Easy Way to Happiness

You may be sitting in your favorite comfortable chair, watching an episode of one of those soap operas that you have TiVo’ed, when you feel a trickle of cold air against your legs. There’s nothing more distracting especially when you’re getting to a juicy piece of the drama and the last thing you want to think about is how to stop drafts. However, this issue is more than just a nuisance as left unchecked you’ll end up paying a considerable amount of money to the utility company for wasted energy.

When it comes to a potential source of leaks, your house has many. Sometimes the construction of a newer home leaves a lot to be desired and the contractor may have taken shortcuts by leaving some window frame insulation out. Badly fitting or installed window frames can be one of the first places to look to stop drafts.

If you live in an older home you may be fortunate as the construction may be a lot more solid than some of today’s offerings. Whilst it does appear that older houses feature a more sturdy composition, as time goes by the foundations may naturally settle. When this happens, gaps, albeit tiny, can appear in and around doors and windows and you may need to look here to stop drafts.

Many people do not realize that there are many locations around their house prone to leaks. Studies have shown that this can account for a sizable part of your monthly energy usage, be it in the form of increased air conditioning in summer or an increased use of the heating furnace in winter. You should be sure to address and stop drafts as they can hit you where it hurts most, in the pocketbook.

On some occasions you might think that your draft problem is so acute that you have to consider replacement windows. This is quite an expensive option, although state and federal agencies do offer resources, grants and incentives and in some cases tax credits for you. Energy efficient windows are now available and these can be used to replace older units, although you should consider less costly options first.

While some people may be tempted to consider expensive and difficult solutions to seal doors and windows, you should know that it is possible to fix and stop drafts in almost all cases by the use of a simple product such as a door draft protector or a window sock. These items are highly cost effective and very durable and can almost instantaneously eliminate the problem.

Consider fitting a door snake along the boundary at the bottom of your doors, as this is one of the main source of drafts. These items are very durable and are insulated with ground corn cob and will definitely stop your leaks.

Window sealing kits are available to help you stop drafts. However, they can be tricky to fit as the shrink-wrapped plastic needs to be stretched over the windows. If you are not too happy with the final look, pick a simpler and more cost effective solution and use a purpose made draft protector.