How do I heat my daughters bedroom?
Posted by Appropriate_Fix_3442@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 83 comments
Lived in our three bed rental over four years. It is an oldish semi detached dormer bungalow. Our issue is we’ve recently had another baby so are using our third bedroom (box room) for the first time and it’s freezing. We knew it was a colder bedroom, but its getting awful. It’s three degrees colder than the rest of the house. The baby is waking up cold so coming in our room. Windows feel super cold to touch and it’s on the exterior wall on two sides. We put new carpet down with a thick underlay and I’ve got thermal curtains up. What else should I do? Is it worth contacting the landlord? Is there anything they would do? The double glazing is wet inside but when we asked apparently it won’t affect how they work? She’s too young for heated blankets or leaving a separate heater on in her room. She’s sleeping in the highest tog sleeping bag. Do landlords have any responsibility over this? We have a good landlord but I don’t think they’ll start replacing windows.
jpeters8889@reddit
Similar situation to ours OP, our 8 month old daughter moved into her own room 5 nights ago, and its a small box room at the back, roughly 1.5m by 2.5m, 2 outside walls, can just barely fit a normal sized cot in against one of the short walls, we knew it got cold because my wife used it for working from home before she went on maternity leave, and was the only spare room in the house.
We had a small cheap digital thermometer in there, just to monitor the temperature, and in the day it ranged from 17c with heating on, to 15c with it off, but we didn't know at night apart from when we had a look ourselves when feeding her.
Bought a digital thermometer from amazon other day, with an app on my phone that tracks the temperature and lets me see it at any time, Monday night it dropped to a low of 14.2 degrees, and last night a low of 13.5 degrees.
We have her in a 3.5 tog sleeping bag, with sleeves, a normal full body sleep suit under that, and a short sleeved vest under that, and a heater in her room just in case, last night/this morning when she woke at 3:30 for a feed it was 13.7 and I turned the heater on, and when I left her at 4am (With heater on timer to go off at 4:15) it was 16.4 degrees, but looking at the app this morning, by 5.30am had dropped back below 15 degrees, and was 13.5 by 7am when the central heating kicked in.
However, as much as it makes us wary, the cold doesn't seem to be bothering her, the app can send me an alert if it drops below a configured temperature, which I'm considering setting at 14 or something, and if that happens trying to sneak into her room to put the heater on timer for half an hour, maybe an hour, to bring the temperature back up.
Before she was born we had the plaster redone in her room (As we knew it got cold) removed the laminate floor that was in there and put a thick carpet and underlay down, had a new radiator put in against the opposite short wall, we were planning on putting her in her room in October, but she got a sickness and nausea bug (Which we all caught) so was having bad nights, so kept her with us for longer, and then I found some insulated 4mm wallpaper which we thought might help, so stripped her walls, put some of that up, followed by thick lining paper, and then bought some more of the wallpaper we originally did her room in before she was born, and finished it off, but the difference it made was fractional.
As I said, the cold doesnt seem to be bothering her, but when I see its dropped to 14, and even 13 overnight I do worry about her, but I know from reading guidelines that the 3.5 tog sleeping bag and the layers underneath is the best thing for her to be in at that temperature, and we keep an eye on it the best we can
Own-Plankton-6245@reddit
Just out of curiosity, where abouts in the UK are you as the overnight temperatures where I live have been -2°C all week, even now during the day it is inly 4°C
Novel_Surprise_7318@reddit
Mmmm. Do you know that when people are too cold , they will just get sleepy and then possibly die
dbee8q@reddit
Hello, I deal with things like this in my job every day so I can try and help.
What temperature is the room usually?
Do you have any issues with mould?
Do the walls feel cold when you touch them?
Appropriate_Fix_3442@reddit (OP)
I keep the house at 18/19 and this room in particular will be 15/16. There are no issues with mold in the house, other than the bathroom. The walls feel quite cold, it is a dormer though. Thank you.
dbee8q@reddit
So that is too cold for a child, even most adults, to be honest. It's dangerous.
Unfortunately, you can not force the landlord, but you can try. The options would be a new window, better insulation, or thermal boards.
I've included some information and links below for you. There are some schemes for tenants, but not many.
https://www.gov.uk/apply-great-british-insulation-scheme
https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/environmental-and-social-schemes/great-british-insulation-scheme/homeowners-and-tenants
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/housing/repairs-and-housing/repairs-and-housing-conditions/
https://www.citizensadvice1066.co.uk/news/is-your-cold-home-putting-your-health-at-risk-
Please check if your local Citizens Advice Bureau has an energy team as they can offer really decent advice and information.
