talk to me about heating

[scabbysnake]

right - i live in an old house, its always cold. i have a gas meter which costs about £5 a week over summer but last winter i was putting on about £30 and that was just having it on an hour in the morning and maybe 2-3 hours in the evening. i would usually turn it off once kids are in bed.
the house tends to get mouldy despite me opening windows. i was told its because the house doesn't get a chance to get warm and the only way is to leave the heating on. so have heard on here about how its cheaper to leave the heating on etc..
so thursday i put it on and have turned it down to the minimin temp but so the raiators are ticking over so are still feeling warm and wow this alone is making my house 100 times warmer (i know its hasn't really been that cold yet). have looked at meter this morning and its used about £5 since thurs! so maybe not a cheaper option for me? seems strange to leave it on when i'm out etc...
any ideas? what do you all do? thanx

we're having our chimney swept next week and it's costing £50

You need need need a dehumidifier. Mould on Walls equals damp problem, we are thhe same here. Dehumidifier will be a massive help. Google a site called dry it out, they have a fantastic one for £100, we have one and it is fantastic. Best money I ever spent. Costs about 70p per day to run, and house is soooooo much drier feeling and there is no need to put heating on. I would seriously recommend a dehumidifier in your situation.

I seem to remember getting 2 chimneys swept for £60 about 4 years ago.

at those prices! We have a fireplace just begging to have actual fire in it but landlord said he has no idea when the chimney was last swept so we'd need to get it done if we want to use it.

So much for me thinking it'd be a cheap way of getting a bit of extra heat

Thanks for the info