Brrrr it's cold in my house

**anonymous1** · 11-08-2007, 11:02 AM

My house has a lot of tile in it. My bathroom is especially cold in the winter time. My bedroom & bathroom are on the north side of the house.

There is a heater in the bathroom but we have been using a floor heater as well but only when we shower. It is a little electric heater but I am sure it sucks the electricity. Any thoughts out there?

Another question, what about electric blankets? I bought a new one last year but I haven't put it on the bed yet. Do you think they make a big difference on the electric bill?

Our house is only 5 1/2 years old but each time I visit our neighbors houses, they are so toasty warm in the winter and cool in the summer. I am guessing they keep their temps warmer and cooler than ours. I have discussed with the hubby about maybe blowing a little more insulation in the attic and he agreed. We built our house so we didn't skimp on those sorts of things when we built it.

Thanks!

Stephanie

**JustJoy** · 11-08-2007, 01:44 PM

No advice, but I'm pretty much in the same boat as you are. The only rooms that are carpeted are the bedrooms. All the rest are either tile or wood.

**HisDaisy** · 11-08-2007, 03:07 PM

I understand about cold bathrooms. We have no heat in our bathroom. It has tile flooring and it is located in the basement (We are renters). We keep the house on the cool side, but that bathroom is just plain cold. I am not looking forward to showering in the winter. We may need to get a space heater, but I am worried about the fire hazard.

**Jaded** · 11-08-2007, 03:14 PM

My least favorite memories from childhood were living in a freezing cold house and never wanting to get out of the nice, warm bathtub. It was horrible stepping out into that freezing cold bathroom with the tile floors. No wonder I stayed so sick as a child. I was always sick in the winter.

I use a heated mattress pad, and it's saved me from having the heat on the last couple of nights. I have a small space heater for the bathroom, but I haven't used it yet. If it gets much colder at night (It's in the 50's now), I'll be setting my alarm early and turning the heat on. I need a programmable thermostat!

**anonymous1** · 11-08-2007, 05:27 PM

Originally Posted by Jaded

My least favorite memories from childhood were living in a freezing cold house and never wanting to get out of the nice, warm bathtub. It was horrible stepping out into that freezing cold bathroom with the tile floors. No wonder I stayed so sick as a child. I was always sick in the winter.

I use a heated mattress pad, and it's saved me from having the heat on the last couple of nights. I have a small space heater for the bathroom, but I haven't used it yet. If it gets much colder at night (It's in the 50's now), I'll be setting my alarm early and turning the heat on. I need a programmable thermostat!

Way back when my hubby and I first got married, he used to get up turn on a (now probably way to dangerous) gas wall heater and start my bath.

But that sure isn't gonna happen now!

Stephanie

**Libby** · 11-08-2007, 08:03 PM

I live in a basement as well and my bathroom has ceramic tile floors

The only thing I have done is put lil mats down - one by the sink, toilet and when you step outta the shower cubby. The only rooms that are carpeted are the bedroom and living room and part of the hallway that goes to both bedroom and laundry area. We have heating vents in each room from the ceilings and heat does travel in but I've had to close them off.

In winter when you shut the door to go piddle, you come out sweating. Too much heat for a tiny room. In summer you shut the door to go piddle, you come out freezing b/c too much a/c in the tiny room. You cant win in my bathroom.

Have you tried installing a heat lamp in the ceiling? I think it helps not only to heat up the room but dry out the moisture during and post bathing. Something like this: http://www.elights.com/nutbulheat.html

**mikandmari** · 11-08-2007, 11:58 PM

I just bought my daughter an oil-filled electric heater. It looks like a radiator with a plug

. It's filled with oil but never has to be refilled. It radiates heat into the room without having any direct red-hot heating element that can catch things on fire. My Mom has been using one for years and loves it.

We have mostly hardwood & tile floors in our old house. Big fuzzy slippers are a great investment!

**vverkin925** · 11-09-2007, 12:32 AM

I totally LOVE our little oil radiators. I live in a big OLD house with all wood and tile floors, leaky windows, no insulation, etc. My electric bills are outrageous. During the summer they run $400 to $500 a month. During the winter they run a little less $350 to $450. Last year I invested in three of the radiator type space heaters. They have wheels and can be moved to wherever needed. I was able to go the entire winter without turning on the heat once. My electric bills dropped to only $200 a month during those few short winter months. Those $60 radiators paid for themselves in the very first month!!