Muclown@reddit
Assuming you have central heating? Is the radiator in there smaller than the others? Is it heating up properly? Tried bleeding it? And the system is balanced?
If all of those are correct then there is not much you can do (realistically) other than another source of heating. It would all be on the landlord unless you were willing to foot the bill.
Appropriate_Fix_3442@reddit (OP)
Yes central heating, new boiler two years ago, radiator works fine. It’s just so cold.
Novel_Surprise_7318@reddit
Your radiator is not working . It is 15 degrees
Appropriate_Fix_3442@reddit (OP)
It works perfect. It’s the room losing heat.
Muclown@reddit
2 external walls and poor insulation. There's not much you can do really, if the seal has blown on the windows you can mention it to the landlord and hope they repair it but it's unlikely to fix the problem.
Round_Caregiver2380@reddit
If a dehumidifier doesn't work, get an oil filled plug in radiator. They work well and don't get hot enough for a child to burn themselves.
bacon_cake@reddit
We have one of these in my son's room because the ch radiator is behind the curtain in the bay.
It's only a small one and it does ab amazing job, costs pennies to run too.
viotski@reddit
that's actually what i use instead of storage heaters the flat has. You can even set those oil heaters to only turn on if the temperature is below a certain level, and turn off when the room reaches the temperate you want to keep.
flimflam_machine@reddit
And a timer switch.
Thispers@reddit
Do your radiators in the house have a thermostatic valve? Normally on the other side of the radiator there’s a cap that you can unscrew that reveals a balancing valve. What you need to do is turn them clockwise by about one full turn the whole way around the house and then turn the one in the cold room fully anti-clockwise. This will ensure that more hot water flows into that radiator. You could also consider replacing the thermostatic valves with smart valves (no plumbing required, they just unscrew) with something like the Drayton Wiser system. This will allow you to turn individual radiators in the house on and off to balance the temp. You use your phone to set individual heating schedules for each room.
Novel_Surprise_7318@reddit
Unbelievable . It is 15 degrees and people suggest putting an extra blanket . Insane
hoppers2k9@reddit
Just to double check, are you sure it’s the cold that’s waking her up?
Novel_Surprise_7318@reddit
15 degrees. In my country it is literally illegal
Appropriate_Fix_3442@reddit (OP)
Like 90% sure. I left the thermostat in her room last night (which isn’t really a long term solution as the rest of the house was boiling and and it will have cost too much) and she slept.
DesignerOne4217@reddit
I bought an oil heater for my daughter 5 years ago and still use it now for her younger brother - takes a while to heat up, but left on low overnight keeps the room at a good temperature for the baby.
volunteerplumber@reddit
How old is your daughter? They should be sleeping in your room until they are six months old, that is what we were recommended.
I can guarantee if my wife thought our baby was cold at night, the baby would be in the room with my wife and I'd be camping in the cold room.
Appropriate_Fix_3442@reddit (OP)
She’s 7 months. So we’ve only recently put her in and that’s when we’ve realised how cold it is getting. She’s since back to being with us on the nights the temperature is dropping. But I’m trying to figure our how can I make the room usable. I’m getting quite upset but the comments assuming I’m letting my baby be cold, I’m trying to make it better.
volunteerplumber@reddit
First of all, your post was ambiguous about it so I'm not surprised people are asking. Second, I'm not sure no-one is insinuating you allow your baby to be cold. If that were the case you wouldn't be looking for advice. Please don't think we are implying you are a bad mum just for asking :)
Are you able to get a thermometer and measure just how cold it's getting in there? If she's cold in the sleeping bag, you can try and add an extra layer underneath, or even a blanket on top (we used a thin blanket and used it according to NHS guidelines).
You sound like you are doing all you can with the room itself, so you might just have to focus on extra layers. The post about adding the lining to the windows might help, but I would have thought you're already covered there with the thermal curtains you have.
Again, sorry to imply you're a bad mum. I did not mean that to come across but I realise my comment could come across that way.
Existing-Tax7068@reddit
Many years ago, I rented a property, and the bedroom was in a single skinned lean to type extension. I remember getting some special wallpaper, like thin polystyrene, to insulate the walls. It did improve the temperature in the room.
Farscape_rocked@reddit
The inside is getting wet because humid air (from here breathing) is hitting the cold glass and condensing. It's normal. In the morning open the window to let the moisture out (if you haven't got central heating you should be doing this every day for an hour, otherwise you're going to end up with damp).
You don't say how cold it's actually getting other than a few degrees colder than the rest of the house. If your baby is well togged then it shouldn't really be a problem, but SPEAK TO A HEALTH PROFESSIONAL for their advice. I don't know how young your baby is but you should still have contact with a midwife or health visitor, failing that ask your GP.
