To ask them to put the heating on,?

[AnnaQuayInTheUk]

If you're a guest in someone's house, is it ok to ask them to turn the heating on/up?

I live in an old draughty house with big single glazed sash windows, so I'm quite used to being chilly. We try to keep the house at about 18, it's very difficult to get it above that but if a guest was cold I would have no issues with plugging in additional heaters etc.

I'm currently staying with my mum for a few days. She lives with her partner and has moved into his house. It's freezing. The living room has a thermometer in it and it's currently 13C. It's a modernish house, fully double glazed and centrally heated.

They split the bills. They are quite well off - nice cars, several holidays a year - so it's not a money issue. According to mum, her partner thinks it's wasteful if they put the heating on during the day, as they are out a lot. They are both retired. They do go out a lot but usually one or both come home at lunchtime. They are usually both in by 5pm but the heating doesn't come on until nearer to 6.

I'm trying to work from here for a few days. I am so cold it's difficult to concentrate. AIBU to ask (insist?) that the heating is on during the day?

100%

What kind of cloths? Dishcloths? How do you get them warm? Have you ever considered buying a coat?

Primark pyjamas- the warmest things I have ever come across. They are like magic.

I know. But the message I replied to suggested that all pensioners qualify for WFP. They don't. I was pointing out a commonly held misconception, that's all. Nothing to do with OP's situation.

It's really not.

I woke up Ystd and my house was 15 degrees and felt freezing, there's not enough clothes in the world for it to be anything other than miserably cold.

That sort of temp would make me feel ill.

Op have you asked them to put the heating on yet?

Mine is dry too. Those temps are very low. Where’s the thermostat/thermometer? I’d want a coat to be walking around at 13.5 outside.

I hate stuffy feeling houses, so we keep ours on the cooler side. Around 14 for sleeping, when possible, but I prefer it around 19-20 in the rest of the house during the day. However, I'd want any guests to tell me if they found it cold. I would feel awful if someone was uncomfortable and afraid to tell me in my house.

Glad you worked it out, OP. And your mum and her partner sound like really inspirational models for ageing.

I'd definitely ask to put the heat on. I would hate it if I knew friends or family visiting were cold.

Do you have high energy bills? We set ours at 18 and turn up in the evenings

Ditto, I have experience of this also. I also recall having to sleep on the settee with my son at my feet so we could both be as warm as possible.
So it is pure heaven to come home to a warm home and wake up in one too. I never take that for granted. I am not wealthy by any means but am comfortable.
I simply cannot understand people who refuse to put the heating on when they can afford to.