# Are airing cupboards/hot presses non-existent in US homes?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-airing-cupboards-hot-presses-non-existent-in-us-homes/467186>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 9, 2008, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-airing-cupboards-hot-presses-non-existent-in-us-homes/467186 "2008-10-09T17:12:36Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 5

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**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\
**Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-airing-cupboards-hot-presses-non-existent-in-us-homes/467186/81 "2008-10-12T22:48:47Z")

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> [@Auntbeast](#):
>
> I keep hoping someone will be able to explain the concept in simple terms. Like american simple. 🙂

Which concept? We’ve quite run the gamut here.

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**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\
**Post date:** [October 12, 2008, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-airing-cupboards-hot-presses-non-existent-in-us-homes/467186/82 "2008-10-12T23:38:57Z")

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> [@acsenray](#):
>
> American bedrooms generally have closets rather than cupboards (is that built into the structure or a separate piece of furniture?). A piece of furniture designed to hold clothing is called a “wardrobe.” Non-clothing items, such as books and toys, are generally stored on shelves (bookcases).

For this American, “cupboards” is synonymous with “cabinets” in the kitchen. Maybe, maybe I’d admit a small distinction and say that a cupboard would be for something that’s not a built-in cabinet, such as the cupboard above a hutch. But in general practice, I use it the same.

Also, small, irregular closet-like spaces are also “cupboards.” For example, an odd-shaped area below a staircase is a cupboard, not a closet.

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**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\
**Post date:** [October 13, 2008, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-airing-cupboards-hot-presses-non-existent-in-us-homes/467186/83 "2008-10-13T10:29:37Z")

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> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#):
>
> You know, now that I think on it, some houses in the US that I’ve seen, 50s/60s era construction , in the Upper Midwest & Chicago, had central heating ducts leading into linen closets.
> 
> Same idea?

Yes, that’s the idea. The British version simply happens to have a “widening” of the pipe in the closet (a deposit).

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**Author:** ![MarcusF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/67e7ee/32.png) [@MarcusF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarcusF)\
**Post date:** [October 13, 2008, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-airing-cupboards-hot-presses-non-existent-in-us-homes/467186/84 "2008-10-13T13:33:56Z")

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> [@Mangetout](#):
>
> There have also been some various experiments with different types of house heating systems, particularly in properties built in the 70s and 80s.
> 
> My house was constructed around then - and the builders saw fit to install electric storage heaters (they heat up a bunch of special bricks during the night, using separately metered electricity at a cheap rate, then - supposedly - release the heat through the next day) - behind each of these was a vent connected via 2 inch flexible tubing to an air pump on the ground floor - the purpose of which was apparently to pump outdoor (i.e. _cold_) air through the storage heaters.
> 
> Whatever this was supposed to achieve, it failed miserably and most of the houses in this development have replaced the system with conventional (for the UK, that is) central heating systems as I described in previous posts.

Our house was also a 70s construction, in our case they stuck central electric hot air heating in. I suspect the point was it was cheap to install and never mind the running costs. Water heating was also electric only - immersion heater in the hot tank in the airing cupboard :D. A previous owner ripped out the electric heaters and installed a gas fired boiler and (water) radiators in all the rooms - I doubt if any of the local houses still rely on the old electric heaters.

I understand from earlier posts that hot air central heating systems are the norm in the States. Is that right? And if it is how well do they work? The only house I lived in with hot air heating was terrible. The hot air vents for the ground floor were at ceiling height and the heat stayed up there. The net result was that it was stuffy at head height and freezing around your feet.

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**Author:** ![MarcusF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/67e7ee/32.png) [@MarcusF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarcusF)\
**Post date:** [October 13, 2008, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-airing-cupboards-hot-presses-non-existent-in-us-homes/467186/85 "2008-10-13T13:40:07Z")

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> [@straykat23](#):
>
> IMy wonderful flat was old with ancient systems but the new estates have up-to-date appliances and heating/electrical systems. The variation in age in the British houses is staggering - one of my **cow** -workers had a 300 year old home. That’s a heating problem!

😃

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**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\
**Post date:** [October 13, 2008, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-airing-cupboards-hot-presses-non-existent-in-us-homes/467186/86 "2008-10-13T13:45:25Z")

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It took me years to figure out what the heck an airing cupboard was–it was always getting mentioned in books (fx in Joan Aiken’s Mortimer stories), and it was totally puzzling.

