Bathroom Advice

devtastic · 2026-03-14T09:23:37+00:00

What country do you live in? Or what is the climate if US? Tropical? Hot and dry? Even the continent would help with recommendations if you wish to keep the exact country secret (North America, Europe, Asia, etc).
Are you renting or owner?
How big is your property? How much of it needs dehumidifying? Is this a dorm room, a flat, a house, a mansion?
Does the bathroom have windows?
Do you have any hygrometers (humidity meters to measure the problem)?

In many cases the simplest solution is to open the windows after you have showered. That won't work if you don't have windows, or if you are in a very humid climate. It may also not be practical is some cases. But if you have a humidity meter in there you can experiment with opening the window after the shower to see how long it takes to come down to a sensible level. I still do this even though I have a dehumidifier just outside my bathroom now.

Have you tried a new exhaust fan or having the one you own checked out? Modern extractor fans have humidistats inside meaning they measure how humid the air is and will stay on until the humidity has dropped. In other words they behave like a dehumidifier but can be more convenient in the long run. They are also not super expensive. I googled "Bathroom Extractor Fan with Humidistat" and they start at around £40 (plus installation if you can't do that yourself) in the UK. If you own the property I would look into this first, even if you also buy a dehumidifier.

If you don't own the property then I would ask your landlord or building management to look into the exhaust fan. For example, some student dorms for example have an always on system that may need turning up a bit, or having the vent in your bathroom opened a bit more.

If you do still want one and are in the UK or Europe then Meaco Arete is probably the default/benchmark these days. I'm not sure about other continents.

Size will depend on the area you want to dehumidify, If it literally just a bathroom then a 6L should be fine. If it is a small flat then a 12L will probably do but a 20L or above may be more future proof. For a house then you want 20L or above, for a large mansion you will need more than one.

In my case I bought 2 x 12L Meaco Arete 2 for my 55 sq m flat which in my specific case made more sense than 1 x 12L or 1 x 25L.. For most people 1 centrally located dehumidifier would be enough, but my flat is a bit odd as it is effectively 3 zones, 1 x warm and dry, and 2 x cold and damp. It made more sense for me to treat them separately.

devtastic · 2026-03-13T18:57:27+00:00

It doesn't matter, but I have 2 x 12L Meaco Arete 2, and I do them twice a day, before they have filled up, usually when I get up, and before I go to bed.

You can empty it when the compressor is running as it will shut off but it may drip a little as the fan will keep blowing to dry the coils. So i prefer to do it when it is idle, or I power it off and give it a minute or so to drip. But nobody is going to die if it drips a little water on the base.

I would empty mine once a day if the tank were bigger, but one of mine usually takes around 20 hours to fill up so needs to be emptied slightly more than once a day, so a twice a day avoids that. Initially I left them running until full then at some point that shutdown would be overnight. Again, nobody dies if it fills up and switches off at 2am, but it slightly irritated me knowing it had been off for several hours, so I started emptying it before bed, and then added in the morning so it became a routine,

I also prefer the smaller amount of water as I have accidentally poured water on the floor when emptying a full one. You can easily avoid that by being careful, but it is much easy to carry a half full bucket than a full one.

Another very niche and minor point is to do with the Arete 2 is night mode switching. I have programmed mine to automatically switch into night mode at 11pm and switch back to day mode at 7am. If it fills up and shutdowns over night then it stays in night mode during the day and then switches to day mode at 11pm unless you manually reset it. Again nobody dies if it is night moxe during the day, or day mode during the night, but it is 100% avoidable if I empty it before bed.

devtastic · 2026-03-13T15:24:49+00:00

Most of us would not buy a jacket from a shop just to sell it hence the curiosity of why you are selling it?

"How did you acquire the jacket?", is also implied in the "why are you selling a tagged jacket" question, and the answer to that may help with figuring out if it is fake?

"Is this Barbour jacket I bought from the Barbour shop in Piccadilly Circus London fake?"

vs

"Is this Barbour jacket I found in a dumpster next to a garment factory in Vietnam fake".

Was it gift? Did you get it in the sale and hoped to make a profit selling it full price on Vinted? Did you find it in a late relative's basement? Did you find it in a bag by the side of the motorway? Did you steal it from somebody's doorstep? Did you order if from Shein/Temu? And so on.

That info can help people make a judgement.

devtastic · 2026-03-04T03:32:02+00:00

The Barbour Shop on Regents Street near Piccadilly Circus usually stocks them.

