How to Eliminate Drafts
Drafts in your home can add to your heating bill and make your house feel cold and unwelcoming. Fortunately, there are lots of solutions, both temporary and permanent, to eliminate drafts and make your home feel warm and cozy again.
If you can afford to replace them, remove your old windows and replace them with insulated windows. Newer windows are far more efficient at keeping heat inside your home, and if fitted properly, can eliminate drafts, too.
If you want to keep your windows, but ditch the draft, try caulking around the edge of the windows. Tiny cracks around the window frame could be letting cold air in and warm air out, but the caulk will stop this from happening.
You can also make the glass panes of your windows more energy efficient by covering them with window film. This acts as insulation and helps prevent the drafty feeling of losing heat through the glass.
Doors can be terribly drafty, especially if they are old and worn. If you feel a draft coming from your exterior door, check the weather stripping. If it's old and worn down, you can replace it with adhesive weather stripping from most hardware stores. This strip acts as a barrier to keep cold air out, so your home will stay warmer.
One of the biggest draft problem areas in any home is the base of the door. If your door doesn't meet the bottom part of the door frame, air can move freely in the space between the door and the floor. A draft excluder or rolled up towel can fix this problem easily, and inexpensively.
Walls
Less common, drafts from the walls of your home are typically caused by small holes or cracks. Fill these holes as soon as you find them, and make sure that your home is properly insulated to prevent cold air from creeping into your cozy home.
This winter, ditch the drafts and stay nice and warm by following these simple tips. Your home will be more energy efficient, you'll be more comfortable, and you may even save money on your heating bill.
