The heat the person not the home is going to cause so many issues of damp in properties. No doubt there will be numerous people complaining to their landlord that their property is damp but the cause will be from people not heating and ventilating it correctly.
The Winter of Discontent #3 Food, energy, transport, jobs, housing, cost of living etc
- Start date
-
- Tags
- Discontent Threads Wiki
- Status
New to Tattle Life? Click "Order Thread by Most Liked Posts" button below to get an idea of what the site is about:
I agree, our country is too wet to not heat our homes. I have in the past tried turning off the heating in unused bedrooms and that room just ends up full of condensation.
I know someone who's flat was so full of mould and damp that they had to have the heating turned up all the time and the window open.
If you're in rental and you don't turn the heating on so the house gets damp and mouldy, can the landlord hold you liable?
It's insulting all this heat the person stuff. Wear more layers, wear slippers, use a hot water bottle, sit in a sleeping bag. As if this is news to anyone struggling!
Agree living in a damp home is a really bad for you. Been there, got the black mold and lung issues before. The mold spores can be really harmful. You hardly ever hear about a dehumidifier which while isn't cheap to run, it's a lot cheaper than heating and makes it less risky to live in a colder house in a damp country.
Agree living in a damp home is a really bad for you. Been there, got the black mold and lung issues before. The mold spores can be really harmful. You hardly ever hear about a dehumidifier which while isn't cheap to run, it's a lot cheaper than heating and makes it less risky to live in a colder house in a damp country.
I am forever trying to explain this to my SIL. She lives in a rental which is full of mould and damp and she's forever slagging her landlord off about it. However, she NEVER opens her windows! I've explained to her so many times you need to properly ventilate your home or it will keep getting mouldy and damp!
It will depend on the lease but I suspect they can - offhand I'm sure I remember seeing something about preventing freezing so I'd be surprised if damp wasn't a also covered* but that's likely something where it's harder to prove fault so not frequently pursued(?).
* just checked, "reasonable precautions" against freezing and against condensation and damp are included (in list of 'tenant agrees to... ')
Last edited:
Yeah you'll get charged if there's damp when you leave the contract if it's from lifestyle rather than a leak or blockage.
My landlord has a thermostat fitted so the heating comes on whenever it get's below 10 degrees. It's pretty annoying waking me up in the middle of the night. They put a new boiler in not that long ago and it isn't a combi so I have to heat the whole tank if I want to have a short hot shower. That should be made illegal imo.
My landlord has a thermostat fitted so the heating comes on whenever it get's below 10 degrees. It's pretty annoying waking me up in the middle of the night. They put a new boiler in not that long ago and it isn't a combi so I have to heat the whole tank if I want to have a short hot shower. That should be made illegal imo.
So heat the person has already fallen down. Because if your in rental, you cant just let the house get cold and damp, and if you own your house, your not gonna just let it get cold and damp.
I suppose if youre in a very well insulated or new property it might work.
I think there's a need for a bit of perspective about 'heat the person ...' advice. Martin Lewis admits it is a desperate alternative for people who simply can't and won't heat the house irrespective of how it affects condensation etc. If it's a question of 'heat the person' or nothing at all there is surely no choice.
I will definitely be looking at it as an option for the elderly patients I have. It’s bloody awful that I have to think about this for them. Many wont put their heating on so it’s the only option I will have as advice for them.
We simply won’t put heating on or use the tumble dryer but it’s going to be difficult as out son is disabled and we do a lot of washing.
The first section is all about making sure yourself and your home are healthy
Attachments
I have a friend who owns a construction company (a civil engineer) and we talked about this whole heating home thing a while ago when we were in a bigger group. There was one woman who is extremely "eco" and said that she never turns on the heating unless it's really sub-zero outside.
The engineer friend said that in Germany and similar climates, it's a surefire way to destroy your home and is not eco-friendly. As many have said above, the humidity will cause condensation, leading to mold. In the longer run, you will likely need a major reconstruction of walls or of the roof and may need new pipes. All of that, aside from being expensive, would have major eco-impact, as the materials used are designed to last much, much longer when cared for properly. He said that 20-21 degrees Celsius isn't only the range where most people feel at comfort, it's also the least likely to cause issues in the long run /has the best long-term financial payoff when you consider the cost of heating itself.
Telling people to "heat the person, not the home" is tone-deaf to those who struggle to heat their homes in general. Of course, some people need to be told that they could just throw on a jumper and don't waste gas on heating a home, just because they like to be toasty year-round. The people struggling to heat their homes are probably bundled up to their noses already, I'm sure they won't need to hear that (most of them, at least). Same as boiling only the water you need. I don't think many people boil 10 litres of water to throw 9 down the drain again.
The engineer friend said that in Germany and similar climates, it's a surefire way to destroy your home and is not eco-friendly. As many have said above, the humidity will cause condensation, leading to mold. In the longer run, you will likely need a major reconstruction of walls or of the roof and may need new pipes. All of that, aside from being expensive, would have major eco-impact, as the materials used are designed to last much, much longer when cared for properly. He said that 20-21 degrees Celsius isn't only the range where most people feel at comfort, it's also the least likely to cause issues in the long run /has the best long-term financial payoff when you consider the cost of heating itself.
Telling people to "heat the person, not the home" is tone-deaf to those who struggle to heat their homes in general. Of course, some people need to be told that they could just throw on a jumper and don't waste gas on heating a home, just because they like to be toasty year-round. The people struggling to heat their homes are probably bundled up to their noses already, I'm sure they won't need to hear that (most of them, at least). Same as boiling only the water you need. I don't think many people boil 10 litres of water to throw 9 down the drain again.
oh wow, didn’t think much of it but earlier doing the food shop online I thought I’d spelt tomatoes wrong as nothing was coming up outside of jarred paste - it must be due to shortages!
FAO Food Price Index | Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
FAO Food Price Index
The ongoing bird flu is something to watch too.
I did a food shop earlier today and had a plethora of tomatoes to choose from, including some more unusual heirloom varieties that I’ve never seen before. I wonder if it’s more a distribution issue than a shortage?!
Agreed, I hadn't realised this and when my boiler broke last year I was unable to get it fixed for quite a long while, I ended up staying iwth my parents and didn't think anything of it. Of course by the time I got back months later the bathroom is now full of damp and mould
Definitely getting a dehumidifier for the winter.
I just noticed my daughters room has damp, we always have the heating on around 19 but their room is a dorma so 3 external walls/flat roof, north facing so it's always about 5c colder in there than the rest of the house
- Status