Can you stay with family if no heating or hot water?

[IsabelleSE19]

Our boiler has conked out and won't be replaced for another five days. At least four of those days are forecast to be temperatures around freezing. Is it reasonable to stay with family members until then? (They have a self-contained outbuilding, and no, I am not Dominic Cummings.) It is about a two and half hour drive from us. Government guidance says you can stay away from home if you have a reasonable excuse, but our situation is not really described in the list of those excuses. The closest one is 'if you are unable to return to your main residence', but that's not really accurate either. WWYD?

Where do most of you live? It’s been consistently over -10 overnight in recent weeks where I am in Scotland I’d go in a heartbeat.

Some Air BnBs will accept bookings too in certain circumstances although I'm not sure if this would be classed as an acceptable reason.

A colleague has just booked one locally as their new house isn't ready to move into yet but the sale of their old one has completed

I'd phone around in your shoes though as 5 days of no heating or hot water with the minus temperatures forecast would be miserable

If you can afford it a hotel is a great idea.

Don’t be staying in a freezing house for the next five days, that’s batshit
.

DC are 9 and 6, usually quite hardy but the temps look exceptionally cold for a period of several days so may test even their resilience. And I'm always bloody freezing so may reach a state of cryostasis

Oh gawd just go! I never get why people ask these questions on here they just start arguments and all these people come out with stupid solutions.

When I had hyperemesis in pregnancy and my DH worked away during the week, I stayed with my parents during the weekdays. I’m sure some people on Mumsnet would be raging over that! Oh well.

@FizzyPepsi

Frankly I'd say suck it up in those circumstances. Putting a jumper on and possibly getting an electric heater are far preferable to travelling hundreds of miles and potentially taking the virus with you.

We should all be asking ourselves- how can I minimise my risk to others? Not what's the most I can do within the rules?

So for example- while we're technically allowed once per day, once a week is perfectly adequate for most people and safer for others.

Equally with bubbles- technically allowed but not really within the spirit of the rules and most people could do without imo.

I’m fairly sure this isn’t a serious post. 😃

Depending on where you live the weather this week would put me off travelling.

I would I hate being cold

We have a couple of fairly inexpensive oil filled electric heater for just such an emergency.

I would go, recently my boiler packed up but I had oil radiators and an electric shower. I hate not being able to shower. 5 days of no washing and convenience foods won't be fun.

I would go. We nearly decamped to my mums the other week as our boiler was playing up. Managed to get it fixed before we needed to.
Also there are risks to staying at home with no heating/ hot water. Hypothermia, accident when using portable heaters incorrectly to name two.

The hotel instead of family seems batshit unless it’s an unstaffed self cleaning one.

Obviously me being a warrior in my warm house thinks you should be a real trooper and camp out in the garden, you could even make your own tent. Educational fun packed family fun

Oh gawd just go!

Yes, this. It’s all too easy for the lockdown champions to get a righteous glow from telling someone to ‘suck it up’ on the internet.

But they wont be the ones living in misery for the next few days.

Our boiler broke last Wednesday (27/1) & won't be replaced until a week on Monday . I've managed to borrow an urn to boil water for washing, but was using the spare kettle before that. I also put a shout out on a local fb page asking if anyone would be willing to lend us an oil filled heaters & we've been lent 3. Bucket washing 5 dc isn't fun but does keep them & us clean & the heaters are keeping the rooms at a nice constant temperature (we have an electric heater in the sitting room that we've had for year), they don't cost a lot in electric, unlike fan heaters. I keep the kitchen door open when the tumble dryer is on & when I'm cooking so the hall & landing are staying warm. We don't have anyone who could put all 7 of us up though & have pets so can't stay in a hotel, if we could stay elsewhere we would!

I'd have to go if my temperature dropped much below 20 degrees

I despise being cold, I think I'd rather be dead.

Does no one have electric showers anymore... but as another poster said just go!

Personally I would.

My boiler packed in in the big snow of 2010 and we survived in our house with oil heaters, hot water bottles and body heat.
Cooked lots of casseroles so kitchen was always warm
I dont think it is an excuse to move 2hrs away

Yes I absolutely would. No way would I fancy staying without heating and hot water for 5 days in middle of winter. I'm sure this is considered as extenuating circumstances.

Just go, how will you or the kids concentrate for work and homeschooling in the freezing cold?! I don’t think oil radiators do much beyond heating the room your in, you’ll freeze every time you go to the loo! Why he miserable when you have an alternative and surely your parents place is safer than a hotel.

You’re

At one point it was -8 outside and we lsurvived Snowflakes anyone

Congratulations Elizabeth Draper.

I would. Well done to all those who would martyr themselves in the cold for five (all being well) days. Sometimes I still feel like I'm living in a dream.