I think they’re just completely unnecessary in large parts of the US. It would be quite handy in Oregon, but I live in California and it’s almost a desert. It doesn’t get that cold in winter, it’s not very wet, and there are more months of heat and dry weather than not. I’ve never had any trouble with damp linens, and if things are still a little damp when I take them out of the dryer, I just let them sit out for a little while.

Clotheslines are quite popular here, since it’s usually warm and sunny. In summer, you can just leave them out for half an hour or so. In Las Vegas, though, they’re impractical as everything will get covered with dust in the short time it takes to dry. Hardly anyone has those drying racks that Brits generally have for wet days (my brother does). I bet those will get much more popular soon!

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**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\
**Post date:** [October 13, 2008, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-airing-cupboards-hot-presses-non-existent-in-us-homes/467186/87 "2008-10-13T13:49:25Z")

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> [@MarcusF](#):
>
> I understand from earlier posts that hot air central heating systems are the norm in the States. Is that right? And if it is how well do they work? The only house I lived in with hot air heating was terrible. The hot air vents for the ground floor were at ceiling height and the heat stayed up there. The net result was that it was stuffy at head height and freezing around your feet.

They’re standard here, but it doesn’t get that cold. It works fine, and it’s nice not having to worry about the radiators. But I just want something to take the edge off; it’s the AC that’s important, and ceiling vents for AC are very practical. (I just got up, it’s before dawn, and I’m sitting with bare feet in a room with open windows. It’s nice to finally have some cool weather.)

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**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\
**Post date:** [October 13, 2008, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-airing-cupboards-hot-presses-non-existent-in-us-homes/467186/88 "2008-10-13T13:53:46Z")

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I must thank the SDMB for making me aware of this UK custom that I’d never heard of before. If we have them anywhere in the US, I haven’t heard of them.

Last night, I was looking through my copy of Vanessa Feltz’ book **What are these Styrawberries Doing on my Nipples? I need them for the Fruit Salad!** :

> **[What Are These Strawberries Doing On My Nipples?: I Need Them For The Fruit...](https://www.amazon.co.uk/What-These-Strawberries-Doing-Nipples/dp/075151005X)**
>
> Buy What Are These Strawberries Doing On My Nipples?: I Need Them For The Fruit Salad! by Feltz, Vanessa (ISBN: 9780751510058) from Amazon's Book Store. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.

…and I stumbled across a line about her having fantasies of attacking her husband, pushing him into the airing cupboard, slathering sandwich spread on his privates, and having her way with him. (This didn’t happen, of course, because Real Life, in the form of their two daughters, intervened with health and homework problems.)

the point is, I had simply glossed over the words “airing closet” before, and didn’t even realize I was doing it. I was ignorant of my ignorance, a literary Blingd Spot, because the term was unfamiliar. I wasn’t even aware that I was unaware of it, but it stood out because of this thread in the Dope.

I am constantly having this experience – many years after encountering some common expression from the British world being wholly unfamiliar, and I have conscioously or unconsciously passed it by, and its true meaning doesn’t become apparent until years later. “airing cupboard”, or “ta” used as “thanks”, or “bangers” = sausages, or the entire concept of television licenses checked out by TV detector vans, or many other concepts.

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**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\
**Post date:** [October 13, 2008, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-airing-cupboards-hot-presses-non-existent-in-us-homes/467186/89 "2008-10-13T13:53:47Z")

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the Park Meadow estate here in this town was built with hot air heating in the 1960s, one of the first in the country. It didn’t work very well, and I doubt if any of the houses still have it.

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**Author:** ![hellpaso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecae2f/32.png) [@hellpaso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hellpaso)\
**Post date:** [October 13, 2008, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-airing-cupboards-hot-presses-non-existent-in-us-homes/467186/90 "2008-10-13T16:40:54Z")

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i too have never heard of such a thing. my hot water heater is electric and in the garage.

