Do you think your house is ready for the winter?
Winter is fast approaching, which means coats, sweaters, and jackets to prevent ourselves from freezing over. However, you must not forget about what your home needs for the winter, too. Cold temperatures can cause your heating bill to increase exponentially, making winter an even harsher season.
When you winterize windows and doors, though, you can prevent this from happening. You keep the cold out and the warmth that your house produces inside. Doing this also combats some effects of cold weather on mental health.
What’s great is that there are a lot of ways for you to do this. Read on to learn what steps to take before winterizing your windows, and the different ways on how to winterize windows today!
Sealing With Caulking
The wintry winds can get into your home through the smallest of cracks on your windows. Sealing and caulking your windows is the simplest way to prevent your home from losing heat. To do this, go around where your windows are and feel if there’s a cold sport or draft first.
Often, these cold spots come with some problems like broken glass and deteriorating frames. It’s best to resolve these problems first before sealing the window. Pushing through without fixing these problems will render the caulking ineffective.
Look for any opening between the window’s glass or its trims. Insert the caulking gun and fill in every space in the gap. Polyurethane caulk is the best option to use, as it repels dust and sticks to the area better.
The only problem with this option is that you need to maintain it. Caulking can deteriorate and rot as time passes. You’d need to dig it out and replace it with new caulking every so often.
Weather Stripping
Caulking works best on parts of the window that remain stationary. If your window has a lot of moving parts, though, consider weather stripping. Here, instead of injecting caulking that sticks materials in place, you install a small strip that prevents drafts from passing through.
What’s great is that you have different options when opting for weather strips. Felt is the cheapest material on the market and does a great job of keeping the cold out of your home. However, they’re not as durable and aren’t moisture-resistant.
Vinyl can resist the moisture that will build up in the threshold of your home. However, they’re not that easy to install and can cause resistance when opening windows.
Magnetic metal weather strips stand out as the best option today. They’re easy to install and won’t pose any problem for you once in place. Prices may be high, but they’re the best option if you want to winterize windows without plastic materials.
You should also consider door snakes for the same reason. The gap underneath your door can cause you to lose more heat than any of your windows. Door snakes have a magnetic strip that allows them to fit snuggly under your door.
Thermal Drapes
The options mentioned above do a great job of preventing drafts in your home. However, the cold can still seep in through your window. Thermal drapes are a great and stylish solution to this problem.
Drapes like these prevent the cold from seeping into your home and warmth from seeping out. You need to hang these drapes as close as you can to the window for its temperature isolating features to work. Some even come with velcro strips to attach to the panels to form a temperature seal.
What’s better is that they’re easy to maintain and store once winter ends. You can even use them during the summer if you want to keep the heat out of your house.
The only downside to thermal drapes is that they often block out sunlight. While it may seem irrelevant, the absence of UV light can put a damper on your mood.
Storm Windows and Bubble Wrap
If you’re planning on winterizing large windows, you’ll find yourself with only a few options. Storm windows are the best option for you as they come in different sizes that can fit your window. These windows prevent cold air from assaulting your home, protecting you from drafts.
You can install storm windows inside or outside your home. Installing them outside allows you to create a pocket of insulated air between your window and the outdoors. This will help keep your house warmer throughout the season.
When you install it inside, it’s easier for you to maintain and clean the storm window. However, the cold can seep in through your window frame this way since there’s no pocket of insulated air to act as a buffer.
A quick fix to this would be to place bubble wrap on your window. Bubble wrap has many isolated pockets of air that will act as the insulators you need.
Window Films
Think of window films as the upgraded version of bubble wraps. Window films prevent the heat from your home from leaking outside all year round. Some window films even absorb whatever heat the sun emits during the winter and keep it inside.
You can find window films in a window winterizing kit. Coupled with how easy it is to install, these are among the best window winterizing materials in the market today.
You only need to make sure your windows aren’t broken for window films to work. Even minor damages can prevent window films from working. When in doubt, it’s best to opt for window replacement services like that of uswindow-door.com.
Winterize Windows and Doors Today
You need not be cold and uncomfortable in your home this season. Beat the winter weather by keeping the cold out of your house. Winterize windows to keep your home’s interior warm and cozy today!
Want to learn more ways to prepare your home for winter? Winterizing your windows and doors isn’t the only way you can keep the cold out. Check out our other guides and posts to see how else you can winterize your home!
