Do you dread having to dig through the piles of old coats and umbrellas to find your hats, gloves and scarfs each winter? There are lots of efficient ways to keep warm when it’s near-zero outside, so take a look at our quick and easy ideas for you to ensure your home is warm and cosy in the colder months.
Check your boiler – The worst possible scenario in winter, is having your boiler break. Imagine getting back from work and coming home to an igloo! So ensure your boiler is in top condition before the cold weather arrives. It would also be beneficial to be covered, ready for if the worst happens.
Get your chimney cleaned – Although we are trying to help you get warm, a chimney fire is not what we had in mind! Unfortunately, chimney fires are very common in winter and to avoid them. To ensure you have a safe winter, it is important that you hire someone to professionally sweep your chimney.
Look after your pipes – It is not uncommon to find that your pipes have cracked in winter due to them freezing over and having no running water in winter to make your cups of teas and hot chocolate is a disaster! To ensure that this is avoided, protect them with a layer of foam, also known as lagging. If your pipes do burst, turn your water off and get in contact with a plumber.
Bleed your radiators – To ensure you get full use of your radiator in winter, make it a priority to bleed you radiators. The air which gets trapped inside causes cold patches in the radiator, resulting in a loss of heat! After you have found the radiators which need bleeding, use a radiator key to turn the valve anti-clockwise. You’ll know if it’s working if you hear a hissing sound, this is the air being released!
Ensure your sofas are away from the radiator – You may think that having your sofa up against the radiator heats up your cosy spot but in actual fact, it is blocking the heat from entering the rest of the room! To get maximum use out of your radiators, move your sofas!
Close your curtains – Your windows can get very cold at night time, especially if they’re single glazed, so the best way to keep the heat in is to close any blinds straight after dusk and close your curtains.
Roll out rugs – Wooden floors are great when it comes to cleaning, they’re really easy to maintain, however they can get very cold in winter and sometimes not even slippers can warm up your toes! So roll out a rug and keep your feet from getting icy cold.
Underfloor heating – An alternative to rolling out rugs around your home is to invest in underfloor heating! As well as keeping your feet toasty, it means you can avoid using radiators and use the wall space for something else! For more information, visit Polypipe underfloor heating by Colglo.
Photograph by Sujo