My central heating has died, help me keep warm

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it died last night, something to do with low water pressure. My landlord says he will send someone round to fix it tomorrow. This is all well and good but it does not solve my most immediate problem, which is that I am absolutely freezing and the only source of heat in the house is the oven.

I tried dancing around to Ciara which worked for a while but I'm a little tired now. I'm wearing an OVERCOAT and a SCARF and have wrapped myself in a duvet. Help me find other ways to keep warm please!

― The Lex (The Lex), Sunday, 13 March 2005 21:05 (twenty years ago)

is there not a couple of valves near the boiler somewhere to re-pressurise the system. (On my boiler which is on the wall they are underneath)

― Ed (dali), Sunday, 13 March 2005 21:10 (twenty years ago)

I can't see any...

― The Lex (The Lex), Sunday, 13 March 2005 21:12 (twenty years ago)

wear a hat
curl up with a Macintosh
don't overheat

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Sunday, 13 March 2005 21:13 (twenty years ago)

hot water bottle
thermal
hot cup of coco
booze

― Tannenbaum Schmidt (Nik), Sunday, 13 March 2005 21:16 (twenty years ago)

Do what I do -- barring hot baths Japanese-style -- drink a lot of alcohol. That heats me up in no time! It's why I rarely drink liquor in the summer -- makes me uncomfortably hot.

But don't forget to drink a lot of water afterwards to counter dehydration from boozin'.

― Melinda Mess-Injure, Sunday, 13 March 2005 21:23 (twenty years ago)

BOOZE! why did I not think of this solution myself. (slight problem: only alcohol in house = two bottles of chilled white wine. it will warm me up in the end but is not massively attractive in the short term.)

I have no cocoa, and would quite like to sleep tonight so any more coffee is off limits :(

I would have a hot bath but a particularly unpleasant side effect of this is NO HOT WATER! the horror.

― The Lex (The Lex), Sunday, 13 March 2005 21:26 (twenty years ago)

to keep warm while sleeping: crumple up old newspapers and put them under the duvet for extra insulation. In the meantime, I recommend sit-ups.

― sgs (sgs), Sunday, 13 March 2005 21:41 (twenty years ago)

http://www.fabriclondon.com/images/djs/artistpage_michaelmayer.jpg

― Gravel Puzzleworth (Gregory Henry), Sunday, 13 March 2005 21:43 (twenty years ago)

http://www.outlar.com/images/artists/Kano1.jpg

― Gravel Puzzleworth (Gregory Henry), Sunday, 13 March 2005 21:46 (twenty years ago)

is that photo from an internet ad? (xpost)

― youn, Sunday, 13 March 2005 21:55 (twenty years ago)

Go to pub, find hot barman, do the fucking.

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Sunday, 13 March 2005 21:57 (twenty years ago)

this thread increasingly reminds me that not only do I lack central heating but also a hot barman and consequent fucking, Michael Mayer, Kano and possibly the ability to do sit-ups :(

― The Lex (The Lex), Sunday, 13 March 2005 22:08 (twenty years ago)

Hardon getting in the way, is it?

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Sunday, 13 March 2005 22:10 (twenty years ago)

Cheer up! surely you have old newspapers though Lex

― sgs (sgs), Sunday, 13 March 2005 22:18 (twenty years ago)

I thought homosexuals were cold-blooded creatures?

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Sunday, 13 March 2005 22:20 (twenty years ago)

not in this cold Matt!

I found some old newspapers! and also a sleeping bag. things are looking promisingly lukewarm for tonight.

― The Lex (The Lex), Sunday, 13 March 2005 22:23 (twenty years ago)

If you can't have sex, will masturbation do?

― caitlin (caitlin), Sunday, 13 March 2005 22:24 (twenty years ago)

masturbation would require removing aforementioned overcoat/scarf/duvet, which would possibly lead to frostbite or similarly unconducive consequences.

