Heating rooms

When I was young living in the UK we never heated the upstairs rooms, only the 2 downstairs lounges , kitchen and what we called the little bedroom. I remember the ice patterns on the windows but we didn’t have a mould problem, my mum used to open the windows to ‘air’ the rooms. It used to be very,very cold at night which makes me ashamed of whinging about the cold here which rarely gets below 4 or 5 C at night.

We keep the radiators low in the unused rooms and all doors open. I also open all windows just a little each day. We are also fortunate to have a dehumidifier in the
landing ceiling with the workings in the loft. It runs constantly all year. It was in the house when we moved in 2 years ago.

Our house is victorian and naturally air "leaky". It is three storey and since we moved the study down a level we don't go up to the top of the house much.

I went up yesterday and put the heating on in one of the 3 upstairs rooms - as it was too cold and quite breezy on the middle landing. I'd gone up to see if a window had blown open - it hadn't!

Normally they are off as are the ones in two of the first-floor rooms.

I think having a house with lots of draughts and leaving doors open must be why we have never found any mould.

If you have so many unused rooms and the house is deteriorating maybe you should think about moving. I had a lovely Georgian farmhouse in a village we loved but with 5 bedrooms and the children left home it was too much. Moved to a more modern house which is much more comfortable and sold ours to a family. We still have lots of visitors and are packed at Christmas etc but have 4 smaller bedrooms which means we can have the guests we want without huge heating bills or damp, we only use most radiators when we have guests and rely on our log burner which we lit this week. I didn't want to move at first but am so glad we did

I have asthma and mould is a trigger. I keep two dehumidifiers going thru the winter ... and always windows opened somewhere. Heating is only 'on' downstairs.

When I lived in my 3 bed I used to keep radiators on the lowest number they had so it kept the chill off the room but higher in living room only but now I’ve downsized I still do it only keep it high in living room but not turn on yet because I’ve got my electric throw.

I’ve read about electric throws but does it mean people sit in one spot all evening close to a wall socket?

I think having a house with lots of draughts and leaving doors open must be why we have never found any mould.

I know a house like that.
It too never has mould.

Stansgran

I’ve read about electric throws but does it mean people sit in one spot all evening close to a wall socket?

I have a long extension lead.
But yes if using electric throw, it is for times I am in front of the telly or something.

My electric throw is the size of a pillow but I do use it when watching TV. It is programmable so I switch it on at the lowest setting for 2 hours. I have not had it very long but I should be able to turn down the heating in the living room so when watching TV it will be a win/win situation.

Gone are the days when I switched the heating on early am and that was it until bedtime.

I live in a relatively modern detached house (14 years old) and have the radiators on at low - No 2 on the valve for all the rooms except the main room and bathroom I use. I have heating on now but at 3 phased times. Terrified of damp setting in even though quite well insulated. I know folk use dehumidifiers but how much do they cost to buy and run.

A dehumidifier would be the better option.

If you can afford to do so, it is far better to keep all rooms, you don't use on the lowest possible setting. If they are all on the same floor you might try leaving the doors open so air circulates, but I think this will probably make the rest of the house too cold.

Mould is a health risk and must be prevented or dealt with, and damp can lead to either dry rot or wet rot and all three are very expensive to get rid of, and you can neither insure a house against rot and mould if there is any, nor sell it, so prevention is better than a cure here.

Air the rooms that are not in use regularly, turning off the heating whilst doing so is usually advised by central heating firms and plants.

A de-humidifier runs on electricity, so even if it were only one room you were not using the cost of using the de-humidifier is probably one you would rather avoid.

The rooms you do use should be kept ideally at a constant heat and aired for five to ten minutes two or three times daily.

I admit, I prefer to air our rooms for a longer period once a day, but again the shorter more frequent airings are what are being advised these days.

I use these and have windows open all year round… even if it’s only slightly….

Absolutely, positively Yes! Keep that heat going. Mould is a serious health problem.

Hi Parky, I invested in a 'Low Energy' dehumidifier from Meaco. I bought it mainly to help to dry washing when it's not possible to dry it outside. You can set it to do that, but it also doesn't run all the time, only when the moisture level reaches a certain level. Sometimes it doesn't come on for ages, others, like this week, I've had to empty it three times, but I've not heard it working much (although it's not noisy).

They have a good description of how to choose one on their website.
We only have a small, very old terraced house, and I now leave all the doors open whenever possible. The dehumidifier's in the kitchen, but it seems to work fine for the whole house. It also produces a bit of heat when it's on. The bathroom never gets misted windows now, and I don't have to worry about the washing at all. It's the best investment I've made in a long time! Also make sure I open all windows a bit whenever possible, and set all unused room thermostats to low.

I've been trying to be frugal with the heating, too, so haven't put the central heating on much this year, and like a lot of others here, got a heated throw for me, and another for the bed. But the dehumidifier is on all the time.

Please don't let the mould take hold. It's so difficult to get rid of once it's started. Get professional help if necessary.

We have a Victorian end terrace. We heat the whole house, all three floors, but have smaller radiators in the basement and bedrooms, so our living area is always warmer. We also have an Ebac dehumidifier in the basement and even though it never feels damp down there (it’s properly tanked and insulated) it’s surprising how much water it collects, even in summer. The Ebac running costs aren’t high, and using a dehumidifier can lead to savings in winter, as you can lower the heating a bit if you have one. I’d never risk having any damp in the house - it’s such a danger, for the fabric of the building and your house contents, but more importantly, for your health.

fancythat

Hetty58

Parky, I run an Ebac dehumidifier all the time, in winter, to keep the unused rooms dry. It's just astounding how much water it collects. I only use the central heating in the coldest months, and have the TRVs in those rooms on low.

Does that work out very costly in electric costs?

Mine is a 350 w, so roughly uses 1 unit ever 3 hrs, but does switch itself on and off during that time, so probably nearer 1 unit ever 4 hrs so very cheap to run. They also produce a fair bit of heat for that amount of power. I love mine. Never use a tumble dryer and in the winter months run it pretty much none stop up the stairs during the day, and does a good job at keeping the chill off of upstairs.
Mine lifts over a litre of condensation daily, and I live in a 3 bed mid terrace council house with 2 adults in.