As a tenant, you might worry about the cost of all this. But fear not, there are many effective ways to keep your rental property warm this winter while keeping costs down.
It’s always a challenge to keep your home warm in winter and if you’re a tenant, you might not be able to make big changes to insulate it more, but you can use a few tricks to retain heat as the mercury falls.
Close your curtains and blinds
As soon as it starts to get dark, close your curtains and blinds to prevent heat from escaping through the windows. You can also replace thin curtains or blinds with heavier drapes for an extra cosy feel.
On brighter days, however, you should open the curtains as much as possible to let light in as this often warms up the air in rooms. It’s important to ventilate your rooms, though – it’s tempting to keep windows shut during winter but this can lead to damp and mould building up.
Invest in some draught excluders
They’re a bit retro, it’s true, but you can find some fun draught excluders and the best bit is that they’re effective and relatively cheap for the work they do.
Try a clothes horse or heated airer
Many of us dry laundry on radiators in the winter as it’s sometimes too wet and cold to line dry washing. Covering up your radiators with wet washing just prevents heat from getting into their air in your home, so a free-standing clothes horse next to a radiator is a better solution.
Heated airers are also a great idea as they gently dry your laundry for as little as 3p per hour. These airers are also really useful for adding a bit more heat to bathrooms and other cold areas of your home.
Close internal doors
Keeping internal doors closed can help you to retain heat where you need it, such as in bedrooms, living areas and bathrooms. If there’s a room or area you rarely use, then you should definitely keep it closed off during cold spells as you’ll be essentially wasting energy by heating it for no reason.
Throw down a rug
If some or all of your rental property has wooden floors then a rug is your best friend during the colder months. Not only will it feel soft and warm on your feet but it’ll prevent heat loss – you can lose up to 10% of your heat through a wooden floor so a simple rug can make a lot of difference.
Talk to your landlord or letting agent if you’re really feeling the cold
If you have any serious problems with heat retention, your boiler or the property’s insulation, you should contact your landlord or letting agent as soon as possible.
Although these tips can help you to keep your home warm this winter, if you’re having difficulty maintaining a comfortable temperature then you should talk to your letting agent or landlord.
It may be that your boiler needs servicing, windows need to be fixed or there’s another issue that needs attention.