They'll be able to suggest the right course of action with baby-safe products, and if necessary lend weight to you requesting changes from the landlord.
Appropriate_Fix_3442@reddit (OP)
Sorry I mean between the double glazing, not the actual glass inside. So the rest of the house is set at 18 and that is a comfortable affordable temp to run it at. That bedroom will be around 15 and it loses heat very quickly. Embarrassingly I am a health professional (midwife) so I know baby is too cold. (And she should technically be okay at that temp in a high tog sleep sack but she’s not comfortable)
AtillaThePundit@reddit
Between the panes ? This means the window is knackered and needs replaced . Google blown double glassing to see if it is what it sounds like . Is the roofspace above insulated ? It’s quite cheap to buy a roll or 3 of knauff insulation and just double up the loft insulation and makes a massive difference to the house. Other than that , bigger radiator or an oil filled electric rad on a timer ? Think that would be pretty safe like a delonghi thing . You can also get insulated wall paper that is 10mm thick ish and might help ? But it needs special wall paper paste and proper application to work
Appropriate_Fix_3442@reddit (OP)
There some insulation in the loft. But I’ll check my the landlord if I can put some more down (although our bedroom next door isn’t as cold). And I’ll mention about the window although we have been told before it’s fine and since the room wasn’t in use we just assumed it was.
AtillaThePundit@reddit
Sounds like it’s blown, here’s a pic of one
https://www.aelocksmiths.com/bromley-misted-windows/
Also for the sake of £50 you can insulate it yourself and for another £50 get an oil filled rad and it’ll be 10x better
Appropriate_Fix_3442@reddit (OP)
I’ll give this a go thanks. Might pay for the window glass myself. That’s exactly what the window looks like.
AtillaThePundit@reddit
YouTube ! I’ve changed windows out, you can buy just the glass and pop the bead and pop the old out and new in. r/diyuk is a good source of info. Insulating is as easy as rolling it out (wear a mask) and an oil filled rad is totally fine as long as it’s out of reach . Better than being too cold to sleep.
Financial_Leg_8232@reddit
Just to add to the mask, consider full length jumper, pants, gloves etc and shower straight after before going near the baby.
Insulation fibres can be an awful irritant as an adult let alone for a baby.
AtillaThePundit@reddit
Paper suit from screwfix 👍
AtillaThePundit@reddit
https://www.wickes.co.uk/Knauf-200mm-Insulation-Super-Top-Up-Loft-Roll—5-61m2/p/109451?gclsrc=aw.ds&&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=PMAX%20Shopping%20-%20Insulation&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADs4IsZ34YY6YBF7mfaufM8dMiXWy&gclid=Cj0KCQiAi_G5BhDXARIsAN5SX7oJEYLvxEj7j2NrThA_lhOAlfBQlcUyirYy3BclA__A4Uzq6Ocg5S4aAlwTEALw_wcB
MajorMovieBuff85@reddit
If she is a baby keep her in your room until you can do something
AtillaThePundit@reddit
https://www.screwfix.com/c/heating-plumbing/oil-filled-radiators/cat7230008
Lucken_Macman@reddit
An oil filled radiator is your best bet.
They cost around £35-70 and can be set on a timer to turn on and off between various times, and usually have a low/med/high setting.
Ella1998_@reddit
Is there no radiator in that room then? Perhaps getting a plug in heater?
No-Photograph3463@reddit
I'd be adjusting all the other radiators and thermostat so that the box room does get up to the temperature needed. It'll take abit of trial and error to start with but you should be able to balance it abit better.
The other alternative is to add an additional oil filled radiator in the room. Its cold because of the heat loss, so you need to add more heat somehow, as in a rental there isn't loads more you can do to insulate the room.
pikantnasuka@reddit
You're describing my youngest's bedroom. He is 9 so has been fine for electric blankets etc for a few years. Before that, when it got too cold he came in with us.
Number60nopeas@reddit
It sounds like the window needs replacing, get on to the landlord.
In the meantime, please stop putting your baby in that freezing cold room. I cannot believe your baby is so cold that its waking in the middle of the night, and you are still putting her in there every night.
Appropriate_Fix_3442@reddit (OP)
She’s in our room, we didn’t realise it was so cold till she was in there and the weathers just got cold.
laucu@reddit
I know you said no heater, but I’d recommend an oil heater. Just like a plug in radiator, much more energy efficient than a regular space heater and much more safe for leaving on. I had one with a thermostat that turned itself off so I’m assuming they all do. Not really sure what else you could do other than more insulation
upturned-bonce@reddit
I've heard (but have never tried it) that hanging blankets on the walls can help. Like tapestries in medieval castles.
