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Housekeeping

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Original poster

So was i being too unrealistic to think I could keep the heating off, and have you caved in?

206 replies

piratecat · 27/10/2008 16:54

It is still off in my home, but gosh it's cold today.

Upstairs is ok (boiler up here) with the hot water pipes giving off a bit of warmth. Yet downstairs is miserable.

It was ok to say, 'ooh i am going to wear fleeces etc...' when it was 12 degress, but 5 is slightly different non?

I CAN@T AFFORD IT and i feel like poo, for not being able to put it on yet.

OP posts:
LoveMyGirls · 28/10/2008 19:36

My granny did knit me some bed socks and dp has been known to pinch them!

I might start a thread asking if anyone knows for sure if it is cheaper because I don't want a shock either but if there is any way of keeping the house at a reasonable temp then I'm keeping it on!

TheMadHouse · 28/10/2008 19:50

I wish we could have it on - we went to put it on and it has tripped the whole system. I have had a plumber and electrician out yesterday and am waiting for the boiler company tomorrow.

We have borrowed a oil filled rad and also got an electric blanket for DS1's bed.
We have put up a curtain at the front door (which is single glazed)
I also have a draught excluder.
Kitchen is not to bad as I have changed all the beds today, so have the tumble dryer running and also cooked a chicken, but our thermometer told me it was 4degrees this morning in the sitting room

nappyaddict · 28/10/2008 19:51

expat - single figures!! aren't you freezing??

expatinscotland · 28/10/2008 20:00

yep, it's chilly.

but bills are high.

milge · 28/10/2008 20:18

We have given in and had the heating on for an hour and a half this pm, just gone off. House lovely and toasty, we were down to 12 at 6pm, and its 2 degrees outside, so don't feel too guilty!

clam · 28/10/2008 20:22

Is snowing here! Think that's reason enough to turn it on.

NorbertDentressangle · 28/10/2008 20:22

We were going to wait until November but we've just had a few days away in Devon(in a warm house) and came home to find the temperature has dropped substantially and....we cracked! We've put it on.

At one point I had visions of us getting through the winter without it just through sheer stubborness as neither of us wanted to be the first to crack

ShyBaby · 28/10/2008 20:28

I havent got mine on yet but its getting a bit nippy now...trying to hold off as long as possible.

We had no central heating for our first three years in this house and that was cold, not keen on going back to the days where we had to run as fast as possible to bed at night.

Our poncy southern snow has melted now.

nannyL · 28/10/2008 20:28

the Madhouse

4 degress .... thats colder than my fridge

i havent turned my heating on yet at all and im still only dow to 17C

NorbertDentressangle · 28/10/2008 20:33

I think it was the break in Devon and the snow on our return that did it for us.

3 days ago in Devon the thermometer in our car said it was 23 degrees (we were in direct sunshine, it was glorious).

Tonight, as I took DD to her swimming lesson it was 1 degree and snowing.

Bride1 · 28/10/2008 20:39

Norbert--you are our family's favourite haulier. Such a great name.

NorbertDentressangle · 28/10/2008 20:41

(sshh, Eddie gets jealous)

Sidge · 28/10/2008 20:47

I wish I could win the lottery so I could give you all some money for your heating bills

We are very lucky I think - darn sarf it's cold but not that cold, our naff but very well insulated 60s semi is pretty efficient and despite paying £49 a month for gas we are £233 in credit and SE have dropped our monthly payments, not put them up.

We don't have a central thermostat, just individual stats on the radiators, but our coldest room (the bathroom) is still 18 degrees and we only had the heating on for 1.5 hours.

nappyaddict · 28/10/2008 20:50

nannyL - when do you usually turn yours on?

KaplumbagaBloodyBones · 28/10/2008 21:04

Still haven't put our heating on.
Am using Halogen heater downstairs when it is needed.
Upstairs is freezing but kids can wrap up warm for bed and it would only be on for an hour before bed if needed anyway so they would still wake up chilly.
I did put the halogen heater upstairs for half hour before bed last night which helped but needed longer really.

My biggest problem is the condensation on all the windows in the morning. They are so wet that there are puddles on the window sills and all need wiping down.

nannyL · 28/10/2008 21:11

nappyaddict...

i planned to turn it on in October (in September)... then aimed to wait until the clocks changed,

i was going to put it on for the 1st time tonight, buts its honestly not that cold so maybe tomorrow?... (I have had a bath and am sitting here literally in just a bathrobe and slippers)

by November it WILL be on im sure... i think i turned it off last in May

i think i have said before that somehow the front windows act like a greenhouse, so when the sun shines my front room and bedroom and hall way warm up really nicely in the daytime, then i close my curtains at night and it seems to remain quite warm.

expatinscotland · 28/10/2008 21:13

'My biggest problem is the condensation on all the windows in the morning. They are so wet that there are puddles on the window sills and all need wiping down.'

Same here!

Three times I've wiped these damn windows down today!

KaplumbagaBloodyBones · 28/10/2008 21:56

My windows have been ok during the day but only because i open little windows in each room. They are wet again as soon as they are shut and tea is cooked! Even though i have an extractor fan in the kitchen. It is useless and a waste of electric.

Bride1 · 29/10/2008 08:10

That stick-on stuff that looks like clingfilm really does help. It adds a layer of warm air so that the air you breathe out doesn't hit a cold window pane and condense.

We use it on all our non-double-glazed windows. Which is most of them. It doesn't look fantastic but who cares when it's cold?

needmorecoffee · 29/10/2008 08:25

is there stuff you can shove around badly fitted windows that wont close properly. I was cold in bed and didn't sleep. My window wont close so there was a cold draft.
gonna light fire now as its 4 degrees down here and we got a physio coming to physio dd.

backintheUK · 29/10/2008 08:40

needmorecoffee have you tried the film that sticks over the window frames which acts as a temporary glazing....I did it on a couple of rooms where we don't actually have any radiators or any double glazing ( old house) and whilst it hasn't been amazing it has improved the draughts that were coming through and actually made one of the rooms pretty tolerable to use?
Got ours from Homebase for about 3.99

needmorecoffee · 29/10/2008 08:42

does it cover the plastic frames too? The windows are double glazed but are those stupid PVC ones that never clsoe properly after day 1 cos the metal bits snapped. So there's a cm gap along one edge. Will the platic bridge that gap and stick on the other side?

Bride1 · 29/10/2008 10:08

It does cover the frames. You can stick it where you want, cough. We have put it all over one particularly leaky and draft set of windows which we never open in winter. There is much less condensation, almost none. Basically you use a kind of double-sided sellotape to fix the film.

KaplumbagaBloodyBones · 29/10/2008 15:16

Can you link to the sticky stuff which helps with the condensation please? Or do you know what it is called? Thanks

Ripeberry · 29/10/2008 15:22

Do you realise that if you were in an office that anything below 15c would be classed as "unfit working conditions"?
Do you not have one of those halogen heater things, at least they only cost a few pence to run a day.
Don't put your health at risk. If you are in a house/flat and it's 8c then that's ridiculous, need to sort out some insulation.

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