Those Winter Winds Keep Blowing – Tired of it happening in YOUR home?

So often we are asked; So how do you keep your home warmer in the winter months without increasing the heat and your energy bills? And it’s a great question. Heating your home during the winter months can be very costly, especially when winters are unusually cold. But if you winterize your home in preparation for these cold winter months, you can prevent the need to keep turning up the thermostat just to stay warm indoors. Otherwise, those utility bills can really add up and become tough to keep up with.

Weaver’s 5 simple tips for keeping out the winter winds:

1. Put plastic up around windows to keep heat from leaking out. One of the best ways to keep the warm air in and the cold air out is to cover all your windows with heavy plastic. Simply purchase rolls of heavy 6 mil plastic (clear) at any home center or hardware store, measure each windows width and height, cut an inch more than needed around all 4 corners, and tape plastic up with duct tape. Be sure to seal all around where the plastic meets the window seal in order to keep the heat in.
   
   
2. Put door sill stoppers around all doors when they are not in use. Placing thick door sill stoppers against the bottom of all doors in the house will prevent cold air from sneaking in beneath the cracks. You can make your own using a towel or old throw rug. Lay the improvised door sill stop against the bottom of the door to keep heat inside. If you'd rather purchase door sill stops for all the doors in your home, you can find all kinds of nicely decorated ones at any local hardware or home improvement store.
   
   
3. Put plastic up around all doors not in use during the winter. If there are openings in your home that you can get away with not using much in the winter, cover them in plastic to keep the cool air out and the heat inside. Plastic weatherizing can be done at attic or basement doors, spare bedrooms, or any other room in the house that you don't use often or at all in the winter. Follow the same steps as sealing your windows, making sure to tape all around where the plastic meets the door frame to keep the heat from escaping. Make sure to remind family members not to use these doors or to use them less often.
   
   
4. Keep all doors closed when rooms are not in use to keep other rooms of the home warmer. In order to keep certain rooms warmer, it is a good idea to close doors to rooms you don't use often or that don’t need as much heat. You should especially keep basement, porch (even if they are enclosed), and attic doors closed at all times. On the other hand, if you need heat to certain rooms in the house keep other rooms open to encourage heat to those rooms. For example, if the bedrooms tend to get the most heat, keep these doors open to get the heat to bigger rooms like the dinning room and living room. Take the time to figure out the best way to get heat to the rooms you need and keep doors closed to rooms you don't use very often, Check your heating and cooling vents shut the ones not needed closed.
   
   
5. Turn on ceiling fans to circulate heat through your home. When trying to get your home warmer, rather than turn the heat up, turn the fans on and encourage circulation of heat throughout the house. Be sure that the fans are blowing the opposite direction as they do in the summer to promote heat in all areas of the house rather than cool it down with the fans air. Using fans can decrease your heating bill by moving heat through the house to areas that are normally tough to keep warm. However, you will be using a little more electric by keeping fans going so be sure to only do this when you are home. If you don't have ceiling fans, try using small desk fans to circulate heat through your home.

Just by following these simple steps of winterizing your home, you could save hundreds each year from energy costs and those saving can be put to good use on your next home remodeling project!

Jim W.
240.315.5785