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Post by Kimby on Nov 17, 2019 15:52:17 GMT
Yes, Mark, I do turn some clothing - leggings, jeans and pajamas - inside out for washing. “Long johns” and turtlenecks, too.
As much for skin flakes as for oils, though. I’m not very oily.
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Post by Kimby on Nov 17, 2019 15:57:04 GMT
Are electric blankets forbidden in Spain? Or just cost-prohibitive to run?
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Post by bjd on Nov 17, 2019 16:01:20 GMT
I too much prefer duvets -- a good one is much lighter than a blanket and keeps you warmer. And as Mark says, it's really not difficult to strip the cover off and put it back on. No reason to turn it inside out to wash, since the inside is in contact with the duvet.
I have never seen electric blankets in France (not that I have looked) but it seems like a waste of electricity.
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Post by kerouac2 on Nov 17, 2019 16:15:13 GMT
My grandmother had an electric blanket in France, and I think it was one of her most prized possessions. It gets damned cold in Lorraine in the winter, and the bedroom was not heated.
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Post by Kimby on Nov 17, 2019 16:34:55 GMT
With an electric blanket we can use less electricity or gas to heat the house. And the newer blankets are both more efficient and safer.
We have a device called “Kill A Watt” that you plug an appliance into, then plug it into the outlet. It measures the electrical usage of whatever is plugged into it. I’ll have to try it on our electric blankets someday.
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Post by Kimby on Nov 17, 2019 16:43:25 GMT
But worst case scenario: “An electric blanket might consume 200 watts (depending on the setting). So if you leave it on for 10 hours, it consumes 2 kilowatt-hours. That would cost between 15 and 30 cents, depending on your location.”
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Post by kerouac2 on Nov 17, 2019 16:48:57 GMT
Anyway, isn't your electricity generated with Trump's beautiful clean coal?
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Post by whatagain on Nov 17, 2019 18:24:45 GMT
I have a duvet AND I add a blanket. I like the extra weight. Then Some nights a cat adds her weight on me.
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Post by mickthecactus on Nov 17, 2019 18:26:17 GMT
That's what we do. But without the cat....
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Post by kerouac2 on Nov 17, 2019 18:46:45 GMT
And I will add another quirk. I often use a flat sheet to cover me, and then I put the naked duvet on top since it doesn't need a cover if it is not touching me directly. And if necessary (as in recent days), I put a blanket on top of the duvet. In fact, tonight will be the first time the duvet will be wearing a cover in a long time -- but I still have a flat sheet between me and the duvet.
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Post by bjd on Nov 17, 2019 19:09:19 GMT
So you like doing laundry?
The main problem with duvet covers is that they take a long time to dry, especially at the time of year duvets are used.
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Post by kerouac2 on Nov 17, 2019 19:17:04 GMT
My machine does the laundry. We have stopped going down to the canal with a washboard in Paris. Actually, I did a bunch of laundry this afternoon (the sheets, pillow cases and other things) and all of it is almost dry already, because I just closed the bathroom door where everything was hanging and turned on the radiator for an hour. The result is brilliant.
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Post by onlyMark on Nov 17, 2019 19:54:14 GMT
My duvet covers are washed inside out purely because when I take them off I pull the duvet out and it drags the cover through. I don't take the cover off the duvet, I take the duvet out of the cover. I do this to have it inside out for when I put it back on. I can't really see that because it is inside out when I wash it, the outside, which is now on the inside, isn't cleaned worse than the other side.
Kimby, there is no problem in Spain with electric blankets other that my house runs on solar batteries - thus in the colder months we get less daylight and sunlight depending on the weather such that the batteries will often not be fully charged. No matter the wattage is relatively small for a blanket, even that is too much for all of us especially also with shorter daylight hours to build the batteries back up again. We use hot water bottles when we are there in the cold times.
Turning normal clothes inside out to wash - again, I'm not convinced they get cleaner. I am convinced you'd protect the look of the outside though and there are other reasons for doing so, but it means then that whatever you wash, the inside of it is less clean than the outside of it? I'd have to look in to that for anything that says so other than anecdotal or tradition. I think modern washing machines are effective enough no matter which way round things are, but I'm easily willing to concede if proved wrong.
Interesting to see the different bedding styles but for me a duvet and cover is simplest, with just the cover when it is hot. We don't own blankets nor top sheets..... or a cat. I'm also fortunate that I spend most of my life only wondering if I should put the aircon on at night or if I can manage without it. As duvets did come across the Channel to us, I've always known them not as duvets but as Continental quilts.
