Cold drafts indoors. Heating hacks

[swampratt]

I know most of us here are pretty thrifty but there are some hacks that may slip a persons mind.
Post up some you do to help keep the heat inside the house and the cold air outside.

Windows leak air when the wind blows as there is just some felt or poor old rubber seals to keep the wind from blowing through them.
You can tape the windows up with painters tape in the winter to eliminate the wind.
Check them with a flame to see if wind blows through.

Make sure they are shut properly first. One of my renters had a window unit in the window and I removed it and she shut the window and did not get it shut all the way and then locked it but the locks pushed the window more open away from the seal.
She had 2 windows in the house the same way.



Clothes drying.
I like to use a folding laundry drying rack in the winter.
This puts humidity in the air and i place it in the room with the wood burning fireplace insert.

Dryer not being used you can eliminate a big draft by removing the dryer hose duct and stuff a towel in the hole to keep cold air come entering the house.

I vent my electric dryer into the house in the winter.

Front and back doors of the house may not seal really good at the bottom and a simple towel rolled up at the base of the door can help with that.

I was driving home the other day and seen some new homes being built.
I stopped and seen a bunch of guys installing bricks and asked if I could have the scrap trash wood they had in piles around the properties.
The answer was yes . I have always been told yes have all you want that pine and fir put out a ton of heat in the fireplace and almost no ashes.

I cut it up and have a 4 foot tall 8 foot long stack of it on my back porch which actually blocks some of the wind that blows towards the door.

Stay warm.

Post some hacks.

 

[Chief Sapulpa]

Don't use the dishwasher's drying cycle and when done washing immediately open the door, let them air dry to add humidity to the home.

 

[swampratt]

Don't use the dishwasher's drying cycle and when done washing immediately open the door, let them air dry to add humidity to the home.

I do this all the time. Great one to share.

 

[n423]

Crockpot on high, full of water, puts humidity in air. Really works.

 

[cowadle]

I have a thermal camera. Seek i think is the brand. It has proven most useful in finding cold or hot spots in the house.

 

[Chief Sapulpa]

Crockpot on high, full of water, puts humidity in air. Really works.

I'm not sure my crock pot gets hot enough to make steam but I'll give it a whirl.

 

[n423]

I'm not sure my crock pot gets hot enough to make steam but I'll give it a whirl.

Mine doesn't steam,just evaporates during the day w/lid off. Humidity in air. My grandma used to put a large can of water on her floor furnace.

 

[XYZ]

I tell you this spray foam insulation is awesome. Cuts way down on heat loss and it blocks out almost everything outside sound wise.

 

[Chaparral]

Spay foam is great. Multi pane windows. We had to put foam insulation strips on some windows where the lower window gaps to the top window. Towels on floor at outside doors if air coming through. Add caulk to space between door jamb and wall boards. Same with windows. Use heavy curtains and blinds to add insulation to windows. Make sure your vents are NOT blocked. Foam insulation or metal strips to stop gaps between sides of door and outside world. Yes, remove window units.

 

[Parks 788]

@swampratt doesn't your house get really dusty when venting the dryer into the house in the winter? I also have an electric dryer that is on the opposite side of the wall to all the water lines, Culligan and filters for our homes water systems in the garage. It got fairly cold in there one night/early morning last week when it was cold (garage door left open overnight, somehow). got a minor freeze up for a couple house but was able to thow the pipes out. My thought was to make an adapter to run the exhaust of the electric dryer out through the wall into the garage right where all the water systems located to put heat on everything and to warm the garage up a bit.

As for other tips: If you have a wood burning fireplace and not using it close off the damper or put a makeshift barrier over the front of the fireplace to keep warm are from excaping up the flue. In our place the worst offender is out seals on one of our North facing entry doors, especially when the wind is blowing.