Hi My Dad is currently going through tests for early onset dementia. He lives on his own but with carers coming in twice a day. One of the illogical things that he does is to whack the heating up, open the window and sits in a short sleeve shirt. It is a constant round of too hot or too cold. Sometimes the flat is at 26 degrees! I've tried only leaving long sleeved shirts and jumpers in full view but to no use. I've tried telling him not to change the thermostat or the radiators but to no use. He no longer has any understanding of the link between the thermostat and the radiators. Is there any way of preventing him from changing the thermostat - short of taping it up so that no-one can change it? Or any other ploy that I could try to keep him and his flat at a reasonable temperature?
Help with heating
- Thread starter Alongwayfrom Dad
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- young-onset dementia
Hello @Alongwayfrom Dad and welcome to the Dementia Support Forum. I am sorry to read that your dad might have early onset dementia, this must be so difficult for you.
Unfortunately the behaviour that you describe is quite common in people with dementia and I cannot think of any way that you can control it unless you can find a tamper proof thermostat.
Hopefully someone will come along who has been able to resolve a similar issue.
Unfortunately the behaviour that you describe is quite common in people with dementia and I cannot think of any way that you can control it unless you can find a tamper proof thermostat.
Hopefully someone will come along who has been able to resolve a similar issue.
Many people with dementia fiddle with knobs and switches - including heating thermostats
Could you get a heating engineer to replace the thermostat in a less prominent place and leave old disconnected one for him to fiddle with? Also if the thermostat has a little light on it (to show that its on) cover it up with gaffer tape because this is often a trigger for people with dementia to try and switch it on or off.
Could you get a heating engineer to replace the thermostat in a less prominent place and leave old disconnected one for him to fiddle with? Also if the thermostat has a little light on it (to show that its on) cover it up with gaffer tape because this is often a trigger for people with dementia to try and switch it on or off.
In addition to what canary said, when my mom had Alzheimer’s we had the heating engineer install a cover, that we could open with a key, over the new working thermostat. We could easily change the temperature but she couldn’t play with the new thermostat and was happy to play with the old one. At first we tried having a cover installed over the original thermostat but then she started calling multiple heating engineers daily that something was wrong with her thermostat. Doing what canary suggested was the only thing that solved the problem.
Thanks ever so everyone - SeaSwallow, canary and Cardinal - for this helpful advice - and insight into what issues arise from the various solutions. Onwards and upwards!!
I ended up having Hive heating controls fitted when we were putting in a new boiler for dad. His heating bills were massive. I can control his heating from my end (I’m 500 miles away). We left the old thermostat in place for him to play with but it’s disconnected. He did mess around with the new hive thermostat and changed the language on it too 🙄Now he constantly plays with the valves in radiators often turning off the water supply to them and running cold. Then dad complains of cold radiators or radiators that are too hot. It’s constant. And it’s draining. There are lockable boxes for placing around controls. I have found my dad tends not to mess around with them so much as he used too but he’s just started doing it again. If you google thermostat tamper prof bixes you will find a few.
I did the same and it’s been brilliant. My dad used to turn the thermostat down saying 78 degrees was like living in Spain but then calling me, being nasty and blaming me for the fact his heating wasn’t working and his was cold. I’d drive 45 mins to his house to up the temperature and then go home only to have to do it again later in evening or the following day. A hive thermostat means I can it check it every morning and evening from my phone. I also had the hive put on a wall away from dad’s hands as he takes apart everything. Luckily for now he knows it’s there but doesn’t mess with it. On the rare occasion he does now I can just use the app and reset the temperature.
