As winter approaches and the weather turns cold, you may find that your home is full of drafts. That lingering cold air seems to appear out of nowhere. Obviously, it is coming from somewhere, and when you find where it is coming from, remove it immediately. Drafts can cause your heating bill to rise and they’re a waste of energy. Here are a few ways to remove drafts from your home.
Check Your Insulation
You can hire an insulation specialist to come in and check to see if your wall has enough insulation. Insulation is the pink puffy stuff that looks like cotton candy. When your walls are stuffed with insulation, heat stays in and cold stays out. A lot of older homes were not built with insulation in mind, so if that is the case for your home, get some.
It is an easy installation project, and with new methods of using foams and spray insulation, you can have your home nice and warm in no time.
Get New Windows
I know you’ve seen them too – every other commercial on television is from a window replacement company!
Over time, windows begin to let in drafts due to harsh weather deteriorating the window or having them come away from the actual walls of the home. If this is the case, you may want to consider window replacement. You don’t have to replace all the windows at one time as that can be very costly. What you may want to do is simply replace the window where the draft is coming from.
In the event that the new window is different from the other windows, you can get them replaced one by one over time until they all match.
Check the Floors
A lot of drafts and cold air can come from the floor. Just like the walls, if the floor is not insulated well, cold air can seep in from the basement. Cold air settles, so many basements and cellars are extremely cold and the air leaks out. Have a flooring specialist come and check to see if any of your drafts are due to your floor, and then you can take the steps to have the floor replaced or re-insulated.
Get New Doors
The biggest culprits of cold drafts during the winter months are doors. Doors spend their entire lifetime getting opened and closed and slammed. Over time, the door can separate from the door jamb leaving slight openings that allow the outside air to get into the house. A simple foam caulking can fill those gaps but have a professional look at it first.
The doorway could be crooked from when the house was built, and you may need to have it straightened out. The door could also be too short, and you can fix the problem with a door duster that attaches to the bottom of the door to block air from coming in. These are simple fixes for a common problem and are not that expensive. Worst case scenario you are going to need a new door, but even that is affordable.
We hope these tips will help you keep your home warm and toasty during the winter months! Feel free to share any tips you may have as well in the comments below.
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