HOUSEHOLD TIPS NOT FOUND IN WOMAN'S WEEKLY

[Stanley]

Try thickening soups and stews with Muesli. Including the fruit content. It works surprisingly well and makes them even more nourishing.

[Stanley]

If you can afford it, ignore the daily cost of energy needed to keep your house warm. In the long run it is the best thing you can do for your health. My heart goes out to those families who aren't as fortunate as I am, it is a tragedy that there are families with children in this country who can't afford even a minimal level of heating. The politicians would do well to give this serious thought.

[Stanley]

It's handy, if you live on your own on a limited budget if you have plain tastes and can quite happily eat the same thing for successive meals. I am on a mutton stew kick at the moment.....

[Stanley]

Why is it that everything I enjoy is either illegal, immoral or fattening?

[Stanley]

Now is the time for a bit of inspection and maintenance if you have a gas fired condensing CH boiler. One of the most common causes of a boiler failure during a very hard frost is a condenser drain outside the building which is too long, uninsulated or both. It's the small pipe which comes through the wall and carries the condensate away from the boiler. If it freezes up in very cold weather your boiler stops working! So get out there and have a check.....

[Stanley]

We had heavy rain last night combined with a very heavy leaf fall. Just the combination to produce blocked gulley grates and local flooding! Always a good idea at this time of year to check your local drains! You will of course have had your gutters cleared so no worries there......

[plaques]

Our bagless vacuum cleaner was losing some of its 'sucking' power with fluff starting to build up near the filter intake. Taking the central filter cartridge from the machine it was obvious that the filter was becoming blocked and not allowing enough air through to do its job properly. Not having access to Stanley's compressor I teased off (slid) the outer gauze filter from over the central filter and having gained access to the centre brushed it down taking care not to puncture the filter. Once reassembled you have to be careful not to suck the cat into the vacuum!

[Tizer]

If, like us, you have an old concrete floor with no insulation under it make sure you get some of the modern insulating underlay below your carpet. It's made of recycled polyurethane (PU). We're replacing our 16-year-old lounge carpet which has suffered from a lot of traffic due to it being a long `through' room with doors at each end. The underlay will be 9mm thick PU with a tog value of 2.7 and the carpet is 80% wool heavy duty from Cormer and has a tog value of 2.0. Not only does it help retain heat in the room but it minimises that cool stratum of cold air below knee level. The carpet's made in Bury and the wool is from British sheep!

[Stanley]

That works P and was what I did until I realised that the air line was even better. Hoover, the manufacturers of my machine recommend washing the filter but I don't like that idea. It makes a wonderful difference!
Tiz, you are dead right and I have always said that whatever the carpet you should specify the very best underlay. If your budget is limited it can improve even the cheapest carpet. Another good trick is to always incorporate some of the tough door mat type carpet on each side of a door that leads in from the outside.

[Stanley]

P. it struck me yesterday that if you want an air compressor, I have a small one up for grabs. If you want to move into being able to blow the muck out of your filter or keyboard, call in! It's redundant now that I have the big compressor in the shed and it's a pity it should be sat there doing nothing.

[plaques]

Stanley the offer of the compressor is very good of you. Actually I told a lie or as they say a bit of politic speak. I don't have access to YOUR compressor but I have a great big one of my own. Our filter was so heavily clogged up that it needed to be brushed out. Blasting it with air wouldn't shift it. But having learnt my lesson I give it a quick blast each time I empty the vacuum. No doubt someone else may like to take up your offer.

[Stanley]

Hopefully P. It's a shame that it is sat there doing nothing......

[Julie in Norfolk]

I will go and look for another filter in our bagless piece of sh........ However, I will admit that we used to punish it with doghair, dust & etc.

[Stanley]

A clean filter makes all the difference......

[Stanley]

When you have bad weather like we have this morning, no use whingeing, just get out there and get on with it! Remember, there is no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing.....

[Tizer]

And we have a waterproof skin!

[Stanley]

Funny isn't it that I was brought up to believe that if you got wet and did nothing about it you automatically got a cold!

[Stanley]

This household tip only applies to me. I know, I'm peculiar!! When your head starts to itch it's time to run the clippers over it and take all the hair off, no matter what the weather! Action this day!

[Stanley]

Bleeding obvious tip today. Beware of spending that will eventually have to be paid for. Remember the sinking feeling you got if you have ever opened a credit card statement in January and got a nasty shock. Now is the time to guard against that!

[Tizer]

Insulating our houses against heat loss will become increasingly important as energy costs rise and it also makes a house more comfortable to live in. A recent development is the addition of graphite to expanded polystyrene to give a foam product referred to as graphite-modified polystyrene (GPS). It's being made by the German company BASF and sold under the trade name Neopor. It's already widely used in Germany and now becoming available here. The main use is for insulating external walls and kit house companies like Hans Haus use it. It's available here in 4mm thickness as rolls of wall covering for using on the internal surface of walls, like a very heavy wallpaper. The company claims it's 20% more efficient at thermal insulation than plain expanded polystyrene. The graphite has its effect not by changing heat conduction but by blocking heat radiation. An example of the product being sold on Amazon is shown here: LINK

[Stanley]

Looks like good stuff Tiz. If I was younger and more active I'd go for it!

[Stanley]

It's worth reminding you at this time of year when outside drain pipes can be very cold that fat put down the waste pipe can quickly build into a blockage in the drain. In extreme cases it can block the main sewer. Out of sight out of mind is a very bad policy when dealing with drains and fat!

[Stanley]

The prediction is that food prices will rise 8% in the next year. Not a lot we can do about that apart from home cooking, avoiding waste and conspicuous consumption. However, consider bulk purchasing for non-perishables, it can give significant savings!

[Stanley]

Re. bulk purchasing. I mentioned the other day that I had bought 8 litres of Lea and Perrins online for £52 including P&P. The Co-op are only stocking 150ml bottles at £1.60. 8 Litres at that price is £86. I rest my case......

[Stanley]

It's quite amazing how a drop of oil on gate and door hinges can improve the quality of your life!