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**Author:** ![MarcusF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/67e7ee/32.png) [@MarcusF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarcusF)\
**Post date:** [October 13, 2008, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-airing-cupboards-hot-presses-non-existent-in-us-homes/467186/91 "2008-10-13T18:20:30Z")

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> [@dangermom](#):
>
> They’re standard here, but it doesn’t get that cold. It works fine, and it’s nice not having to worry about the radiators. But I just want something to take the edge off; it’s the AC that’s important, and ceiling vents for AC are very practical. (I just got up, it’s before dawn, and I’m sitting with bare feet in a room with open windows. It’s nice to finally have some cool weather.)

Apart from “I hate you and all people that live in a warm climate” 😃 I have to say I agree, high level vents for a/c are very practical as the cold air falls - but for central heating? Arrggh:confused:

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**Author:** ![Risha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5fc32e/32.png) [@Risha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Risha)\
**Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-airing-cupboards-hot-presses-non-existent-in-us-homes/467186/92 "2008-10-14T01:09:57Z")

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> [@MarcusF](#):
>
> Apart from “I hate you and all people that live in a warm climate” 😃 I have to say I agree, high level vents for a/c are very practical as the cold air falls - but for central heating? Arrggh:confused:

My mother lives in Pennsylvania in a row home that dates back to sometime in the late 1800s or early 1900s. She has hot air heat (with a gigantic oil-based heater in the basement). Her vents are huge things (maybe 18"x12") placed about a foot or so above the floor. They’re rather pretty, though, as they’re covered with the original elaborate metal grates.

It works pretty well to keep the house warm, but such systems seem inherently inclined to roast you alive while it’s running. They’re usually right next to your seat, pumping out massive amounts of dry, hot air. The duct work can get the house pretty dusty, too.

My house is run on hot water based baseboard radiators. Not my first choice, but it works well enough (at least, in the properly insulated parts of the house). I would have thought that was more typically American than plain old forced air, but I’ve never checked the stats.

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**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\
**Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-airing-cupboards-hot-presses-non-existent-in-us-homes/467186/93 "2008-10-14T02:21:10Z")

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> [@MarcusF](#):
>
> Apart from “I hate you and all people that live in a warm climate” 😃 I have to say I agree, high level vents for a/c are very practical as the cold air falls - but for central heating? Arrggh:confused:

Yeah, I agree, but since it just doesn’t get that cold, it’s probably cheaper to run all the air through the same ducts whether it’s hot or cold. It doesn’t matter much here, as long as the important cool air gets where it’s going. There’s no way that your basic tract home contractor is going to put floor vents in for heat and ceiling vents for AC! (And we’re on slab foundations here anyway, there’s no room for floor vents. I’d love a basement, but they just don’t exist here unless someone builds their own house and puts one in. We don’t need deep foundations, so it’s much cheaper to just pour a slab.)

I don’t see why you would hate me! Really, do you _want_ to live somewhere where it’s over 90 degrees for 5 months of the year? I’ll trade you–I _like_ cloudy, rainy weather and I’ve always wished I could live in the UK. (For a while, anyway, until I got tired of narrow bathtubs and no shower stalls and double taps and really steep stairs…)

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**Author:** ![slaphead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@slaphead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slaphead)\
**Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-airing-cupboards-hot-presses-non-existent-in-us-homes/467186/94 "2008-10-14T07:19:50Z")

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> [@dangermom](#):
>
> (For a while, anyway, until I got tired of narrow bathtubs and no shower stalls and double taps and really steep stairs…)

To be fair, those first three are rapidly becoming a thing of the past (at least if you have a lot of money or live Ooop Narf where space is cheap). And if you think British stairs are steep, you should go to the Netherlands to experience what happens when a nation devotes itself to cross-breeding stairs with ladders. Oh my:eek:

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**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\
**Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-airing-cupboards-hot-presses-non-existent-in-us-homes/467186/95 "2008-10-14T12:49:32Z")

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Pox on those damn mixer taps. When I got a new kitchen installed the first thing I specified was two proper taps.

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**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\
**Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-airing-cupboards-hot-presses-non-existent-in-us-homes/467186/96 "2008-10-14T14:23:10Z")

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> [@MarcusF](#):
>
> I understand from earlier posts that hot air central heating systems are the norm in the States. Is that right? And if it is how well do they work? The only house I lived in with hot air heating was terrible. The hot air vents for the ground floor were at ceiling height and the heat stayed up there. The net result was that it was stuffy at head height and freezing around your feet.

