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Original poster

For those who can't afford to use central heating this year - How are you going to cope?

511 replies

mama2moo · 18/10/2011 20:06

We have 2 dd's - 3yo and 20mo and already owe money to our suppliers. We are going to have to be careful with not using the heating too much but our house is feeling cold already!

We have bought thermal vests, fleece pjs, fleece tops and extra duvets.

What else can we do?

TBH Im dreading it. By the 3rd week of every month we are skint at the moment.

OP posts:
HeresTheScaryThingBooyhoo · 26/10/2011 15:18

gaelic i agree, but when your tumble dryer is sitting in the kitchen laughing at you because it is refusing to use hot air and you can't afford the repair but have oil in the tank and a back log of washing i would question anyone's logic to not use the oil that is already in the tank.

also, had you considered that lots of people do not have and cannot afford to buy a tumble dryer?

and what i mean by heating the water. i mean my control box has a slider for central heating and a slider for hot water. when i slide the heating one, the hot water one slides too, meaning i am actively heating the water in the tank, not that it is a by product of heating the house. it is possible (for some reason) to slide the hot water slider by itself and the central heating one doesn't move but it doesn't happen like this the other way round.

oksonowwhat · 26/10/2011 17:20

Today i am drying my work top for tonight on the handrail of the cooker whilst cooking dinnerSmile Still not got that heating on but finding the drying of clothes sooooooo slow!!!

gaelicsheep · 26/10/2011 21:10

That's true HeresTheScaryThing - I definitely wasn't assuming everyone has a tumble drier. But there are people who do and don't use them because of the expense - just seems a bit of an upside down argument to me. Even in your case really, but won't you need the oil for heating when it gets really cold? Anyhow none of my business. Incidentally though, if it was me I'd be looking at getting a tumble drier rather than heating the house. You can get a tumble drier for around the cost of heating my house for a month. That's why we got one - we just could not afford the heating required to get washing dry in winter.

Original poster
mama2moo · 27/10/2011 11:18

Still no heating on here! Although, I checked the weather for the next few weeks and next Friday and Saturday night is supposed to be freezing.

I have been looking at getting some electric blankets for dd's.

I am ordering my fleece for my curtains today and am going to make a draught excluder for the front door. Im going to use oil cloth so that I can wipe the condensation off!

OP posts:
HeresTheScaryThingBooyhoo · 27/10/2011 11:41

i will need the oil. but right now it is a case of use whatever is there because i have no spare money at all. and i need the clothes washed, it has been over 3 weeks since it broke and i have been drying my washing very slowly indoors without heating. it was taking 3 days and i have such a backlog i really had to put the heating on. i am waiting for items to sell on gumtree and then i will be able to get my dryer fixed but until then i just have to use the heating sparingly. i am hoping that i will have enough from these items to but a dehumidifier also and wont need the heating on for a goof while yet.

oksonowwhat · 27/10/2011 16:55

Have you got any idea a tumble dryer costs to use for an hour or so? I've got a tumble dryer but have used it probably twice in the last two years! Because of the money. I would so love to be able to use it as drying clothes is taking soooooo long!

Ben10WasTheSpawnNowWeLoveLego · 27/10/2011 17:17

My tumble dryer is about 50p a load worked out on my electricity tariff and a 90 minute cycle including heavy cottons in my condenser dryer and the kWH hours it is meant to use. Had to google to find out how to work out how much it cost though Blush

Debs75 · 27/10/2011 17:48

50p a load isn't too bad. I do about 10-15loads of washingm a week so £7 for them to dry does work out a lot. Will start taking them out before 'bone dry' and air them off to save a bit

Ben10WasTheSpawnNowWeLoveLego · 27/10/2011 18:01

Ouch 15 loads a week! How many in the family?

oksonowwhat · 27/10/2011 18:04

Thanks Ben10, maybe i can do the odd load now and then Smile

monkeywench · 27/10/2011 19:31

Debs I sort of do it the other way round - try to dry stuff off as much as possible (through using the highest spin cycle on the washing machine and then hanging outside) then just 30 minutes or so in the dryer on a low heat setting.

I read somewhere that using the dryer on a low heat setting is proportionately more cost effective than using a high setting for a shorter period of time IYSWIM.

By the by, my Uniqlo order of Heatech base layers came and I'm very impressed - £14-15 for a long sleeved thermal top, arrived quickly and seems very effective.

gaelicsheep · 27/10/2011 21:17

About 3 units a load compared with nearly 24 units for a full charge on just one storage heater. Plus it heats the bathroom at the same time. I reckon it's a no brainer myself.

Debs75 · 28/10/2011 08:38

There are 6 of us Ben10. 1 still in reusable nappies which is 2 loads a week and babies seem to go through clothes so quickly. Ds(12) otoh hardly wears clothes as he is really sensitive, due to his ASD, he would sit all day in just a t-shirt, which then means we need the heating a bit higher.
The dryer was on 4 times yesterday so the play/dining/junk/dogs room was toasty all day long.

