Reactive Blog #14 - Cold Weather Life Hacks

Cold Weather Life Hacks

As the weather keeps getting colder and colder, we need to do even more to try and stay warm, keep away from colds and stop things from freezing. This can come at a cost, with heated blankets and similar products being rather expensive. Here are some quick and easy life hacks on how to survive the cold!

Clearing a Driveway Full of Ice/Snow

Clearing a path or driveway full of snow or ice can be a long process, especially if it's only a thin layer, as it makes it a lot harder to shovel away properly. To fix this, you should use a large brush instead of a shovel and simply just brush it all away.

Non-Stick Spray on a Shovel

For thicker snow that can’t be brushed away, a great tip for clearing snow is adding non-stick spray onto the end of the shovel to stop the snow from sliding off and breaking apart when moving it. This will save you a lot of time and frustration when moving snow away on the cold mornings.

Utilising Excess Heat from the Oven After Cooking/Baking

Cold evenings are the worst. It can be hard to stay warm and relax without having half a dozen blankets on top of you. To save money on your heating bill, you can leave your oven slightly open after cooking/baking food to make use of the access heat. However, this is only suitable for electric ovens, as it may not be safe with gas.

Foam Pipe Insulator on the Bottom of the Door

Another way to keep warm on cold and windy nights is to prevent door draughts, trapping the heat inside your room. Instead of buying an expensive draught stopper, you can just slide a foam pipe insulator on the bottom of your doors. That will keep you warm for sure!

Winter colds – Vicks Vaporub in the Shower

The most annoying thing that comes along with cold weather is catching colds. It seems like they are neverending. You can prevent this by bringing some Vicks Vaporub in the shower with you, as it mixes with the hot air and clears your throat and nose. It is one of the most effective ways to use the product and it will keep them colds away for sure!

Reactive Blog #13 - Winter Do’s and Don’ts

Winter Do’s and Don’ts

Do:

Wrap up warm 

Ensure you wear several layers of clothes as opposed to one chunky layer – clothes made from materials such as cotton, wool or fleecy fibres help to maintain body heat. When indoors, wear warm socks and slippers; if you’re really cold, tuck your shirt in and tuck your trousers into your socks to ensure that your skin doesn’t become exposed to the cold. When in bed, wear thermal underwear and bed socks to keep you cosy. When venturing outdoors, wear a hat as well as shoes with a good grip, along with a scarf wrapped loosely around your mouth. If you suffer from a heart or respiratory problem, stay indoors during very cold weather.

Heating your home

If you’re a healthy and active person under 65, it is safe to have your home below 18C, however if you’re 65+ and aren’t very mobile, or you suffer from a health condition, ensure your home is heated to at least 18C. If you have a baby in the house, ensure that they sleep in a room heated to between 16C and 20C to reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). To block out draughts, draw curtains at dusk and keep doors closed. Get your heating system serviced regularly by a qualified professional to prevent a difficult winter.

Have warm food and drink

Eating regularly helps keep you warm; eat a balanced diet with lots of fruit and veg to get nutrients and stay healthy during the winter period. It’s recommended that you have at least one hot meal (e.g. porridge, soups, stews) a day along with hot drinks throughout the day.

Stay active 

Moderate exercise is a good way to stay warm; not only does staying active boost your circulation, it also prevents muscle loss – this is significant because muscles play a part in creating body heat. When seated, put your feet up, as the ground will be the coldest given that heat travels upwards.

Use hot water bottles and electric blankets

An obvious way to keep warm is to use hot water bottles and electric blankets. The two should not be used simultaneously though and electric blankets may not be suitable for those that suffer from incontinence problems, so it’s advised that you consult a doctor before use.

Be prepared if you’re heading out 

Before heading out, check weather updates provided by the Met Office on radio, TV and Twitter. When its below 8C, you’re at an increased risk of a heart attack, stroke, flu, pneumonia, hypothermia and falls/injuries. Those most vulnerable include people aged 65+, people with a long-term health condition, pregnant women and those who suffer from mental health conditions like depression and dementia.

Have medication on hand

It’s important to keep cold, flu and sore throat remedies in the house, as the immune system becomes weaker when it’s cold. It’s also recommended that you enquire about getting a free flu jab on the NHS.

Don’t

Don't Let the cold in 

Ensure you close all doors in the house and use a keyhole cover to block draughts. You can also buy thermal linings for the curtains to keep the heat in your home.

