is going up 40% due to the change in the unit price as well as whatever excess she wants to use.

Again, my house, my rules.

I’ve let her do other stuff that her old landlord didn’t. Such as I do the cleaning so she doesn’t pay for a cleaner and doesn’t do any cleaning. I allow her use of the garage (for some reason her old landlord didn’t). I’ve never stopped her using the dryer.

I’m return she will ask for things but won’t allow me access to her room….. so I don’t get it.

If it was shared bills it would be different. But it’s not. I also don’t think it’s good practice for 25% of her rent to go on increased bills.

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Original poster

Swanfairydust · 02/12/2021 02:13

I do take all your comments on board though… which is why I’m asking for opinions etc.

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Libertycap · 02/12/2021 02:14

21 degrees is perfectly reasonable. Some people can not take cold even with jackets and jumpers on. Especially inside where you can't keep hands in pockets and it's uncomfortable to wear scarfs and gloves. My DM would not let me put heating on in winter when I was 18 (she had plenty of money) and it would be 20c and I would be so cold. If you don't have good circulation than your hands won't warm up, only temporarily with a hot water bottle but once that heat source is gone it's freezing again. Unfortunately some people's bodies aren't built for cold. Being inside and cold is very uncomfortable

Original poster

Swanfairydust · 02/12/2021 02:16

@Kanaloa

Gosh that doesn’t sound like a good living situation at all. For me, I don’t like being trussed up in a blanket, especially in the day time. It would make me feel sweaty and sleepy and uncomfortable.

You shouldn’t be going through her room looking for blankets either. If it isn’t working out give her notice and get someone else.

It’s a heated blanket that someone can sit on. When I got for facials they use it. So it’s just a suggestion. I also think the house still gets heated when just one/two radiators are on. I think the pipes are warming other rooms.

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Original poster

Swanfairydust · 02/12/2021 02:19

@Libertycap

21 degrees is perfectly reasonable. Some people can not take cold even with jackets and jumpers on. Especially inside where you can't keep hands in pockets and it's uncomfortable to wear scarfs and gloves. My DM would not let me put heating on in winter when I was 18 (she had plenty of money) and it would be 20c and I would be so cold. If you don't have good circulation than your hands won't warm up, only temporarily with a hot water bottle but once that heat source is gone it's freezing again. Unfortunately some people's bodies aren't built for cold. Being inside and cold is very uncomfortable

She’s worn shorts and at shirt twice in a week. So I don’t think she feels the cold like that. One girl I know feels the cold and will put the heating on in summer. In summer my lodger was stating it was too warm for her.

So that’s what I don’t understand…. Winter people put the radiators up to 23 degrees, yet in the summer it’s 23 and people are stating it’s too hot.

Sometimes I think perhaps people get used to the cold and build up hardiness… I used to always feel the cold as a teenager but now I’m fine with it.

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MsThinksAlot · 02/12/2021 02:24

Oh and if you no longer have access to your bill, could you use your bank statement to check what you were paying before and after the cold months or when she moved in? You'll probably have to wait till you get a new bill from your new energy company to compare.

Libertycap · 02/12/2021 02:27

As we age, our body changes, including our body fat percentage, muscle mass, skin and sweat glands. These changes can affect our heat regulation. Perhaps she wanted to look good and was going into a place where there was heating so it was fine to wear that. If everywhere else has heating than of course she'd be cold since it's what she's been used to all day.

NigellaSeed · 02/12/2021 02:30

How anyone could live with such a controlling, disrespectful and creepy landlord/lady. Hope she runs for the hills.

WrongWayApricot · 02/12/2021 02:40

It's either your daughter or you're a really weird person to lodge with. Fwiw my heating is on 23 usually and I'm still cold, different people feel the cold differently I guess. I don't want to walk around draped in a heated blanket whenever I'm home.

Kanaloa · 02/12/2021 02:43

@WrongWayApricot

It's either your daughter or you're a really weird person to lodge with. Fwiw my heating is on 23 usually and I'm still cold, different people feel the cold differently I guess. I don't want to walk around draped in a heated blanket whenever I'm home.