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Post by onlyMark on Nov 17, 2019 20:04:38 GMT
Forgot to mention - in Zambia I get everything washed by the cleaner who comes in two morning a week. Mrs M does all the ironing whilst watching Tatort and the German news on her iPad. Apparently she enjoys it, but the cleaner would do the ironing as well if we asked. But, because of the mango fly/putzi fly, we never dry clothes outside, only inside - "In areas of human habitation, people serve as the ideal host for putzi fly larvae. The most usual method of infection occurs when the putzi fly female lays her eggs in clothing left out to dry."
Also - "Like many other blow-fly species, putzi fly larvae are parasitic. This means that they burrow beneath the skin of a host animal, where they feed on subcutaneous tissue until they are ready to emerge several days later. Often, these hosts are human, causing a condition known as cutaneous myiasis. Within six days, the host develops multiple boil-like sores or furuncles. Eventually, these will burst, secreting pus, blood and ultimately, the maggot itself."
To stop this - ".......the first and most effective way to avoid infection is to iron your clothes, as the heat kills the eggs before they can hatch."
That's nice, isn't it?
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Post by kerouac2 on Nov 17, 2019 20:07:07 GMT
I plan to move back to only flat sheets the next time I change my bedding. I am even annoyed by fitted bottom sheets, which can never be folded properly when in storage.
I have seen plenty of detergent commercials over the years which show that you can stuff dirty socks in a trouser pocket and they will come out fantastically clean from the machine. No, I have never believed it either.
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Post by Kimby on Nov 18, 2019 3:46:30 GMT
Anyway, isn't your electricity generated with Trump's beautiful clean coal? Actually in the Northwest US, much of the electricity is generated by hydroelectric plants. Montana has coal mines, but much of the coal goes by rail to ports on the West Coast for shipping to China. The Colstrip power plants in Eastern Montana are coal-fired, but the electricity “belongs to” cities on the West Coast that now don’t want dirty energy, so they are being shut down gradually as the contracts are not renewed.
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Post by mich64 on Nov 18, 2019 21:21:44 GMT
I have never used an electric blanket. We use a lightweight quilt on top of a sheet during summer months and a duvet with a cover and a sheet in the winter. No blankets for us, we both dislike the bulk and weight. We have an electric fireplace in our bedroom so before we go to bed, we turn it on for about 10 minutes, the room quickly warms up.
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Post by kerouac2 on Nov 18, 2019 21:37:22 GMT
I had an electric blanket as a child and have fond memories of how it toasted me in bed. When I think of how hot it was, I'm surprised that I didn't get blisters.
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Post by Kimby on Nov 18, 2019 21:48:13 GMT
We warm our bed up on high, then turn it way down when we turn off the lights. I have woke up drenched when I’ve forgotten to turn it down, but never blistered.
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Post by lugg on Nov 24, 2019 18:15:16 GMT
Where is Bixa ?- hope she is off enjoying herself.
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Post by kerouac2 on Nov 24, 2019 18:48:33 GMT
She may have been waiting for this precise moment.
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Post by kerouac2 on Dec 2, 2019 20:08:53 GMT
It's amazing how difficult it is to change to a new wallet. Mine was completely falling apart so I changed to a new one today. I transferred the money and all sorts of cards but it still seems to be an alien item. I know I have done the same thing in the past, but I have no recollection of how long it takes for it to seem normal again.
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Post by whatagain on Dec 3, 2019 8:37:57 GMT
I totally agree. I hate changing wallet.
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Post by lugg on Dec 4, 2019 10:30:49 GMT
I hate changing my purse too.
I wonder what it was about Feb 9th 2018 that led to so many people being on line here?
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Post by kerouac2 on Dec 7, 2019 12:54:51 GMT
I hope I've stopped bleeding by the time I get home.
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Post by whatagain on Dec 7, 2019 14:58:11 GMT
?
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Dec 7, 2019 14:58:32 GMT
I hope I've stopped bleeding by the time I get home. Eek! Are you ok meduck?
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Dec 7, 2019 14:58:52 GMT
My fingers are cold
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Post by whatagain on Dec 8, 2019 11:39:47 GMT
When you drink too much in the evening you pay for it at the gym in the next morning.
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Post by kerouac2 on Dec 8, 2019 12:00:41 GMT
If you're able to go to the gym, you're still in good shape.
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