Tip #85: Turn off your radiator.
James has been pestering me to write this post. But I was chagrined to broach the subject again. Remember this radiator post from last year? I’ve already covered it, I kept on telling him. And I haven’t even painted it like I said I would…
Except, I’ve been holding out on all of you.
This year we’ve tried something radical. We turn off our radiator at night. Every night.
The little stinker is too loud and too powerful for such a tiny space, and turning it off every night has made all the difference. We were afraid to mess with it for past two years—some mumbling from our super about not messing with the knob—but now that we’ve decided to respectfully flout his instructions, our cold-weather nightlife has improved tenfold. TMI?
For anyone else suffering through life with a radiator, let this post be your inspiration, crank that knob.
PS. More on tiny apartment decorating coming up next week. For now? A tangle of lights on the radiator.
PPS. Tiny apartment survival tips #1 – 84, right here.
15 Comments
I live in an apartment only a tiny bit bigger than yours and turn my radiator off at night too. It really does make all the difference. I don't know how I would survive the night with it on 😀
Love your survival tips and have adapted quite a lot of them to my apartment already. So please keep them coming 😉
Where did you find those neat lights?
I second the question above: where did you find that string of lights?
My husband and I live in a 1 bdrm in Brooklyn and called a plumber to replace the valve on our bedroom radiator…now we keep it off 24/7. We were waking up with dry skin, dry eyes and headaches because it was so hot…despite having two humidifiers. The big radiator in our living room stays off until it reaches under 32 degrees outside. So much more pleasant!
Wondering the same thing about the lovely little lights!
Would also like to know about the lights! Very delicate and pretty…
in florida there is no need for radiators, but it gets cold enough at night for a chill, so we sleep with the windows open! waking up to a chill and fresh air is so much better than waking up with heat or air conditioning.
yep….light info, pretty please. 🙂
Are these the lights? http://www.restorationhardware.com/catalog/product/product.jsp?productId=prod2320317
Ack! Sorry I didn't get a chance to reply earlier! Yes: I got my tiny lights from Restoration Hardware. V. similar versions also available at Terrain, Urban Outfitters and Cost Plus World Market at various price points!
Thanks for the info. Looks like Cost Plus is the best deal for the length as long as you are ok with silver wire. Both Cost Plus and RH have a self timer. The ones from Terrian are plug-in.
The major plus at RH though is that they have two colors and longer lengths.
The longer strings from RH are also plug-in, just in case that helps with planning!
I don't usually turn on the heat during the night, even during Chicago winters. I like snuggling under warm blankets; even if it's cold in the rest of the apartment, it's warm and cozy under all the blankets. I usually only turn it on to drown out my neighbors when they have one of their "Let's not sleep AT ALL and be as loud as possible" parties.
If you leave it off do you wake up in a freezing apartment? I recently moved to New York from Atlanta and am trying to figure out the whole radiator thing. Once you turn it back on will it come on? 🙂
Amazon also has similar lights that I've been happy with so far! (Just make sure you get the "warm white" option.)
Comments are moderated.