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Original poster

My walls had water running down them this morning

128 replies

Cudz · 15/12/2022 14:42

Can only afford to have the heating on for an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening. This morning in both mine and DS's bedrooms there was water running down the walls and all over the ceiling. I could see my breath when breathing. Me and my dp both work full time. How the hell have things got so bad that we can no longer to afford to have a home thats just a safe temperature (not even warm, just safe!). This is just so so depressing 😞

OP posts:
Era · 15/12/2022 14:44

can you not just heat your house to the extent of the £60 government payment? That way it costs you nothing

AllOfThemWitches · 15/12/2022 14:44

Same. It's shit.

Original poster
Cudz · 15/12/2022 14:51

@Era when I get up at 6am (before the heating even comes on) the smart meter is already at approx £1.30 which must be our daily standing charge (got switched suppliers as ours went bust). Not far off using the £60 per month just on that unfortunately. Two hours of heating per day plus general usage I.e. cooking (no baths or showers anymore even) and we are around the £10 per day figure. It's absolutely shit and I feel so bad that I can't give my son the warm home he deserves

OP posts:
Thefriendlyone · 15/12/2022 14:53

Has something declined year on year for you op?were you able to pay the standing charge and heat it last year? Is that why you are now taking rhe standing charge out of the government subsidy?

Ragruggers · 15/12/2022 14:54

Do you own your home or rent? How much did you use monthly before the rise? It is very unhealthy to live with this amount of damp which I am sure you know the plaster will come away and the cost to repair will be huge.If you both work full time surely there is a way around this.

FunctionalSkills · 15/12/2022 14:55

It may be worth investing in a dehumidifier for the damp.

Otherwise V
CAP or citizens advice might have help on budgeting as heating in winter is a priority.

worriedandannoyed · 15/12/2022 14:55

Thefriendlyone · 15/12/2022 14:53

Has something declined year on year for you op?were you able to pay the standing charge and heat it last year? Is that why you are now taking rhe standing charge out of the government subsidy?

Energy prices have tripled/quadrupled. Were you not aware?

I'm sorry OP so many of us are in the same position. Just hope the weather warms up soon. Have you looked into electric blankets?

ethelredonagoodday · 15/12/2022 14:58

I'm not sure if this is of use or not, but I work for a local authority and we have a fund to help people who are struggling this winter. It might be worth getting in touch with your local council to see if they can help in any way.

OwwwMuuuum · 15/12/2022 14:58

That must feel absolutely dreadful OP, how distressing. You must feel so cold and be exhausted dealing with it all.

I expect sooo many households will be behind with payments this winter that the supplier companies will have to come up with special measures to help people pay, like mortgage holidays in covid. Try speaking to your supplier. They might be able to give you a payment plan so you can have the heating on more and pay it off in small weekly sums to get you through the winter.

Hot water bottles, jumpers, slippers, scarves hats and gloves, tracksuits instead of PJs. Have the windows open an hour a day even though that will feel colder to reduce the humidity, otherwise you’ll have mould. Good luck 🌸

Workinghardeveryday · 15/12/2022 14:59

ethelredonagoodday · 15/12/2022 14:58

I'm not sure if this is of use or not, but I work for a local authority and we have a fund to help people who are struggling this winter. It might be worth getting in touch with your local council to see if they can help in any way.

Isn’t this if you earn less than 30k as a household though?

SueVineer · 15/12/2022 15:00

Why is there water running down the ceiling and walls because you don’t have heating on? That makes no sense

Original poster
Cudz · 15/12/2022 15:01

I don't want this to be a pity me thread as honestly I know so many are far worse than me this year. I just had to rant and get it out because it's absolutely disgusting that this country is in such a shit state where hard working families are unable to even keep their homes a safe temperature anymore. I bet all the MP's go home to their toasty warm houses every evening. It's an absolute disgrace

OP posts:
Original poster
Cudz · 15/12/2022 15:03

@SueVineer because the condensation from us breathing in bed is gathering on the ceilings and walls because its so bloody cold in our bedrooms! Lucky you that you haven't had to experience this issue.

