5 Places in your Home you Should be ‘Draft-dodging’ this Winter
With winter very much making its presence known, now is the time to stop those drafts coming into your home, and it involves you doing is grabbing a couple of cheap items from your local hardware store and using them to keep your home warmer and your energy bills lower.
To get these expert-level results from beginner level effort, you’ll need some insulating foam sealant and some silicone caulking. Both are easily available, and they won’t break the bank. For extra credit, you might want a candle as well, but once you’re armed with these, the only other thing you’ll need to start off with is a bit of enthusiasm.
Rather than wander around your home feeling for drafts and cold spots, here’s a list of the usual suspects as a starting place in your hunt for drafts!
#1 Check your window frames
Not as obvious as you might think as many older homes have replaced older draughty windows, and windows in newer homes are pretty hi-tech. However, the frames and where they fit into your walls aren’t always an exact fit, which can lead to gaps and drafts.
You’ll need to caulk around the frames to keep things tight (replacing any old cracked caulk as you go).
#2 Your Attic Door
You’ve probably had your attic insulated, as it’s the first thing on every ‘save money heating your home’ list you’ll find online. What they don’t tell you is that your access door or ‘hatch’ will need insulating, too, as well as any gaps around the edges too. Heat rises, and it all might be disappearing through your attic door.
#3 Around Your Electrical Outlets
OK, this is why you need the candle. Hold it in front of your outlet, and if the flame flickers, guess what’s causing it? If you didn’t opt to go in with a candle, just place your hand on the outlet, and if it’s noticeably colder around it than it should be, it’s time to get busy with the caulk again.
For extra credit here, you can buy foam gaskets from the same place you got the caulk and they are purpose-made to fill any gaps. If you’re on a tight budget, though, caulk should do the trick.
#4 Check drafty AC vents
You’ve got them in every room, and you might find that they are letting in cold air during the winter. Covers are commonplace, but the problem might be a bit more complicated. Contacting a specialist HVAC firm like www.globalheatingairconditioning.com is your first step in finding out if it’s just a small job or not.
#5 Around Your Doors
Now it’s time to turn off the lights. Well, in the room you’re in and leave the light in your hall on. See any light coming in? If there is, you will need to fix this. For this, however, don’t use the caulk. Yes, you’ve got a draft coming in, but it’s time to go traditional by using an old-fashioned draught excluder. They may be the things left behind by good taste, but an old sock filled with rags or rice will keep you warmer.
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