Guides
Getting a British home ready for the cold
Short, practical answers to the things people ask us every October. Measurements, timings and the mistakes that cost money. No filler, no ten-step listicles.
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Start here
How to measure a door for a draught excluder
Close the door and measure the gap at its widest point, then the door's width. Most UK internal doors are 762mm and front doors 838mm, so a 90cm excluder fits both with a little overlap.
Damp
How to dry washing indoors without damp or mould
One room, door shut, window open on the smallest setting for two hours. Why the radiator is the worst place to put a wet towel.
Outside
When to clear your gutters in the UK
Late October, once the trees are bare, and a second look in February. Leave it and the first heavy rain finds your brickwork.
Heating bills
Do draught excluders actually cut heating bills?
What the Energy Saving Trust figures say, where the real losses are in a terrace, and the order to fix them in.
Wind
How to stop an umbrella blowing inside out
What a vented canopy does, why fibreglass ribs survive a coastal walk, and how to hold one in a crosswind.
Choosing
Which clothes airer suits a small flat?
Metres of line versus floor space, when a heated airer pays for itself, and what fits behind a door.
Quick answers
What size draught excluder do I need?
Measure the door's width and add nothing. A 762mm internal door takes a 76cm or 90cm excluder; an 838mm front door takes 84cm or 90cm. Going slightly longer is fine, going shorter is not.
How long does washing take to dry indoors?
A full load on an open airer in a ventilated room takes eight to twelve hours. A heated airer with a cover brings that to three or four and uses about the same electricity as a light bulb.
Do gutter guards stop you cleaning gutters?
No, they cut the frequency. With mesh fitted, most houses go from twice a year to a single check. Anything overhung by sycamore or lime still needs a look each autumn.
What wind speed can a good umbrella take?
A vented canopy on fibreglass ribs holds up to around 55mph, which covers most named storms that reach inland Britain. Above that, nothing handheld is much use.