Was seriously chilly last night so need to get to Wickes for some window film. Noticed the back door is only single glazed and the pane is huge so that needs sorting out

Ben10WasTheSpawnNowWeLoveLego · 28/10/2011 09:13

Oh gosh Debs! I find it hard enough to keep up the washing for just us 3! DS is also suspected of being on the spectrum and has dyspraxia so makes such a mess that he has to have clean everything every day. Now it's the holidays, I'm encouraging sandwiches and staying in PJs all day to minimise the washing!

I'm so pleased that I used some of his DLA to replace the back door as we were just heating the back garden I think Grin I'm having the double glazing repair company round today so quote for replacing the handles and seals on our bathroom window. It is a really cost effective way of sorting out draughts long term. I had the front door adjusted where it had been badly fitted and I can no longer see blue sky through it!

oksonowwhat · 28/10/2011 09:24

gaelic, is it 3 units for tumble dryer on low or high setting? Sorry to quiz you:) Thats such a big difference compared to switching the storage heater on!! Do you think having storage heaters on low and just giving out a little heat would be a cheapish way of keeping the chill out?

I don't want to put them on but was wondering about putting daughters on low as its so cold in her room.

Tianc · 28/10/2011 12:01

You need a little socket meter ? also available at DIY or electrical places.

We went all round the house with ours, and found out lots of interesting things, like how much a load of washing took and which appliances drew a lot of power on standby (my printer is now off at the wall unless actually in use).

oksonowwhat · 28/10/2011 12:06

Thanks for the link, yes i do need one of those:) I could get addicted i reckon!

Debs75 · 28/10/2011 22:38

Ben10 things for us got easier. At first ds was soiling sheets nightly and he can never keep clothes clean so has to have at least 5 sets of school clothes. lUckily now he only gets dressed if going out, unluckily we need more heating to keep his bony bum warm. TBH I didn't notice that much extra washing with the 2 little ones.

Tianc more great ideas I think I will get one of those and hopefully convince dp to switch his bloody PS3 off at the wall. Can you use it with extension leads, we have hundreds of things plugged into extension leads?

Tianc · 28/10/2011 22:53

It's a bit wide, so it might overlap two sockets on an extension lead, but would certainly work.

We've got switched extension leads now, these ones from Argos. So you don't end up with all the devices on standby in order to use one device on the lead.

gaelicsheep · 28/10/2011 22:55

oksonowhat - well we have actually had the storage heaters on low for the last week or so, because as I said earlier in the thread the key is to not let the place get too cold. We are better insulated now so we have them (all 2 of them) on 1 (out of 6) and we're keeping a constant 18 degrees or so which is perfectly comfortable for us.

However, it has been pretty mild. It turned mild shortly after we put them on and I keep wondering whether to turn them off again but elected to keep them on and start building up the warmth. We live in the arctic Highlands so mid winter temperatures will plunge to 25 degrees below what they are now. Sad

After that ramble I say yes if your house is getting chilly switch on your storage heaters, even just one, just to get it to a minimum comfortable temperature. If you find you need them on really high even at this time of year to make a difference then you need to look at your draught proofing/insulation.

But to go back to the drying washing question, if we weren't using a tumble dryer we would be having to have the storage heaters on a fair bit higher to raise the temperature enough to dry all the washing, which would be a total waste of energy. Or we'd have to have a portable heater on - similar wattage to the tumble dryer but for considerably longer.

Our tumble dryer I believe uses 3kW for an hour on the high setting. It does bugger all on the low setting. We probably use it three times a week, for towels, bedding and many of my and DH's clothes. I don't tumble dry the kids clothes for fear of them shrinking but I tend to start them off in the tumble drier for 10 minutes or so and then hang them on the airer as they dry much more quickly that way.

gaelicsheep · 28/10/2011 22:56

Sorry meant 3 kWh/3 units.

fedupofnamechanging · 28/10/2011 23:08

To those of you with economy 7, it is worth putting a heater in the airing cupboard and drying clothes overnight (put on hangers on a rail or on hangers on an airer).

I tend to use my tumble dryer for towels and sheets in the winter, when it is too wet to hang them outside. Everything else goes in the airing cupboard and is dried overnight on the cheaper rate.

gaelicsheep · 28/10/2011 23:13

I do wish we had a usable airing cupboard as we would do just that. The arrangement is rubbish at the moment.

fedupofnamechanging · 28/10/2011 23:13

Also a small dehumidifier is a godsend. My parents got me a cheap one in a sale and it makes the rooms feel so much warmer. I think mine only cost about £40, and it's one of the most useful things I own.

gaelicsheep · 28/10/2011 23:15

Actually no I wouldn't. Do you mean leaving a portable heater on overnight in the cupboard? Wouldn't do that because of the fire risk. I sometimes wish the hot water tank wasn't as well insulated though - I remember my parents' airing cupboard being nice and warm for drying things.

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