Is it a room over the hall, and is the hall unheated?
purrcthrowa@reddit
I'm wondering if a dehumidifier (a proper compressor one) might help.
rubyinthemiddle@reddit
Had the same issue when we lived in what sounds like a similar style of house. How good at DIY are you/Is your landlord on board to try and solve this with you? If it were a property I owned and the tenant was doing their best to heat the room I'd consider it beneficial to have the heating sorted properly in there - ask your landlord if you can swap the radiator out for a double or an oversized one. This will help the room heat faster and longer when the rads are on. Radiators are cheap, the expensive bit is the fitting if you/the landlord can't don't themselves.
AdCurrent1125@reddit
Sounds like that room isn't designed to be used as a bedroom for a child.
Don't expect much heat if there's no heat source in the room.
It being 3 degrees cooler than the rest of the house isn't actually that bad considering there's no heat source.
Appropriate_Fix_3442@reddit (OP)
There’s a radiator…
AdCurrent1125@reddit
Is it on....?
Appropriate_Fix_3442@reddit (OP)
Yes 🤣 it’s not that it doesn’t heat up. It’s that the minute it’s off the rooms cold again even if the rest of the house is at temp.
AdCurrent1125@reddit
Turn the heating up or get a heater for the room.
You've set the heating to the absolute minimum recommended temperature, discovered a cold part of the house and put a baby in there.
Appropriate_Fix_3442@reddit (OP)
18 is fairly standard and we’ve only just paid off a £1000 debt from last winter and we’re paying over £200 a month. The baby’s in there cause that’s why we rented a three bed house? Where else would she go. I’m not going to make my other children cold and play who gets the cold room. I’d rather just fix that bedroom.
AdCurrent1125@reddit
You can fix that bedroom....by putting in a little heater or turning the thermostat up.
18 is not 'standard' ..it's the minimum recommended by health professionals.
Appropriate_Fix_3442@reddit (OP)
Heaters aren’t safe with an unattended baby. I could turn the thermostat up but it costs me a fortune and it’s making everyone else in the home very warm. So I was asking if I was missing something as to why this one particular room could be cold (I’ve had some great suggestions off other Redditor’s - if you don’t have any ideas that’s okay you can be nice!)
AdCurrent1125@reddit
You mean the other multiple suggestions from Redditors saying to get another heater?
Or, the one about closing the door? Or the dehumidifier? There's no 'hack' for this.
Honestly it's only going to get colder, so please get another heater.
Appropriate_Fix_3442@reddit (OP)
Window, checking the loft insulation. There will be a reason this one room is colder than the others. The baby’s main inconvenience right now is she keeps having to come in our bedroom. So I am trying to make the other room useable. No as I have said I will not put a separate heater in there. More babies die of overheating than being too cold. And there is the fire risk.
skeletonmug@reddit
We have a very similar box room to yours, coldest room in the house and was the baby's room for my younger two when they were tiny. It's always either the hottest or coldest room. We used a gro-egg thermometer and an oil radiator with thermostat control. The radiator was on the lowest setting to keep the room between 18-20 and placed well away from the baby.
I get your concerns about a heater and I think you're imagining the ones that heat an element and pump out hot air, but oil radiators are a lot safer as they're just like a normal radiator only running off the mains rather than boiler system. Ones with thermostat control cut out when the radiator is a certain heat and the lowest settings keep it cooler than a normal radiator which maintains ambient warmth.
AgingLolita@reddit
Put an oil radiator in there and leave the door open. They have thermostats.
I understand you're struggling financially but no baby is going to die if overheating in a 15 degree room, and you KNOW that. You cannot fix this room, it's a rented house. You need to heat it if you expect a baby to sleep there.
BikesandCakes@reddit
Heaters are no less safe than radiators
ThereAndFapAgain2@reddit
Set that radiator separately to the rest of the house so it's always on from the evening and through the night.
Appropriate_Fix_3442@reddit (OP)
Can you do that when it’s all linked via the thermostat? It’s central heating I don’t think I can set them separate unfortunately.
smackdealer1@reddit
Do the radiators have their own thermostat, the mechanical valve kind?
If so you can just turn the other radiators off via that and keep the one in the room on.
Check the walls to see if they are cold to the touch, the insulation may be terrible. If so you can get thermal material like flirmask to reduce the loss of heat via the wall.
You mentioned the window may be compromised which is a likely explaination as to the major temperature difference in that one room. Get that checked asap. It the short term thermal window coverings can help.