Yes, I’d say that (in temperate zones at least) central heating & cooling, using the same ducts, is the way all new construction is done.

The house I grew up in, built in the 1940’s, had incoming heat ducts near the ceiling and cold air intake near the floor. The way it was explained to me was that the hot air would sink as it became colder, and gravity would assist in air circulation. It didn’t work, and the floor was always cold.

However when a cooling system was installed many years later, they used the same ducts (high ones sent cold air into the room).

Some homes have radiant heating, where a hot water pipe is imbedded in the floor during construction. That works well, as the heating area is spread out over a large surface. You can barely feel the heat if you test the floor, and there is no air circulation to cause drafts. It’s great for kids to play on the floor. However, radiant heating doesn’t dehumidify, can’t provide cooling, and thick carpets aren’t a good idea because they act as insulators and block the heat.

A friend of mine just built a large luxury house nearby and installed three heating/cooling systems: radiant in the floor, propane with forced air, and electric for cooling. They can be independently controlled.

One of the best ideas I ever saw was popular ca. 1950-1970, electric baseboard heaters in each room, with or without fans. This allows temperature settings for individual rooms without a lot of fancy controllers – just have a thermostat in each room. And it’s quiet compared to forced air for the whole house. However, per unit of heat, electric heating is now more expensive than propane, so it is rarely used except for seasonal rooms.

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**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\
**Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-airing-cupboards-hot-presses-non-existent-in-us-homes/467186/97 "2008-10-14T14:36:03Z")

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> [@slaphead](#):
>
> To be fair, those first three are rapidly becoming a thing of the past (at least if you have a lot of money or live Ooop Narf where space is cheap). And if you think British stairs are steep, you should go to the Netherlands to experience what happens when a nation devotes itself to cross-breeding stairs with ladders. Oh my:eek:

If I had a lot of money, I would already be living there. I suspect that if I ever actually manage to live in the UK for a year or so (yes, very likely), we’ll wind up in an ordinary narrow little older house like the majority of ordinary Brits, and we’ll have a terrible time getting any furniture delivered, only I won’t mind because I’ll be taking the kids out on field trips all the time anyway.😛

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**Author:** ![groman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@groman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/groman)\
**Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-airing-cupboards-hot-presses-non-existent-in-us-homes/467186/98 "2008-10-14T18:22:33Z")

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> [@Musicat](#):
>
> And it’s quiet compared to forced air for the whole house. However, per unit of heat, electric heating is now more expensive than **propane** , so it is rarely used except for seasonal rooms.

Surely you mean natural gas. Propane typically tends to be on par or more expensive than electric.

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**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\
**Post date:** [October 15, 2008, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-airing-cupboards-hot-presses-non-existent-in-us-homes/467186/99 "2008-10-15T10:31:53Z")

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> [@groman](#):
>
> Surely you mean natural gas. Propane typically tends to be on par or more expensive than electric.

I don’t know the cost of natural gas, as it requires a pipeline, and 90% of my county has no such pipelines. The nearest thing to it is propane, stored in a tank individual to each home, either above or below ground. And yes, I do mean propane. In my neighborhood, It’s propane, fuel oil, then electric, then alternative (solar, etc.), in order of increasing cost per heating unit. Almost all the homes nearby were once heated with fuel oil or electric, and almost all have converted to propane. All new construction is propane except for the occasional spare or seasonal room where electric makes sense.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![MarcusF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/67e7ee/32.png) [@MarcusF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarcusF)\
**Post date:** [October 15, 2008, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-airing-cupboards-hot-presses-non-existent-in-us-homes/467186/100 "2008-10-15T11:04:58Z")

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> [@dangermom](#):
>
> I don’t see why you would hate me! Really, do you _want_ to live somewhere where it’s over 90 degrees for 5 months of the year? I’ll trade you–I _like_ cloudy, rainy weather and I’ve always wished I could live in the UK. (For a while, anyway, until I got tired of narrow bathtubs and no shower stalls and double taps and really steep stairs…)

Oh - all right, I don’t hate you 😃 I was just cold at the time… heating at work has just been switched on after the summer and isn’t working in my office ☹

I wouldn’t mind living somewhere where it was hot enough to need central heating at least some of the time. We’ve just had a miserable summer with no more than a odd hot days.

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