― The Lex (The Lex), Sunday, 13 March 2005 22:32 (twenty years ago)

can't you just slip your hands inside?

― caitlin (caitlin), Sunday, 13 March 2005 22:35 (twenty years ago)

for sleeping, if you can still heat some water somehow, and have empty plastic or glass bottles around - fill them with hot water, wrap them in towels, and put them under the covers in your bed - even if it's just one at your feet. i had this happen to me once back when i first left home. it was in the dead of winter, Kingston Ontario (meaning very cold) and it worked great.

if it's actually below zero there, beware of freezing the water pipes. might actually want to use that oven to warm the place up a but. oh, and light candles if you have em.

― Kim (Kim), Sunday, 13 March 2005 22:40 (twenty years ago)

oh geez, a typo. how embarrassing. obv. i meant to say warm the place up a BUTT.

― Kim (Kim), Sunday, 13 March 2005 22:44 (twenty years ago)

yes beware freezing pipes! I think it's supposed to be below zero tonight, so leave the taps running just barely overnight.

― sgs (sgs), Sunday, 13 March 2005 22:48 (twenty years ago)

ooh thanks for that tip.

I have succeeded in making myself fairly warm and comfortable. Booze WORKS! the bed, however, remains glacial, despite old newspapers, which is a problem as I'd quite like to go to bed now - I curse my trip to the recycling bin yesterday which has left my flat bereft of empty bottles, aargh.

― The Lex (The Lex), Monday, 14 March 2005 01:18 (twenty years ago)

Make sure you're wearing a warm hat.

― Je4nne ƒury (Jeanne Fury), Monday, 14 March 2005 01:27 (twenty years ago)

Happy now, Alex?

― Markelby (Mark C), Friday, 18 March 2005 13:32 (twenty years ago)

yeah! all is fine now. it took about five minutes for the nice man my landlord brought round to fix.

the worst part of it all was the lack of hot water, actually. having to boil water on a stove in order to wash = dud dud dud dud DUD.

― The Lex (The Lex), Friday, 18 March 2005 13:38 (twenty years ago)

-get some empty coffee tins/cans, or some other kind of big, tin/metal cans/buckets

-fill about 1/3 of the way with water

-float a lit candle in water

These will generate some heat. I recommend you combine this, booze, layers, and (if possible) snuggling with a person/pet. You should be okily dokily doo neighborino.

xpost, okay nevermind then!

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Friday, 18 March 2005 13:40 (twenty years ago)

Booze was actually the best solution. Snuggling with another person would have been good had one (not my flatmate) been available but the lack of hot water would have made it slightly gross after a few days.

Whisky is such a goddamned great substance. Medicinal! And warming!

― The Lex (The Lex), Friday, 18 March 2005 13:46 (twenty years ago)

Fixing the heating just as the sun comes out - C/D?

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Friday, 18 March 2005 14:09 (twenty years ago)

Starting work again ON THE DAY that the temperature perked up - D/D :(

― The Lex (The Lex), Friday, 18 March 2005 14:13 (twenty years ago)

...the worst part of it all was the lack of hot water, actually. having to boil water on a stove in order to wash

Wait, if you had a functioning stove why didn't you just turn the burners and oven on?

― nickn (nickn), Friday, 18 March 2005 20:55 (twenty years ago)

turn the burners on low and climb on up!

― andrew m. (andrewmorgan), Friday, 18 March 2005 21:17 (twenty years ago)

Also I've heard you can fill pots with water, and set them to boiling on the stove. Just remember to replenish the water so you don't burn your pots. You can also rig up fans to blow the hot air rising from the pots around the apartment. To prevent heat loss from the apartment it helps to hang blankets over the windows, and stuff them under the cracks of doors.

― o. nate (onate), Friday, 18 March 2005 21:20 (twenty years ago)

Turn the oven on 'broil' and open it halfway!

― Remy (octodog.com) (x Jeremy), Friday, 18 March 2005 21:21 (twenty years ago)

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