Appropriate_Fix_3442@reddit (OP)
Thanks I’ll look into this.
ch536@reddit
You could get an electric radiator just for her room and leave it on all night. I'd say that even 18 degrees is too cold for a baby's room. If my room goes below 21 degrees my baby starts waking up more frequently throughout the night
bluejackmovedagain@reddit
Does the radiator actually get hot all over? Or does it have cold patches? Do you have a single thermostat? If this is the coldest room and your thermostat is in the warmest room then the heating will go off way before this room gets near 18c.
In the short term your best bet is a fan heater (not particularly cheap to run), plus a dehumidifier if you keep getting condensation.
Appropriate_Fix_3442@reddit (OP)
Thermostat lives on the landing area just outside that bedroom. So maybe it’s warmer as it’s in the middle of the house? Radiator works fine, was recently bled.
Valuable-Wallaby-167@reddit
Can you move the thermostat?
Appropriate_Fix_3442@reddit (OP)
That’s what I’ve done tonight. It’s in her bedroom. It’s just expensive for the heating to keep kicking in and the rest of the house is hot.
Roundkittykat@reddit
Last winter our boiler died in mid-January and we had no central heating for a few very cold days. I bought an electric heater and a temperature-controlled plug - cost about £30 total. I had it in my son's room overnight keep it in the sweet spot (15-18 degrees.) Not sure it's a longer term option but it helped in a pinch.
notmenotyoutoo@reddit
We use a small modern oil radiator in our son’s bedroom. It has safety features like it switches off if it tips over and a thermostat. Works great. Our house is freezing in winter and our son has Down Syndrome so we have used it for years without issues. Keeps his room at around 19/20 degrees when the house is at 13/14 at night.
jessicakaplan@reddit
I have a similar situation and I bought my baby a high tog sleep sack with arms attached too. It’s essentially a duvet suit with only her head and hands out. She sleeps fine and is always really warm when we unzip her!
Shootandmiss@reddit
I had the same issue in our property - 3 bed semi and it's the box room with 2 external walls that was a few degrees cooler. Box room is north facing too.
I tried various things - checked underlay, put thermal curtains and blinds in, increased insulation in the ceiling, borrowed an infrared camera through octopus energy to help see where the heat loss was (mainly the external walls), and bought an additional dehumidifier for upstairs.
I ended up sticking the wireless thermostat in the box room and then adjusting all the other radiators in the house so they turn off before that room gets too hot - for us it was setting those radiators to about a 3 on the valve which I think is the equivalent of about 20 degrees. This seems to be working well.
You can buy digital thermometers fairly cheaply that tell you the minimum/maximum overnight temperature in the room which I found useful too.
Greatcrestednewt1@reddit
Can you access the attic to check if there is insulation above the ceiling and how much is there? Increasing it to 270mm depth can make a big difference.
Are you closing the door to her room? Our bedrooms are colder if the door is closed and it can affect moisture levels.
Appropriate_Fix_3442@reddit (OP)
I’ll have a look at this thank you! And I don’t pay much attention to whether it’s closed or not so I’ll try making sure it’s closed.
palebluedot365@reddit
Wrong way round - keep it open allow to heat from rest of house in.
linnara@reddit
It’s not quite what you asked, but I found merino wool layers are great and can keep child warm but not over heat. I also had 3.5 tog bag which was designed for 16 degrees. I guess it depends how small the baby is. As others said, small heater might be good if child is not mobile yet. If she is mobile, then layer up and use thicker bag. You can also have a smaller lug with timer and turn the little heater on at night for a bit to keep the room warm (so cheaper than running it all night or having the main heating on).
Paulstan67@reddit
I'm not sure if you would be eligible but there are insulation grants available (or there were a couple of years ago) for loft and even new windows.
Google it and see if you are eligible.
Also do speak to your landlord, they may be able to help.
There are also some heaters that are pretty safe for babies and toddlers.
Capelily@reddit
Here in the States, you can purchase plastic sheets that you use double-sided tape to attach in to the window frame, and then you get a hair dryer and basically "shrink wrap" the window.
This process keeps all draughts out from around the windows. Check to see if the window frames are draughty and add some sort of caulking to seal out those air leaks as well.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=plastic+window+covering+draught
Appropriate_Fix_3442@reddit (OP)
Thanks I’ll try!
Mancsn0tLancs@reddit
Try using a dehumidifier. We’ve noticed a significant improvement since we got one.
Appropriate_Fix_3442@reddit (OP)
I’ll give that a go. I have one downstairs that I use for the washing.
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