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Just the thing to wrap around the hot water cylinder. I had a couple of old puffa type jackets. Bear in mind the standard insualation can easily be improved on.

John

paradox wrote:duvets are very good insulators they have to be fire retardent by law and normally people throw them out after a year of use or so.

They do?

I think the newest of ours is about 10 years old and the other three are all well over 15!! Mind you, we still don't have a mattress for the Victorian iron bedstead, so we use the OH's futon from her uni days (which were more than 20 years ago).

We keep promising ourselves a mattress as it's a bit offputting to wake up at 3am because the bed slats have shifted, your bum has fallen through the hole and you can't get out because you're folded in half!!

Yes, they do. It is recommended (probably by the folk who sell duvets actually). My inlaws were appalled that I used my pillows and duvets until they are no longer usable. They are excellent breeding grounds for dust mites and such like

PurpleDragon wrote:Yes, they do. It is recommended (probably by the folk who sell duvets actually). My inlaws were appalled that I used my pillows and duvets until they are no longer usable. They are excellent breeding grounds for dust mites and such like

What, even if you clean them a couple of times a year? We use everything until it starts falling apart and then use it some more!

Ihave an old sleeping bag wrapped round the hot water tank,works well,water still warm 2 days after stove has gone out. Spookly i changed my bedding today & noticed how horrid the pillows looked,says handwash only on the label,stuck them in washer on short 30 d .came out fine,will do for another year or so Old duvets in the loft may get damp & mouldy,well they would here.worth trying in a dry place.I havent any insulation in the roof,another must do job.As stoney said somewere when it snows & theres few inches on roof, makes a big difference here too.Ive not been able to think of a cheap fireproof alternative to fiberglass etc. Sheep fleece sounds good,think its expensive.A.

There is a mob over here somewhere that makes insulation out of wool. If you had access to a whole stack of crutchings perhaps.......

Nev

Does anyone have a combi oil boiler?
Should I do more about insulating it. If so How?

Stonehead wrote:What, even if you clean them a couple of times a year? We use everything until it starts falling apart and then use it some more!

I think they only suggest you get them dry cleaned. I take mine to the launderette because my washer isnt big enough for the duvet. The bed cushions get stuck in the washing machine though.

I buy new pillows regularly because when I've tried washing them in the machine they just come out all lumpy! I did do some by hand once but it took forever for them to dry.

I do use covers over the pillows and under the pillow cases though, and a cover for the mattress. Trouble is, you are supposed to wash them at 90C to kill dust mites, but at that heat the matress protector shrinks dreadfully. Mine hardly fits the mattress anymore!

Duvets I get dry cleaned every year. Costs a fortune.

Years ago my dad had a laundrett, seem to remember the dry cleaner used some nasty chemicals???? Dont know if its the same now.A.

Wombat wrote:There is a mob over here somewhere that makes insulation out of wool. If you had access to a whole stack of crutchings perhaps.......

Nev

There are quite a few threads about this over on motherearthnews.com. http://www.motherearthnews.com/forums/t ... ation,wool

In my neck of the woods there are many people who keep sheep as pets or raise them for meet and throw away the wool. I had a friend who gave me 4 bags one year that I spun into yarn. It wasn't the greatest yarn but it was cool to knit out of yarn that I made!

When we were students we used to go to the next village along once a year because the laundrette there had machines you could fit a double duvet in. We used to all pile into someone's car (hardly any students had cars then) with our duvets, ge them washed, have a cup of tea in the only cafe in the Welsh seaside village, then come home in the car with our duvets over our knees, still hot from the tumble driers. Ahh, happy days.

Nowadays I wash my duvets one at a time in the bath, and dry them outside on the line. It's not nearly as much fun. I can't believe people fling them out after a year. I dream of having a down duvet. I splashed out on a set of down pillows a few years ago and I still feel I'm in the height of luxury each night when I lay my head down and it sinks right down into the beautiful pillows.

thomas533 wrote:In my neck of the woods there are many people who keep sheep as pets or raise them for meet and throw away the wool. I had a friend who gave me 4 bags one year that I spun into yarn. It wasn't the greatest yarn but it was cool to knit out of yarn that I made!

I'll agree with that

Nev

Sorry to revive an old thread guys but does anybody know if polystyrene packaging would be OK? I can't bear to throw it in the landfill and there are only so many plant pots you can put it in so could you break it up and put it between the joists? Would it be a fire risk?

As for the house dust mites in the duvets, they don't like the cold and are easily killed by freezing. Just pop the pillows/duvets in the freezer overnight or hang outside on a frosty but dry day.

I wash mine by hand in the bath in the summer and let them drip dry - it takes a couple of days but if the weather's nice they smell lovely.

I read an article in a mag recently about eco alternatives for fibreglass, which is nasty stuff to crawl around in and unhealthy to breathe in. If I remember right there is someone making it out of old sheepswool and also old cardboard, both are treated with fire-retardant to make them safe. Unfortunetely they both came out more expensive than fibre glass. Some of the packing foam my be ok, as often now it's made out of biodegradable cornstarch, I guess best way of testing is to see what happens when it burns! Mind you, the main risk isn't that it can't catch fire but the toxins it may give out if a fire breaks out.