The weather outside is frightful, but it doesn’t need to feel that way indoors. These fixes help keep the cold air outside where it belongs.
Keep Out the Cold for Comfort and Lower Utility Bills : Stay Warm This Winter
You could spend another winter feeling chilly inside your home, teeth chattering under a fuzzy fleece blanket. A better option? Spend a little time and money now to fix the things that cause your house to feel like the inside of a refrigerator.
Things like drafty windows and doors, and exposed exterior crawl space vents or chimneys seem to just invite cold air to seep into your living room, disrupting your Netflix marathon or family game night.
Performing a few keep-the-cold-out tasks will keep you much more comfortable as you wait out the long winter. But that’s not the only benefit. According to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), you’re also likely to save a little money because your home will become more energy efficient.
Hang Thermal Curtains
Windows are notorious for allowing cold drafts to enter your home. That’s because glass doesn’t provide much insulation, and window frames and seals tend to wear out over time, letting in cold air.
If new windows aren’t in your budget, try thermal curtains! Unlike standard curtains, thermal curtains contain a thin layer of acrylic foam. This acts as the insulation your windows are missing, keeping you nice and toasty — or at least toastier than you would be otherwise.
Place Shrink-to-Fit Plastic Over Drafty Windows
Saran Wrap for your windows? Yes! Along with thermal curtains, plastic shrink wrap can help prevent cold air from trickling into your home.
To find out if this will help, the DOE recommends closing the window in question over a piece of paper. Then check to see if the paper “moves back and forth.” If it does, you may leak. But don’t worry, you won’t need to grab a roll of plastic wrap from your kitchen and wing it — a 3M Window Insulator Kit will do the trick.
Install a Door Sweep
Do your exterior doors have gaps between the bottom edge and the flooring? If so, door sweeps, a.k.a. bottom-mount weatherstripping, are a top priority in your quest to winterize your home. The sweeps, available in three basic varieties (strip, bristle and under-door), seal up that gap so cold air doesn’t seep in. Strip sweeps are particularly easy to install — some are even self-adhesive.
Install Storm Doors
Sometimes a door sweep isn’t enough to keep that unwelcome cold air from entering the house. If you need a heftier solution for your exterior doors, consider installing aluminium, steel or fibreglass storm doors, which provide extra insulation by keeping frigid air outside where it belongs and will keep your house warm in the winter.
Be aware, though, that storm doors aren’t ideal for homes with newer exterior doors. According to the DOE, these doors are typically already well-insulated and energy efficient, so adding a storm door won’t help much. Bonus: Storm doors are great for the warmer months. Many have vents or windows, so you can open your main door and let in some fresh air.
Install Storm Windows
If you are installing a storm door, why not do the same for your windows? Storm windows will help keep the cold out, and the DOE reports that in some cases, they generate as much cost savings as new double-pane windows with high-performance glass. We’ll take that!
Storm windows are available with vinyl, wood or aluminium frames, and glass or plastic panels. Before you shop, decide whether you prefer interior or exterior storm windows. Either is acceptable — it all depends on what you want and what will work with your existing windows.
Storm window inserts are another option. These are popped onto the windows from the inside and removed when spring rolls around.