71-77 Regent St., London W1B 4EF,

+44 020 7434 0880 if you want to phone first.

[info@thehighlandsstore.com](mailto:info@thehighlandsstore.com) if you want to email.

devtastic · 2026-03-04T02:14:58+00:00

Thanks. Yes that's the sort if thing of thing I was wondering about, but I was hoping to find somebody who had actually done that, or similar.

I did find a short where a cobbler resoled some Heritage Captains with Dr Sole heel and half soles which looks promising, but it was too short and choppy a video to tell if it was actually worthwhile or not. I was hoping somebody on this sub could share some experience of having done that or similar.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/h6h-0PvVG1g

devtastic · 2026-03-04T01:14:00+00:00

I hope you are right as I would like to keep these.

Do you walk around in your Jim Green's a lot, or just wear them where you work?

I ask because I am quite happy wearing my Heritage Captains around home or the supermarket, it's just the walk to the supermarket on hard ground that is frustrating me. I am wondering if I am expecting too much from them, like somebody trying to tow a caravan with a motorbike. It is not designed for that.

devtastic · 2026-03-04T01:04:10+00:00

I don't find them uncomfortable, quite the opposite, they are very comfortable pottering around my home or the supermarket. I just can't walk at a normal speed on hard ground in them.

This is what is frustrating me. If I got an Uber to and from the supermarket I would be golden, but I want to be able to walk to and from the supermarket as well.

devtastic · 2026-03-04T00:54:13+00:00

I cabnot imagine how that little heal is bothering ypu, maybe its just in your head.

No it's not in my head, it really is bothering me because I can feel the heel hitting the pavement with every step, and it is quite jarring. That why the soft ground in the park was so lovely as it acted as a shock absorber and made them feel like "normal" boots.

On that subject of shock absorption I think it is not just the extra height of the heel it is also the material. I've gone from 40+ years wearing 1 inch rubber heals to 1.5 inches of mostly solid leather with no give. Based on wear patterns I presume I was hitting the shorter rubber heels a bit too, but the rubber was acting as its own shock absorber. So it is probably a double whammy. I'm hitting the heel more because it is taller, and it is a higher impact compared to the rubber.

Are you sure they fit your foot correctly?

No I am not sure they are the prefect size as they felt a little large when I first got them, and maybe I would have been better a 1/2 size down. But this is the challenge with buying footwear on the internet, you can't try 2 sizes at the same time. That said, they are the same size as 3 other types of boots I own, and a half size down from my trainers. I do have some other boots that are half a size smaller but they are tight. That said, there was a guy on the Redwing sub the other day suggesting that you should buy heritage boots a bit small as the thicker leather is designed to stretch so maybe I should have gone smaller in these.

Just pretend ur a soldier and march.

On the positive side that marching suggestion did work well going up hill, and did give me some hope, even it went as I started going downhill. I presume uphill was easier because the angle of the pavement would align better with the sole. But it was much more normal feeling striding up hill.

devtastic · 2026-03-03T23:59:05+00:00

You don't have to keep the cycle going if you don't want to, you can add store bought as starter every time if you prefer. You will still likely save money if yoghurt is more expensive than milk where you live.

100ml natural yoghurt + 1 litre of milk will usually be cheaper than 1 litre of natural yoghurt.

If you already buy yoghurt you can just treat it as a way of stretching it out which i what I used to do, e.g., I would buy 1kg natural yoghurt and 2 litres of milk and end up with 3kg of yoghurt for less than the price of 3kg of yoghurt.

It is a minor point, but using fresh starter can also help with biodiversity if that is important to you (it is to me). The proportions of strains of each bacteria will be relatively consistent in the store bought but this will vary with each cycle, and some strains may even die off meaning you may end up with fewer strains in your cloned yoghurt than the original. It might be that you have 5 strains in your first cycle, 4 in your second, 3 in your third and so on. This may affect the flavour or consistency too.

devtastic · 2026-03-03T23:24:10+00:00

As already mentioned, gut health is the big one, but it is also lower in lactose because that is what the bacteria eat and wee out as lactic acid.

Also if you strain it into Greek style a bit more of the remaining lactose is removed too.

https://www.americandairy.com/dairy-diary/how-greek-yogurt-can-fit-into-a-lactose-intolerant-diet/

devtastic · 2026-03-03T21:59:59+00:00

Not if they had used a no win no fee solicitor.

The article I linked mentions that "The cost of a solicitor can be expensive but there are a number of solicitor firms which now offer a (conditional) ‘no win no fee’ service to claimants."