More to the point of your post - With these little radiators there is no fear of fire or getting burned and they can easily heat a small space. We put them in the bedrooms in use and they keep them very pleasant. These rooms are about 225 to 300 square feet. We also wheel them into the bathrooms for bath time. You might consider one of these in the bathroom and attach to a timer. Set the timer to come on 15 to 30 minutes before you wake up and you should have a nice toasty bathroom when you're ready for it.

**HandyMom** · 11-09-2007, 12:37 AM

I suppose I would get area rugs for the floors and wear slippers. Heated electric mattress pads make a big difference for less cost than an electric blanket. I turn it on about 15 minutes before I go to bed then I have to turn it off for the night or it gets too warm.

**anonymous1** · 11-09-2007, 01:15 PM

Great ideas! I am very interested in the oil filled heaters. The heater I have is a ceramic heater that blows hot air. Nothing on it turns red or anything like some of the ones you see. I just make sure to keep it away from the wall rugs etc. I never leave it on when I am out of the room.

Thanks Guys!

Stephanie

**eyrehead** · 11-09-2007, 02:57 PM

We built our house, too, and ended up adding more of the blown in insulation a few years ago. The one thing we're still looking into are window treatments. We built the house about 1500' off the road, and behind a stand of trees, so we have total privacy, so we never worried about covering the windows. With that being said, I'm tired of the $250+ electric bills from May-September because of the A/C. The 1st floor windows are all "covered" by the wrap around porch, except for the windows in the garage, the window in my mud/laundry room, and the window above the sink in the kitchen. The first floor stays fairly warm in the winter (except for our bedroom, which is on the north side of the house), and cool in the summer. But the upstairs....heating isn't the issue, it's cooling it in the summer. So we've been looking into the room darkening/insulating cordless blinds for the windows. If we put them up on all the windows, in the house, we'll be looking at spending between $3500-4000 just on the blinds. Brian will install them, so that will save on the labor expense...I'm just not so sure I want to cover up all my wonderful windows. We have tile floors in all the bathrooms, the kitchen, and the laundry room; hardwood floors in the foyer, the office, the formal dining room, and the hallway; and then carpet in all bedrooms, the livingroom, and the entire upstairs. The only bathroom that I notice being cold, is the master bath...especially in the mornings!! Brrrr....

**Edna_E** · 11-12-2007, 01:55 PM

Ok, I have to explain why I know this.
Last winter my beloved cat was diagnosed with a blood infection, given some meds, and sent home with me until they could find a feline blood donor. My bathroom has tile floor. My beloved cat was incontinent and unable to lift her head. I set up the bathroom, initially with a blanket on the floor, and then when I realized how cold and uncomfortable it was, with a twin-sized foam mattress pad under the blankets. I spent the night with her curled up on the floor. She died at about 1:30, and I still stayed and held her for about an hour. The styrofoam makes a great insulator - and I think you can buy it in rolls where it is about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick - which you could walk on just fine. Try that under rugs or cloth where you walk on the floor. Hope you can be comfortable.

**Ceashels** · 11-12-2007, 02:51 PM

Edna, you just broke my heart today. I know i would have done the same.
Blessings to you.

**peanut** · 11-12-2007, 06:47 PM

We live in an old home with wood and linoleum floors. The answer for the bedroom for us was a mattress heating pad. We turn it on for 15-30 min. before bed, crawl in and turn it off. We're warm the rest of the night. Course we have two Hudson's Bay 4 and 6 point blankets, a comforter and flannel sheets on the bed too! DH really likes to turn the heat down at night.

I am a big believer in throw rugs. I hook my own rugs using traditional rug hooking. That makes them quite thick. Usually 1/4-1/2" high. I have a non-skid runner underneath them.

We also use slippers and sweaters. And open curtains/drapes and close them to retain/gain heat throughout the day.

I think our thermostat is too close to the gas furnace to do us much good. It reads warm and shuts off before the rest of the house is warmed up. Frustrating, but that can be a problem with these old renovated homes.

Jean

**Studentmom** · 11-12-2007, 10:32 PM

Has anyone ever used a heated mattress pad on a foam mattress (I agree with previous poster that they are warmer than a regular mattrress)? Also, is it possible to use a heated mattress pad on a crib mattress (baby is ~15months so not a SIDS risk) or is there another (better?) way to warm her?