Heating your home can get expensive during the brutally cold days of winter. What you might not realize is that a lot of that precious warm air is quickly escaping your home through gaps and cracks you probably don’t even know are there. No one wants to waste money, so it’s a good idea to take a walk through your home – from top to bottom – and plug any leaks.
Here are some materials that you should have on hand to help ensure that you are conserving energy, saving money and keeping your family warm and comfortable this winter:
Weatherstripping – Install weatherstripping around your attic hatch, and around windows and doors to eliminate drafts and to help keep heated air from escaping. Options range from bronze weatherstripping which is more expensive but is long lasting, to more-affordable adhesive-backed EPDM rubber that still lasts at least 10 years. In addition to weatherstripping, door sweeps also do a good job on doors that let in a draft at the bottom.
Spray Foam – Low-expansion polyurethane foam in a can be effective in sealing many types of holes, gaps and crevices around your home. Some places where spray foam can be used include the gap between the wall and the pipe under sinks, around the wood framing of the walls of an unfinished basement where the wood meets the poured concrete foundation wall, where siding meets the home’s foundation, and around outdoor faucets and vents.
Caulk – This is the best filler for gaps that are small and that are next to nonporous materials, such as metal flashing. Silicone caulk is preferred as it is permanently waterproof, flexible, and shrink- and crack-proof, meaning it won’t leave gaps or cracks for air and water to seep through over time.