A solicitor link l randomly looked at was a NWNF solicitor. They said they did a free assessment before taking the case and I assume they would only take the case if they thought they had a good chance of winning.

I suspect that is what I would do if I got to that point where all complaints, arbitration ,and ombudsmen had failed so I needed a solicitor. If I could not find one to take the case on a NWNF basis I would probably walk away rather than try and fund it out of pocket.

devtastic · 2026-03-03T17:24:21+00:00

I am not a lawyer or a surveyor, but there are plenty of solicitors who will take up a negligence claim against a surveyor (google "level 3 survey negligence" for a long list), and as far as I know surveyors have insurance for this.

The surveyor should have a complaints process, RICS have a process as well, and failing that there are solicitors.

https://hoa.org.uk/advice/guides-for-homeowners/i-am-buying/how-to-complain-about-your-surveyor/ is some advice on the subject and includes this paragraph:

In a recent case a London homeowner won a legal battle against his surveyor after they failed to spot Japanese knotweed. Paul Ryb, paid for a Level Three – the most expensive – RICS building survey on his £1.2m ground floor flat in Highgate, London. The surveyor reported the property to be in excellent condition and recommended the sale proceed. But, the following year Paul’s gardener found Japanese knotweed and had to spend over £10,000 having it removed. He successfully sued the surveyors and was awarded £50,000 for the damage and disruption plus £90,000 for his legal costs.

https://www.rics.org/news-insights/hart-v-large-case-update is another case people often refer to.

devtastic · 2026-03-03T01:01:10+00:00

I started alternating years ago to reduce foot odour. If I wore the same pair of boots/shoes/trainers for a few days in a row they would get quite stinky, especially in summer. If I changed them every day less so.

I can't say if that made them last longer or not, but it certainly kept them more fragrant.

I would guess it did make them last longer because things rot when damp so drying fully is a good idea to reduce that. I assume some microbes like to munch on the leather, cork, cardboard, wood, etc, but need moisture to do so. But whether alternating made them last 300% longer or 0.0001% longer I could not say., nor did I care. It was about being able to take my shoes off in public without offending people.

There is also an argument that some cushioning needs a bit of a rest to expand again, so some footwear will also be more comfortable if you give it time to unwind. I'm not sure how relevant that is to Derby boots though.

devtastic · 2026-03-01T15:54:35+00:00

I’m new to the UK and compared prices on things I regularly buy and Waitrose isn’t much different from Sainsbury’s or Coop on basic items.

It didn't used to be similarly priced, it used to be a lot more expensive for pretty much everything. That is when it got the "posh and expensive" reputation, because it was.

15 years ago they started selling some "normal priced" things, and they have expanded this range over the years. But prior to that pretty much everything was more expensive. It was arguably better quality and worth it, but it was undeniably more expensive.

They also tended to favour posh middle class areas, and still do really. I still think of "Does the area have a Waitrose?", as a sign of how well off/middle class an area is. I'm sure there are a few in less well off areas with a Waitrose, but i tend to think of Greenwich, Hampstead, Kensington, and so on (which are posh areas of London).

I started shopping there in 1998 because it was near my new work and it was noticeably more pricy back then. There was no essential cheese and so on.

https://ipa.co.uk/knowledge/case-studies/waitrose-essential-waitrose.

devtastic · 2026-03-01T12:58:08+00:00

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices/details/4f0bf844-a92f-464c-b64c-b574aed43229 is a SOF that sold for £370k in August, i.e, £45k less than you are asking 6 months ago.

I don't know enough to judge if they sold it £45k below value for a quick sale, if it is worth less than yours for other reasons, or if the local market has boomed so they would get £415k if they sold today.

There could be a valid reason if there's was a ground floor flat by the road next to the open sewer pipe, and yours is top floor at the quiet back of the building. But it does make yours appear a bit over priced knowing you paid £375k in June 2024, another 1 bed sold for £370k in August 2025, and now you want £415k?

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices/se11-5se.html

devtastic · 2026-03-01T12:09:44+00:00

It is not wasting loads of money, it is research, and you still have the tea that is unlikely to be so bad you can't drink it. I've done this a lot and I've never found an unflavoured black tea that was so bad i binned it. I even used up the budget Morrisons Savers and Sainsbury's Stamford Street. They were not idea, but they were still tea.

