I woke up to ice inside the windows this morning

[iceyniceyspicey]

Single glazed house with loads of windows. Freezing as can be. We don't even have central heating, just some archaic vent system and no fireplace or chimney.

I have electric blankets on 2 beds (so we are sleeping together for warmth) and I put sheets over the bottom bunk bed like a den for warmth. throws on every bed (thank you charity shop! I even asked around and got an extra quilt for the settee) we don't have carpet, only in one bedroom and we kept the cut offs for next to my bed (like a runner) and a small mat downstairs.
make shift draught excluders made from old clothes stuffed inside pillowcases.
I hang coats on the back door and lift the mat up to help the edges of the door stop being so draughty.
we bought an airfryer to jeep costs down but now we can't use the heat from the oven (with a broken door that has to be propped shut. but it cane with the house so it's good enough for now)

it's so cold and my toddler refuses socks and lately trousers too! I have a pair of fleece lined overalls for nursery kids to play in the mud. I forget what they are called and I tried to keep him in that but he is so upset pulling it off.
he pulls his socks off and it's freezing (his first proper words aww rolling eyes)

Every window has terrible condensation. Soaking water droplets all over every single one. it takes 3 towels to do upstairs and I have to open the windows to air it out.
Dehumidifiers are out of stock except 300 with I can't afford right now. I need a new oven more anyway!

i feel like a real failure.
Me and my dh spent the last almost 10 years saving up for this house. living in a tiny horrible flat to save on rent. no holidays or driving or luxuries and we managed it.
now the prices are going up and up I can't see us being able to replace the windows for years. I'm wary of debt too, his job isn't as secure as it was pre covid.

just here to rant really

I feel for you. Saved my arse off to move into my house to just now freeze to death and be miserable. I have a ProBreeze dehumidifier (£150) and it does the job so try there? I’m trying to find a window vac but not paying Karcher prices and the rest are out of stock so soaking windows it is! I recommend hot water bottles and oil filled radiators, relatively cheap to run. We can get through this and it’s happening to everyone.

Same here. Saved for a house deposit for eight years. Moved as far as we could from London but still within commuting distance to London. Guest bedroom is full of damp, doubled glazed windows have cracks in the sides. Mould has popped up seemingly overnight, condensation is running down the walls. Electric dehumidifier broke & we can’t afford a new one right now. Hole in the kitchen ceiling because a pipe burst, can’t afford that either. We’ve spent today moving mouldy clothes out the wardrobe and cleaning mould.

It's absolutely shit and no one should be living like that!

Are you claiming all you're entitled to?

I've put bubble wrap on some of my windows and it seems to be helping. You can get a massive roll for £7/8 and use it everywhere.

Try your LO in leggings under the suit - the fleece can be a bit itchy imo.

Also, squeegee for the windows-scrape the water off and down into a bowl or bucket, then give them a rub

It's been so cold out that even with low humidity (45%) we're getting condensation on the (double glazed) windows the last few days. Worth getting a hygrometer (mine were £2.50 on ebay and show temperature and humidity, I also have a £8 one that shows min/max over 24 hrs) to see how bad your humidity is and whether a dehumidifier is worth it. They are useful, but with single glazing your home probably breathes pretty well!

Oil filled radiator would be a good idea, to keep one room warm. Loads on Facebook and even new are only £40-60 so cheaper than a dehumidifier.

Yes like pp we are about to do some bubble wrap for rooms we don’t use.

We also got a giant roll of loft insulation for £20.

Keeps the cold out but is breathable. You need to find a way to allow moisture out. Maybe try leaving a window open a crack and stuffing it with the loft insulation? Might not work but worth a go for £20.

I feel for you.

We had cardboard on our floors when we were saving up for carpets in our first home. We went to bed with dressing gowns over our Pj’s and wore woolly hats in bed!

you could get window film to reduce heat loss from the windows. I remember ice on the inside of our windows as kids, DM had us in onesies even back then (70’s) we had no central heating, just a fire in the living room for years, so had hot water bottles and extra duvets.

www.amazon.co.uk/tesa-UK-Thermocover-Insulating-Windows/dp/B0038JE7X6/ref=sr_1_5?crid=25FJ3EGW9I2OX&keywords=Window+film+glazing&qid=1670685638&s=kitchen&sprefix=window+film+glazing%2Ckitchen%2C93&sr=1-5

Things will get better op.

Yanbu, but that’s how I woke up as a child every wintery morning in my childhood. 3 external walls, flat roof and single glazing, not CH.

this is not a failure of yours. It’s cold. I get that it’s grim, but you are doing what you can. You really are.

this cold will pass, these hard times will pass. You will get there, the oven will get fixed

oil filled radiators are good at taking the chill off. Hot water bottles, oat pads if you have a microwave, layers and perhaps one of those window vacuums.

keep going, don’t give up. This is your home and it’s yours. It will be somewhere you enjoy again soon.

