Community Chat

[Winifred]

When I use washroom I mean just that - to wash clothes. A bathroom is completely different. Lot of homes out here - even the older ones, have washrooms AND bathrooms. My washroom just did not have room for a dryer.

[PenneyT]

When I was first married, we had ONE heater, in the living room, that used natural gas. (Here in Central Texas, it does get cold, but luckily it usually doesn't last too long.) I didn't like it too much, but it sure came in handy one winter ice storm when the power was out for days!!!

I remember doing what I called the 'weenie roast', turning slowly in front of the heater, usually after having made a mad sprint to the freezing bathroom, lol!!!

[IamMrsG]

Back in the '60s, I remember my parents applying clear plastic film frame-to- frame to cover the windows.  Dad would use a hair dryer to 'shrink wrap' the plastic for a tight, efficient fit and, for Mom, to make it less visible from the street.  

[jonbon]

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@IamMrsG wrote:

Back in the '60s, I remember my parents applying clear plastic film frame-to- frame to cover the windows.  Dad would use a hair dryer to 'shrink wrap' the plastic for a tight, efficient fit and, for Mom, to make it less visible from the street.  

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As was mentioned previously in this thread (I think!), 3M makes many kits and products for doing this. I can remember them applying window covering film, and using hair dryers to shrink and tighten it, on the huge windows in my college dining hall in the 80s. It works quite well and is much less unsightly than some of the alternatives.

[151949]

In our camper - which is only used from june through Oct - we have a bay window all the way across the front, floor to ceiling. There is nothing out there but driveway in front of that window to shade it and the summer afternoon sun , because it faces west , would make the entire inside of the camper so hot - even with the AC on. One of the pipeline workers suggested to me that we get some stuff they sell at home depot - it is like a bubble wrap with a material similar to foil around it, cut it to fit the panes and line the entire windows with it. We did that and we keep the shades pulled all the way down to hide it and it is amazing the difference it makes. You can't hardly see it from outside because the windows are tinted black and with the shades down you can't see it at all from inside. However, the inside of the camper is considerable cooler. We had tried every thing we could think of before this , we even were going to try awnings but the man from the company said there wasn't enough room from the top of the windows to the roof to install awnings.

[goldensrbest]

I remember it being done in some of the houses we lived in ,growing up, my grandparents home also,back then in Indiana heat was from a coal stove, and later a coal furnace.I remember blankets being used to hang in rooms that had no doors on them that went from room to room.

[JustJazzmom]

No, we do not cover our windows with blankets.

When we first moved into our 50's construction house, one of the first things we did was insulate the attic and that made a big difference in the temperatures of the rooms. Then we replaced all the windows and insulated the outer walls. We separated the heat zones between the basement and the main floor. It was all on one zone to which we had to get up and set the temperature on the thermostat. With a new oil company since we had moved in, I optioned not for more oil but a programmable thermostat for the main floor.

Then we eventually changed over to natural gas heat and added a hot water heater too.

This past year, to our Andersen windows in our bedrooms we added a storm/screen installed in the same track where the entire window screen was. This has helped with drafts coming from the edges of the windows.

The only thing I would say we cover is our kitchen fan over our stove. We use aluminum foil with masking tape to hold the corners down and the foil molds to the grill cover. I do this in the winter because if it's very cold or windy we do notice air/cold seeping in.

[Fifi1]

Have never covered windows with blankets or seen someone do so.  If it's very cold or hot we keep the blinds and drapery over closed. We have installed all new windows about nine years ago that are more efficient, but even our previous were pretty good.  I don't think our homeowners would allow blanket coverings to appear in windows.

[hoosieroriginal]

I too cover my wiindows with blankets - last year it made a huge difference - and I cover all windows in the basement also.  My house is still colder than I would like.  I also put plastic on the windows this year which helped.  I have an A frame - no attic, so no insulation - sometimes I feel like there is a hole in my ceiling somewhere . 

[jaxs mom]

I had planned on doing that if the power went out, otherwise I don't.