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Not enough Heat- what should I do



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artz




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Feb 16 2015, 5:53 pm
I rent and I usually do not have much complaints, but with the winter and the cold its been cold in our apartment. we don't control our heat and every time we feel cold we call them to raise it. they are very nice about it. but its coming to the point where I feel like im complaining all the time about it. what would you do.
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Leahh




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Feb 16 2015, 6:32 pm
Are you in a building or private house? There are laws in most places about what the inside temperature has to be in relation to outside temperature. Get a thermometer and keep track of the temperature. If it's not what it's supposed to be call your local 311 or government office.
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starch




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Feb 16 2015, 6:39 pm
Put some pots of water on the stove and/or something to bake in the oven. This always works to warm up my apartment in which I can't control the heat.
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zaq




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Feb 16 2015, 6:46 pm
Put on another layer of clothing. bake cookies. hug your family a lot. do jumping jacks. Start Pesach cleaning early. drink lots of soup. Check out the laws in your town and get a thermometer to see if your apt is within legal limits, temperature-wise. if it is not, inform your landlord. check your windows and doors: are they well-fitted or loose and leaky? Stuff newspaper or rags in cracks to keep out drafts. (but beware: you need some outside air to prevent buildup of noxious indoor gases.) use fabric "snakes" at bottoms of doors. Hang heavy drapes or curtains at windows. Open curtains during the day to take advantage of sunlight. Ask the landlord to install weather stripping to keep out drafts. (it is to their advantage as it will save them on heating costs.)Google "ways to save heating costs". are there air conditioners in the windows? cover them with heavy plastic and stuff rags in the spaces at the top and bottom of the accordion folds. or have the a/c units taken out of the windows.
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sweetpotato




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Feb 16 2015, 6:47 pm
Hot water bottles can help a lot, especially at night. I put one under the sheet near the foot of the bed and it really warms up the bed. We keep our heat down to 60 at night.

Today, even with the heat on I couldn't get the house to warm above 60 degrees. So I decided to do a bunch of cooking I needed to do for the week, and turned the heat off. It actually made the house warmer than the heater was achieving.
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33055




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Feb 16 2015, 7:14 pm
You should buy a thermometer. I bought one for the gym. I used to call them and tell them it was to hot and to put the AC on. They would tell me no one else is complaining or give a little air. When I showed actual numbers rather then saying I am hot, they were forced to fix the temp. The thermometer was $3 at Walmart.
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mille




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Feb 16 2015, 8:59 pm
Squishy wrote:
You should buy a thermometer. I bought one for the gym. I used to call them and tell them it was to hot and to put the AC on. They would tell me no one else is complaining or give a little air. When I showed actual numbers rather then saying I am hot, they were forced to fix the temp. The thermometer was $3 at Walmart.


I agree with this suggestion. Especially because some (many) states have laws that dictate how warm a landlord must keep the apartment in the winter if the tenant does not control the heat. I believe in NYC it is 68 degrees during the day and 65 and night. I am not in NYC, but that is why my landlord supposedly has it set to. I got a thermometer so I could show that it's not actually 68 in my apartment.

You could also get a space heater to take off the chill in the evenings. You don't need to have it running constantly, just for maybe 15-20 mins at a time.
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skirtznsox




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Feb 16 2015, 10:14 pm
Tea lights and terra cotta pots. Find a surface (can be floor if there are no little ones running around, like at night, not on the way to the bathroom) that's fire-proof. Light a tea light and put a terra cotta pot (the brownish orangish ones that you put small house plants in) upside down over it. They work as small, really cheap space heaters. Be careful not to leave it unattended or somewhere that it could start a fire, though. No carpets!
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artz




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Feb 17 2015, 1:23 pm
OP here- its a very old house and not insulated properly. I have a thermometer it is closer to the ceiling it says 68 over there when I come out of my room in the morning it sometimes says 64. I live in a private house. I have little kids around so cant put space heater or candles on the floor.
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Dolly Welsh




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Feb 17 2015, 1:38 pm
I swear by an electric blanket. No, I am not afraid of them, but I only wash it one time in its life, when it's new. After that, it's used between sheets or blankets that themselves get washed. That's fine. Repeated washing might injure it; to me it's a machine, not a blanket.

But electric blankets are not for children or the old. They also can't be used on some kinds of beds, such as inflatable beds.

There are also electrically heated throws for sitting.

You might hang rugs or quilts on the walls. That is what tapestries were used for in medieval castles, stopping cold and drafts.

There are insulated curtains that are very good and don't cost a lot.

There are electric fireplaces that contain electric heaters, but those do cost four or five hundred dollars. They have realistic hologram flames and are decorative. They are available all over, in various styles, colors and sizes.

Yes, bake. But don't run the oven continually all the time, give it rests to cool down. It can get too hot in the wall behind it. And keep an eye on things. Don't go out, or go to sleep, with it on.

Sleeping in a soft cap can really help. In an earlier day, nobody ever slept bare-headed. No strings around the children, however. Sleeping in socks might impair circulation.
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