OP posts:
Heatherbell1978 · 15/12/2022 15:03

Is the water running down the walls linked to not having heating on? That seems like an issue with guttering or something potentially? Appreciate it's shit being cold but are you sure the two are linked?

cantbeforeal · 15/12/2022 15:11

It's the same in my house upstairs where it's colder than downstairs, I've just been drying the walls/windows every morning and have to keep painting with anti mould paint every couple of months!

Zosime · 15/12/2022 15:16

Do you close your bedroom doors at night? If so, could you try leaving them open, or at least ajar? That might allow the air to circulate more and stop the moisture building up in one place. And leave them open during the day when not in use.

SpiceRat · 15/12/2022 15:17

We had ice on our kitchen window and back door this morning. It’s fucking shit. We’ve got to have the heating on to keep the house at some sort of warmth for toddler but it’s not even reaching 15° today. It’s shit I’ve been crying all day I just can’t cope anymore, but we’re pennies over the threshold for any sort of help. In debt and struggling but don’t matter 🤷🏻‍♀️

Greensky90 · 15/12/2022 15:19

Era · 15/12/2022 14:44

can you not just heat your house to the extent of the £60 government payment? That way it costs you nothing

There's literally no point of heating your home for 1 hour. Well not for me, I have 3 floors to heat the boiler is only just warming up in this cold the house seems to take longer to feel some warmth

Original poster
Cudz · 15/12/2022 15:26

Aaaaw @SpiceRat I hear you. Its no consolation I know but you aren't the only one. I feel like a failure as a parent - my ds was shivering last night despite having layers on. I can cope being cold but kids shouldn't have to 😥

OP posts:
Lonelycrab · 15/12/2022 15:31

It may be worth investing in a dehumidifier for the damp

I googled dehumidifiers the other day. No one I could find has any stock whatsoever, unless you go into the £300+ professional category. Screwfix, B&Q, Curry’s, everyone out of stock.

Fwiw op I’ve been squeegee-ing and drying my windows every morning- quite a lot accumulating there and I get rid of several cup full each morning. Stops it re-absorbing back into my house.

Withnoshoes · 15/12/2022 15:32

Some of the passive aggressive comments on the site are disgusting and so not needed. The governments £66/7 barely touches the sides when the temps have been so cold for many of us throughout December. It’s not more than an hour of heating a day for a month for me! It takes so much more energy in these kinds of temps just to get bare minimum temps in many of our old houses. Standing charge prices increased and my gas price is almost 3x the fix I was in last year.

Costs are so much more than last year, also we had an overall mild winter in most of the U.K. and didn’t need to heat a house in -9 as it’s was today at 8am . We’ve had daily temps under freezing here and if it’s been above it’s barely there! As the screen shot shows it was a max of 12 degrees this time last year.

My walls had water running down them this morning
AutumnCrow · 15/12/2022 15:36

can you not just ...

God I hate these replies

AutumnCrow · 15/12/2022 15:39

SpiceRat · 15/12/2022 15:17

We had ice on our kitchen window and back door this morning. It’s fucking shit. We’ve got to have the heating on to keep the house at some sort of warmth for toddler but it’s not even reaching 15° today. It’s shit I’ve been crying all day I just can’t cope anymore, but we’re pennies over the threshold for any sort of help. In debt and struggling but don’t matter 🤷🏻‍♀️

I'm so sorry. It's not even 'back to the 60s' because in the 1960s and 70s when I was a girl I remember our big living room having a coal fire and being very warm in the winter.

MintJulia · 15/12/2022 15:41

You need to turn your heating on, today, tomorrow and Saturday. The temperature is exceptionally low but due to rise 12 degrees on Sunday and be much warmer all next week.

MintJulia · 15/12/2022 15:44

And yes, my bathroom window was frozen shut this morning. It was -7 at 6am 🙁