Don't use alcohol to stay warm

Avoid the consumption of alcohol before going outdoors or whilst outdoors during the winter. It may make you feel warm, due to the blood vessels in the skin expanding, but it actually draws the heat away from your vital organs.

 Don’t let your financial situation prevent you from staying warm 

Don’t suffer in the cold because you don’t think you can afford to stay warm – check what support is available to you. You may be eligible for grants regarding the heating in your home, such as the Winter Fuel Payment, the Cold Weather Payment and the Affordable Warmth Grant. The Energy Saving Trust also has advice on how to reduce bills, as well as suggesting ways to make your home more energy efficient.

Still Having Troubles?

If you are still experiencing issues you can contact us at: http://www.reactiveinsurance.co.uk/about/#contactus

Reactive Blog #12 - Autumn Life Hacks

Autumn Life Hacks 

It's October now, which means autumn and the cold days are coming. Here are some quick life hacks that'll help you through the season.

Easy Leaf Cleaning

With autumn coming comes a big leaf cleanup, with all the trees loosing their leafs. It can be a problem to maintain if you have a large garden or leave near the woodlands. We’ve all had the struggle of raking the leaves, putting them into bin bags and half of the leaves fall out and become scattered all over again. An easy and must do solution to this is to rake up the leaves onto plastic tarpaulin, then when its full up, you can just lift the tarp and dump into however you dispose of your leaves.

Make Pumpkins Last

When it’s getting close to Halloween everyone wants to start making pumpkins. There’s nothing worse than watching your picked pumpkins rot away outside way before its even Halloween. As they rot away, they may draw the attention of foxes and insects that will want to feast on it. You can prevent this annoying process by spraying a mixture of bleach and water on the pumpkin (inside and out). This will make them last so long that it wont even rot until after Halloween.

Heating Pinecones

Pinecones can be a very nice decorative piece for your dinner table or even on a coffee table. But Pinecones can be a gold mine for insects and other undesirables you wouldn’t like in your home. To prevent this, before displaying them, put them on a baking sheet and cook them at 160 degrees for an hour. It will take care of any bugs that may be inside and it will prevent more from entering.

Reactive Blog #11 - How to Bleed a Radiator in 4 Easy Steps

How to Bleed a Radiator in 4 Easy Steps

It’s getting colder outside unfortunately so its now time to start turning on the radiators, as they haven’t been on in many months due to this summers heatwave they may experience some issues, which means that they may need bleeding. So we have put together an easy 4 step guide on how to do this.

Turn Your Heating On

The first step of bleeding your radiators is to turn on the heating so that all radiators in your home come on. You should remember to wait until your radiators are fully heated before moving on to step two as you will need to build up the pressure inside the radiator to be able to get all the air out of them.

Check the Radiators Temperature 

Once your radiators are hot, you should go and check each radiator and see if every part of them is warming up properly. Be careful though, radiators can obviously get very hot and you could burn/injure yourself when touching them. If there are cold spots on the radiator, (usually toward the top of the radiator) then there could be air or gas trapped, this means you’ll need to bleed that radiator.

Time to Bleed the Radiators

Next, you need to switch off your central heating. You need to do this so you can safely handle the radiators without burning yourself or getting the floor wet when bleeding them.

When bleeding a radiator, you will need a radiator key. If you do not have one, you can buy one to hand you can purchase one at most local hardware stores, or you could use a large flat-blade screwdriver.

At the top of the radiator at one end, there will be a valve. You can attach the radiator key to the centre or put the end of the screwdriver into the groove. Hold the key or screwdriver with a cloth, and have another cloth ready to catch any drips, then slowly turn the radiator key or screwdriver anti-clockwise. If the gas is escaping, you will hear a hissing sound. Once there is no more gas, a liquid will come out and the valve will need to be closed quickly.

Check The Pressure

Finally, you should check the pressure of the radiators. You can do this by having a look at the gauge on your boiler. If the pressure is too low, you’ll need to top it up. You can do this using the lever or tap on your boiler, known as the filling loop.

Afterwards, you may want to run another ‘hot test’ to check that the radiator is heating evenly and properly. Simply turn your heating on, wait for all the radiators to heat up and check for any cool spots.

Still Having Troubles?

If you are still experiencing issues you can contact us at: http://www.reactiveinsurance.co.uk/about/#contactus