Old Man Winter is headed our way. But don’t worry: plastic insulation and caulks can make it easy to keep the cold, drafty air at bay while saving you money on your monthly heating bill.
Start at the most typical place warm air escapes to the outside: your attic. Making sure you have adequate insulation is very important in keeping your home warm this winter. There are many types of extremely effective plastic foam insulation- spray polyurethane foam, polystyrene and polyiso panels, and more - that can save you a lot of money on those heating bills.
Another area where warm air escapes is your doors and windows. Just adding a simple bead of silicone plastic caulking around the inside and outside of their frames can greatly reduce the amount of warm air that slips away. Adding plastic foam sealant which expands to fill cracks (available in easy-to-use cans) or plastic weather stripping around the inside of the door frame is yet another way to stop airflow.
If your doors or windows need to be replaced, modern vinyl plastic windows and patio doors are fairly inexpensive and do a great job of keeping cold air outside. Another place where warm air escapes – but one you might not think of – is at your wall switches and outlets. You can purchase inexpensive plastic foam insulation sheets that fit tightly around the hardware when you remove the plate cover.
Another frequently overlooked place to seal up: around your outside water taps. Sealing those gaps with a can of insulating plastic foam sealant can help keep the cold air out of your crawl space or basement. Also check the spot where your dryer vent exits to the exterior. You can apply more plastic sealant around the vent to ensure that no warm air finds its way out there.
So, as you can see, just a few simple things can really add up to great savings this winter. And let’s not forget, savings in the winter means savings in the summer, too!