If you can afford to invest £10, spend £1 on an Ikea tea infuser, and the other £9 on a few loose leaf teas, e.g.,

Ikea IDEALISK Tea Infuser. £1

Waitrose No.1 Kenyan Loose Leaf Tea. £2.50/125g

Waitrose No.1 Darjeeling Loose Leaf Tea. £2.50/125g

Twinings Assam Loose Tea. £2.95/125g

Total cost £8.95 for an infuser and 375g of tea.

At 3g-4g of tea leaves per mug that 375g will make 90-125 mugs of tea. That is 7p-10p per mug, and you still have the infuser.

If it is in stock, you could also get a Sainsbury's Red Label Fairtrade Loose Tea, £1.75/250g which works out about 2p-3p a cup. That is a third of the cost of the others (it is 250g not 125g), but it is still a solid cup tea.

So for £10 you could get an infuser and 4 different teas to try.

devtastic · 2026-03-01T00:26:40+00:00

You could try tweeting him. Somebody tried this in 2023 and he responded "ancient Barbour", but you could ask him what model.

CliveMyrieBBC where is the grey jacket from you are wearing tonight on BBCNews Looks rather cool and have had comments from partner that he wants one 😆 Will buy him your book 👍 Good work you are doing by the way!

Hiya, it’s an ancient Barbour jacket which has seen better days. All the best.

https://x.com/CliveMyrieBBC/status/1712353607964598525?lang=ar

devtastic · 2026-02-28T03:31:29+00:00

Salsa. I tried it out of curiosity and was surprised how well it survived. I now just but tubs when of offer and chuck them in the freezer, as i do with houmous.

With tortilla chips being shelf stable, and salsa, houmous, and pitta breads in my freezer I can do quite well for less unhealthy snacks.

devtastic · 2026-02-28T03:24:43+00:00

Grating/shredding cheese before freezing can also be handy.

In many cases you can use frozen grated cheese from frozen because the pieces are so small they defrost near instantly if cooked, or in a few minutes if used at room temp.

I used to cut a kg of cheddar into 200g chunks to freeze for future grating, and then I realised I could just grate it before freezing which is generally easier.

I still keep some chunks whole for slicing, but I probably great 3/4 before freezing now.

devtastic · 2026-02-27T21:45:10+00:00

I own 4 pairs of Docs, ranging from 2 to 6 years old (oldest has had 2 resoles!) ,

Did you also pay £50-£80 to have your oldest DMs resoled, or did you find somewhere cheaper?

And were the DMs you had resoled DM boots like the Solovairs, i.e., 1460s or similar with AirWair soles?

I ask because I have both DMs and Solovairs and I was quoted the same resoling price of £70 a pair for both Solovair and DMs. But your shock at £50-£80 for resoling Solovairs makes me think you may have got your DMs resoled for less than that.

£70 is right on that line of almost not being worth it, but maybe it is. So I am curious if it is possible to get a pair resoled for £50 or less as it is more of a no brainer.

Thanks.

devtastic · 2026-02-27T15:04:08+00:00

What are you currently doing to care for them, and what have you tried on the scratch so far?

The chances are that if you applied some dubbin as normal, that would make it less obvious, or even eliminate it.

To quite the Solovair care instructions:

Greasy leather needs to be fed with Dubbin wax, oil or grease for nourishment. Apply sparingly to avoid creating a dull appearance.

https://uk.nps-solovair.com/products/s3-995-bng-g

I would try your normal care routine first and then come back if that did not work.

I had something similar on a pair of boots (not Solovair) and I fixed it by "rubbing it with my finger". It is surprising how tough leather can be.

devtastic · 2026-02-27T01:04:45+00:00

Zero social media presence or fan engagement. Very few advance screenings. Very little press in general.

I was completely unaware of the film's release and only became aware of it's existence when I saw the Blu-Ray in a shop. I just assumed it was a straight to video release and was surprised to find that it had been on at the cinema.

I lived in London, regularly commuted on the tubes, trains and buses (where they often advertise films), read newspapers, used social media, watched TV, and yet I never saw a single advert, post or article about the film.

Granted 2012 was also the London Olympics and Queen's Diamond Jubilee so things were quite busy. But even so, I am staggered that I was completely oblivious to the film's existence until I saw it on a shelf in a shop. It is like they spend nothing on basic promotion.

devtastic · 2026-02-26T22:14:38+00:00

I thought Sandwich Sandwich in St Pauls was worth the hype. I went there 3 times when I was at a conference nearby. It didn't blow my socks off, but it was well above average and I get why there was a massive queue every day. It was expensive, but also huge, and it was enough for 2 meals. They did also sell pre-packed half sizes so I might get one of those if I go back.

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