OP a few years ago when we had this, we bought this film stuff that you affix to the inside of your windows with a hairdryer. It was brilliant and made such a difference.

Oh I'm sorry everyone knows what I'm talking about but also glad I'm not the only one
Dh has become quite depressed recently because he works all hours and the commute is long. He works all over so can be anywhere from 2-6 hours away (she he needs to stay away for however long too) It was all worth it when we were saving for a house. Then covid hit and we had to find double the deposit as they cut all 5% mortgages. It's just one thing after another.
I looked at part time work but it would cost to put the little ones in nursery more than I could bring in so that was that.
I think I'll grab some bubble wrap next time I'm out, but do you think it'd work with that much condensation? It's all over a bucket full easy.

to top it all off the kids have just come down to tell me that the toddler has ripped the wallpaper down and drawn all over the cupboard.
And he's really dug into the fake wood so thats there for the next 5 years at least.

Oh yes I suppose my house Breathes well, I keep the windows open in the bedroom thats been abandoned for winter and the bathroom and they still get wet. The water drips down and pools so I'm just waiting for mould.
I sort of miss the flat. it was cold but it wasn't this cold!

I am a bit confused by the amount people seem to be spending in order to save money. Loft insulation, bubble wrap, dehumidifiers, air fryers, oil heaters, electric blankets, hoodies, throws, slankets etc.

is all this still a saving?

We're wrapped in lots of layers and work from home in bed to stay warm. But i haven't bought loads of new things because thst seems to defeat the point of saving on fuel costs.

thermo window film? I'm looking on amazon now. does anyone have a brand?

everyone is so nice on here. thanks for making me feel better.

I have a fluffy bedtime ones for the toddler but he knows how to take it off so... maybe I could safety pin it up or add buttons.

I probably won't get it its quite a bit per roll. I will have a look at bubble wrap. I wonder if anyone's got some going for free with all the christmas shopping I bet there is.
I had no idea how much dehumifyers were. so expensive!

our washing pile is ceiling high and taking over the hall. It's just not drying.

This is the sort of thing we used

https://www.amazon.co.uk/tesa-UK-Thermocover-Insulating-Transparent/dp/B0038JE7WW/ref=mpssa119?crid=3BB273DGKJX7P&keywords=window+film+insulation&qid=1670687227&sprefix=window+film%2Caps%2C190&sr=8-9

Cheap and very effective

Does the onesie have a hood?
If not, put it on backwards.
Charity shops for proper draft excluders???or thermal curtains? Not sure how easy these are to come by.
A bucket of condensation is a huge amount of water.

I've lived in a very similar house and it was quite miserable at times, I feel for you.
I can highly recommend the Katcher window vacs, we currently have 40 year old dble glazing which is awful and i vac up every morning, I have to empty it twice we get so much each day.
Better than towels as you are actually throwing the water out the house.
Maybe you can get a second hand one?

Obviously not super cheap but for the difference it made to us definitely better than other more expensive options

I think I'll ask dh when he gets home. it'd be too much to do the house but the living room needs it. it's so cold! thank you

I think you will need to find a job that you can do around your dh’s work. You can’t spend less and if you don’t start heating your house your kids will get ill from living in such a damp cold place. It also sounds like your dh is on the breaking point and it’s a lot to ask one person to pay for 4+ people. If you don’t work, nothing will change. He doesn’t make enough to maintain your house and also the members of it.

I have to ask why you purchased the house , you must have known that it was going to be very expensive to do all the updates it needs....and freezing as hell with no central heating

I felt like this today too, ice inside some of the windows and they are frozen shut. My house is chocolate box pretty but small and single glazed (and cost a fortune). I often miss my old cheap house! Also have to replace mid-1800s roof at some point and the costs are unbelievable! My toddler also refuses socks and dressing gown so I constantly worry, even though he seems happy enough. Although every bit of furniture is cheap, secondhand, and trashed by him.
Just do things as and when you can afford them. Have you looked at Magnetic glazing for windows; I used Magneglaze, and their solution is really effective for heat retention and reducing condensation. We have just done the windows in the rooms we sleep in. We have no condensation or ice in those rooms! About £200 for a standard sized window. I highly recommend, although not for bathrooms. I prefer to suffer the cold in there but ensure the water is condensing on the window, or escaping, rather than letting it build up on walls etc

Speak to your council for grants towards energy/heating efficiency measures and be quick about it. About twenty local authorities are in one scheme that will end in March 2023. So you'll need to get the survey booked, done, and the improvements agreed (and possibly installed) by then.

Wow. Do you have to be so rude? Have you read the full thread where she has been saving and living in crap conditions, so she could get on the property ladder? Perhaps this house is all she could afford? What would your suggestions be then?

I agree. I'd spend sthe money on double glazing, even if you do need to take out a loan and heat your home properly. I'd also get a job in this situation as at least you'd be warm at work and so would your little ones at nursery

Yeah I have read the full thread. However I dont understand why you would buy a house that requires so much moderisation just to get onto the property ladder.