Agree with this. Odd language around her as well, saying she’s a ‘guest’ and ‘knows the score’ when it comes to her landlady coming and looking through her things for a blanket.

She isn’t a guest if she’s paying to live there.

Original poster

Swanfairydust · 02/12/2021 02:45

@MsThinksAlot

Oh and if you no longer have access to your bill, could you use your bank statement to check what you were paying before and after the cold months or when she moved in? You'll probably have to wait till you get a new bill from your new energy company to compare.

Bank statements don’t show a break down of how many units are used.

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Original poster

Swanfairydust · 02/12/2021 02:46

@WrongWayApricot

It's either your daughter or you're a really weird person to lodge with. Fwiw my heating is on 23 usually and I'm still cold, different people feel the cold differently I guess. I don't want to walk around draped in a heated blanket whenever I'm home.

You aren’t wearing shorts and t shirt though?

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Original poster

Swanfairydust · 02/12/2021 02:47

@Swanfairydust I’ve started to take daily readings which I think are helpful as then I can see how much is being used a day.

And no, that’s not controlling. That’s making good money sense.

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Original poster

Swanfairydust · 02/12/2021 02:48

@NigellaSeed

How anyone could live with such a controlling, disrespectful and creepy landlord/lady. Hope she runs for the hills.

Talk is cheap

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Libertycap · 02/12/2021 02:48

@WrongWayApricot

It's either your daughter or you're a really weird person to lodge with. Fwiw my heating is on 23 usually and I'm still cold, different people feel the cold differently I guess. I don't want to walk around draped in a heated blanket whenever I'm home.

This is so true. There seems to be no empathy and too much prying as to why her heat is on. If she was a guest you would put the heating on, you'd want them to feel at home. Putting a thermostat outside the room and questioning it being 21 degrees is too much. It's 21 degrees in my bedroom right now and my hairs are standing on end on my arm. I however can leave my legs uncovered in winter as I have more fat there and don't lose a lot of heat there as my circulation is bad, my hands once warmed up don't keep warm for more than 5 mins! I don't have any health issues either

Original poster

Swanfairydust · 02/12/2021 02:49

@Libertycap

As we age, our body changes, including our body fat percentage, muscle mass, skin and sweat glands. These changes can affect our heat regulation. Perhaps she wanted to look good and was going into a place where there was heating so it was fine to wear that. If everywhere else has heating than of course she'd be cold since it's what she's been used to all day.

She’s been at home for the last week as got back from holidays (where it was -10). So was just casually being around the house.

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Original poster

Swanfairydust · 02/12/2021 02:50

@Kanaloa I’m guessing you don’t have a lodger? In the eyes of the law they are a guest and I can ask them to leave any time.

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Original poster

Swanfairydust · 02/12/2021 02:52

@MsThinksAlot I also didn’t pay bills monthly, I would submit the readings and then pay. It was with Green and they would bill me straight away.

I think it’s good to take daily readings so at least I have a rough idea what the daily cost is going to be. It’s currently £4 just for gas. So maybe using the dyson heater (very efficient) might be better on some occasions.

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Kanaloa · 02/12/2021 02:59

[quote Swanfairydust]@Kanaloa I’m guessing you don’t have a lodger? In the eyes of the law they are a guest and I can ask them to leave any time.[/quote]
No, I don’t have a lodger. I don’t think I could cope with a stranger living in my home, so I wouldn’t rent out one of my rooms. I’m quite self aware that way.

What I wouldn’t do is rent out one of my rooms and proceed to rifle through it looking for an electric blanket and keep track of what they were wearing and when they had the heating on.

And a paying lodger isn’t the same as a guest. They live in your home with you, there are many differences. Although to be honest I wouldn’t treat a guest this way either. As I said if I was you I’d give her notice - you don’t sound suited to having a lodger. No judgement as I wouldn’t be either. That’s why I don’t have one.

FortunesFave · 02/12/2021 03:04

Ooh you sound like a nightmare! "If I want to go into her room I will" is just rude!

me4real · 02/12/2021 03:08

She knows the score. She’s a lodger, no locks on doors….

Brrrr...... And I don't mean the temperature.