Seal Out Winter Drafts

Keeping your home or apartment toasty warm, and keeping your energy bills low, can be as easy as fixing or replacing your old weatherstripping. In case you don’t know, weatherstripping is that thin rubber seal around your windows, the bottom of your doors, even around vents and house trimming. As cold weather approaches (or has arrived early), you will need to check these seals for gaps, cracks or holes.

To do a self-inspection, first you need to turn off all the lights. Then outside and walk the perimeter with a flashlight at night, running the light along the doors and windows to see if you can illuminate any large cracks. For the smaller issues you can probably seal them with caulk, but for larger problems like big cracks or holes, you should get yourself some expanding foam. Both are easily available at your local hardware or home improvement store. If you need to replace a sizable chunk, remember to take a small piece of your existing weatherstripping with you to the store so you match it properly.

If you break out in a cold sweat just thinking about what can go wrong when you DIY, you can always call a reputable handyman, painter or window/door repair company to do the work for you. And it’s worth it to pay attention to these little details. Reducing or eliminating drafts will not only warm your cockles, it can also save you anywhere from 5% to 30% on your energy costs, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

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