It's been cold.

[bloodsong1]

Really, really cold. The kind of cold that doesn't just nip your nose, it grabs hold with all its teeth and BITES.

Over the last two days, my furnace has had an issue keeping up with the cold. Mama A was over yesterday and declared the thermostat batteries were low, so she bought new ones and installed them. She then proceeded to talk SNB's AND my ears off about how she had saved me $80 by buying batteries for the thermostat, because they were low, the light didn't come on, that's how she knew and SHE had to pay $80 when HER thermostat batteries died and see what she did for us?!

She called me later asking if the house had warmed up yet, thanks to the new batteries, and I had to tell her "no" because it HADN'T. It was still hovering around 57.

Now, those of you who know me outside of LJ know I have Renaud's Syndrome and my fingers and toes don't like anything colder then 60, so the recent teens have been, well, difficult. My house is old. It is drafty. I accept this.

Slightly annoyed by the repeated attempts for thanks, or whatever it was she wanted with the constant repeating of herself, I went and checked the vents. Only the big one in the kitchen and the living room were putting out what I considered "normal" amounts of air. The dining room and upstairs seemed a little choked.

"Hmm," says I. "I haven't changed the filter yet this season. I should do that. Or have SNB do it, he needs to learn about these things."

So when SNB called saying he was getting out early, I picked him up and explained my plan of changing the air filter, if we had a spare in the basement, and if not, to call one of the local companies I remember doing business with and see if we can get a tech out.

He went downstairs while I bathed the Cuteness. He rapped on the bathroom door and announced we had a spare filter and the old one was changed and boy was it bad.

"Huzzah!" says I.

Two hours later, the temp has risen to 59 and still climbing. I checked the vents and nodded at the increased air flow.

"If this keeps up, we won't need a tech!" I declared happily.

When I came home today, the house was back on normal working temps.

ROCK ON.

I feel a little bad about Mama A's battery buying, but at the same time I'm going to be just a teensy bit smug when I inform her it was the filter the whole time.

Comments

[page-of-swords.livejournal.com]

Sounds like that ends up being a yearly thing for many people.

[bloodsong1.livejournal.com]

Yes. I had a two year warranty plan with the furnace we had to replace when we bought the house. They would come over once a year, clean, service and change filter free of charge. That expired last year.

I hadn't checked the batteries, but the display was still legible before Mama A came over.

[sheherazahde.livejournal.com]

Putting plastic over the windows will help cut down on those drafts and save you on your heating bills. Especially in the downstairs bathroom.

[bloodsong1.livejournal.com]

We currently have a towel stuffed into the base of the window. It's helping a little, but the biggest draft is coming from underneath the sill. I'm wondering if that caulk we have for your projects would work there?

[sheherazahde.livejournal.com]

No, that is glue. You need foaming insulation. That should not cost much.

[sheherazahde.livejournal.com]

Insulating Foam Sealant $3.62

Clear Plastic Film Window Weather Strip $7.98 Really putting plastic over the window is almost like putting in a new window.

[chezelliott.livejournal.com]

The batteries and the filter should be changed on a regular basis. Don't know what kind of batteries they are, but follow the recommendations from the manufacturer. The filter should be changed yearly. They are not that expensive and you know how to do it yourself. What kind of furnace do you have? If you have an oil furnace, it would be worth learning to change the oil filter as well. It makes the furnace run more efficiently. Around here they charge about $100 for the servicing that basically just means cleaning/changing the filter.
Some electric companies will do a free energy assessment and make suggestions about how to better insulate your house. If I remember correctly, the weatherstripping around your front door needs to be replaced. One of those draft snakes for the bottom of the door helps, too, and they are dirt cheap.
The plastic window covers for bathrooms are dodgy. I've never been able to get one to stick in our bathroom, but the windowsills are shaped oddly - it's an old house - and they don't make a good seal. Plus the humidity messes with the adhesive.
For the future, consider making window covers that would go on the outside for downstairs, with screws or perhaps latch hooks. Inside covers have to be pretty snug to keep drafts out, outside ones don't have to be as tight.

[page-of-swords.livejournal.com]

I was thinking about that yesterday. Could I build storm windows with weatherseal on the inside with brass inserts into the window frame so the fit snugly. I saw some of that in Alaska also.

[chezelliott.livejournal.com]

No reason why you couldn't. Build them well and they'll last for a number of years. Put them up in the late fall and take them down in spring. Essentially, that's what shutters were for, back in the day. Now they're usually just decorative.

[bloodsong1.livejournal.com]

I have a forced air furnace. Last year I changed the filter twice. This year I have been lazy about it, but now that's fixed. I will need to buy more filters.

The front door is a disaster. Wolf put up rubberized seals and they fell out within two months. Pageofswords installed a door draft blocker along the bottom, but we had to take it off during the summer because of the wood swelling. I now cannot find the screws, even though I KNOW I put them in a container near the door. *headdesk*

[chezelliott.livejournal.com]

But what fuel does your furnace use? Oil?

[bloodsong1.livejournal.com]

Electricity. I'm in town.

[chezelliott.livejournal.com]

They don't allow oil furnaces in town?? I guess I'm more of a boondocks-dweller than I thought.

[bloodsong1.livejournal.com]

My house used to be coal-heated. *shrug*

[chezelliott.livejournal.com]

Aren't you glad you don't have to shovel coal?
My house was electric baseboard heat before I moved in. The landlord switched it over to baseboard hot water with an oil furnace before I bought the house. I know electric heat is expensive, but we've already spent almost $1200 on oil this season, and we'll probably have to get one more $500+ delivery to get through the cold weather. And I keep this place pretty cool.
There's a solar heat unit that I'd love to be able to put on the house, but I don't have an appropriate wall on the south side. If we can manage to enclose the deck, I could put it there. It would heat 3/4 of the house for pennies. The unit itself only costs about $3K, but enclosing the deck is the expensive part, since we would likely put the new roof on the whole house at the same time. Someday.