Anyone else not turned the heating on yet?

[Madamlulu]

We haven't turned the heating on yet as trying to save money for when the bills will be high over the winter. We have been fine with big jumpers but we do have a log burner and electric blankets..

Any one else not switched theirs on yet and how are you coping?

Only had it on for 2 lots of two hours so far when temp was 14 indoors. Makes my joints hurt that cold. Have noticed this morning though that wooden furniture is developing a film of mildew however so will have use it more whether I am cold or not.

We must be in a different country.

No heating, though more layers. Our north facing room is 17.5 degrees, our south facing room is much warmer. It's a flat so perhaps we are benefiting from the heating efforts of people above and below.

(Just as well. A radiator is leaking, and we need to drain the system to replace it. We are putting in a new bathroom in December, so will wait till then. We can cope with cold bedrooms, so have bought a storage heater and if needed, will heat the living room and DH can wfh there. I will potter around in my Dry Robe and Ugg boots.)

only rarely.
5 pm yesterday, for a short while,
briefly this morning.

hot water bottle at bed time sometimes, the rain has kept it warmer

No heating yet Just 2 jumpers and possibly a hot w bottle

Haven't turned it on either. We just manage using thermal socks/fleece lined leggings/fluffy hoodies/blankets. Also when we have the heated air rack on to dry clothes, it seems to get quite warm in the living room :) will be trying to go as long as we possibly can without switching CH on. Last year we didn't switch it on at all but I ended up getting chillblains which I haven't had since I was a kid!

Those of you who haven't got the heating on yet, how are you drying your washing? I've got a thing that's like a hair dryer in a tent to dry the clothes but it's so cold that it's taking 6 hours to dry half a load. Towels, sheets and trousers take even longer. My 10 year old has wet the bed 3 times in the last 5 days but I'm not really feeling cold enough to turn the heating on yet so I'm reluctant to turn the heating on just to dry the washing.

A washing machine with a high spin speed, then hanging them to dry near a south facing patio window. Take things off when they are dry to give more space for others, and accept that thicker items can take a day or two.

Also if you have high ceilings, one of these is great. Hot air rises so clothes dry quicker the higher up they are. A friend has one at the top of her stairs.

https://www.robertdyas.co.uk/clothing-airer-ceiling-pulley-45-white-45-1-46-4m

I've given in tonight. It's very cold in our house. It's been on for just shy of an hour and my child is telling me his room is too hot. Can't win. I'll turn it off shortly.

I can't manage the washing in the winter without a dehumidifier. It's an absolute must with five of us, otherwise it's impossible to keep on top of the laundry. I also give everything an extra spin cycle. This and the dehumidifier means I can dry a load over night as normal. 100% recommended getting one if you can.

I'm so un-British 😂 The heating's been on a bit since September, and I turned it to 24 hours the day before yesterday. I haven't got a programmable thermostat, so turn it up & down a few times a day. I forgot yesterday, and it was on 20° all day. I was so comfy!

This. I have three airers all full. I do also have a tumble dryer that I use to finish things off if they’ve been hanging for a day or two and I need the space for the next load but never use it to dry from wet

Nope no heating on here, but it's not been cold in the house. I feel like it's been quite mild so far. I'm sure by the end of the month it will be a different story lol

I'm determined not to turn it on until December! Last winter I went hard core and hardly turned it on much at all. It meant sitting around in 3 fleeces and even fingerless gloves doing an impersonation of some Dickensian character but I got used to it...Going for a brisk morning walk helps - I don't feel the cold as much for the rest of the day.

The dehumidifier definitely helps to warm the air - moist air is colder air.

Temperature has gone back up a couple of degrees in Cheshire, so I'm absolutely fine again with no heating. Only needed PJs and a dressing gown last night. No HWB or blanket. It's 14° this week, so it's positively tropical 🔥

We are having our bathroom replaced in December which involves draining the system. In October a radiator sprung a leak. I don’t know if the heating engineer was surprised when we said we would wait rather than have the system drained twice. We have bought a portable storage heater as a backup but have not had to use it. Last winter the government subsidy came close to being higher than our bills.

Icebreaker thermals, thick socks, Celtic and Co sheepskin boots, a very thick dressing gown and a woolly hat. I have just bought a dry robe as I hope to swim through the winter, but it may get some use indoors. (I threaten DH that I will join the yummy mums and dog walkers and wear it to our local Tesco, he says he won’t come with me.) Fingerless gloves are next on the shopping list. It’s not a problem. I feel warm. And when I don’t I just put more layers on.

I worry that I am turning into my mother, who did not believe in heating. We won’t go as far as the chilblains and Jack Frost visiting the inside of the windows. My motivation is mainly environmental. I want to keep my personal carbon footprint as low as I can, though without being obsessive. The bonus is that we are saving a lot of money, even with the investment in warm clothing. (My early Christmas present from the now adult children are fleece lined crocs, again ostensively for swimming, but a revelation when you need to nip out quickly to, say, go to the bin.)