Meta: Nobody enjoys living in a drafty home during the cold winter months. Learn how to winterize your windows and doors before the next cold front hits.

Winter is a time for snow, seasonal celebrations, and cozy evenings with family around a crackling fireplace. Unfortunately, winter can also mean high energy bills and a drafty home for many homeowners across the states. Frigid weather can be especially challenging for those living in older homes that lack the same protection from the elements as newly constructed residences.

With the right preparation, it’s possible to enjoy a warm, comfortable living environment even if it’s freezing outside. Best of all, it doesn’t need to cost you a small fortune to get your house ready for the changing temperatures, freezing rain, and snowfall. Read on to learn more about how to effectively winterize your windows and exterior doors before the cold weather hits.

Why Winterizing your Home is a Smart Move

As many homeowners already know, heating costs in the winter can easily get out of hand. When a home isn’t properly sealed and protected, energy bills can rise even further as the warm indoor air escapes through tiny gaps around penetration points like windows or doors. This inefficiency can put unnecessary strain on your home’s HVAC system as well since it must work double-time to maintain a consistent indoor temperature. If you’re hearing the heater kick on every five to ten minutes, chances are one or more air leaks in the home are the source of the problem.

How to Winterize Doors

Inspect the edges of doors inside your home during the daytime and look for any signs of light penetrating through. If you see any gaps, it could be that the door has fallen out of alignment with the frame and the hinges may require tightening. A loose doorknob can leak air too, so double-check that all hardware on your home’s entry doors is snuggly attached.

You’ll also want to check the condition of existing weather-stripping attached to the door frame. Damaged weather-stripping will become brittle and crack with age, vastly diminishing its insulating properties. Self-adhesive weather-stripping is relatively affordable and easy to install. After thoroughly cleaning any residue from the door frame, simply cut to length each piece of new weather-stripping you need and set in place where the old strips used to lay.

For an added layer of defense against Mother Nature, you can install a door sweep or door draft stopper at the bottom of each exterior door as well. It’s important to remember that even the smallest gap in a door can add up to hundreds of dollars in heating costs over the year, so it’s well worth the investment to take care of any issues in the fall before the worst of winter sets in.

Winterizing Windows

Just like with doors, the process to winterize windows is fairly straightforward and affordable. First, walk around the exterior of your home and carefully inspect the caulking around each window frame. Damaged caulking will take on a yellowish color and break apart quite easily over the years, allowing warm air to escape. You can easily fix this by applying fresh caulking around the windows to create an airtight seal. While you’re inspecting the exterior, look for any other gaps near the window such as access holes for cable, telephone, or Internet connections. Seal up these areas with caulking or a can of expanding foam.

The bottom of most modern windows also has a strip of felt installed to create a more secure seal when the window is closed. Be sure to replace these strips before winter if you find any are missing or damaged.

Additional Winterization Tips

If your house is still drafty after winterizing all your windows and doors, there’s likely an air leak hidden somewhere else in the home. Track down the coldest room in the house and begin your search there. Open cabinets, closets, and run your hand along baseboards to track down the source of the draft. Look for cracks or gaps in drywall and seal up any issues found with painter’s mud. Be sure to check under sinks as well for drafts as any gaps around pipes can lead straight to the cold air outside.

With minimal effort and little upfront cost, homeowners can drastically improve their indoor comfort all winter long. If you’re looking for new, quality door hardware or need to replace an exterior door altogether, Knockety can help. Browse our wide selection of top-tier locksets, door straps, decorative clavos to suit your home’s unique aesthetic design. We also offer a variety of beautifully crafted solid wood and fiberglass doors, each built to stand the test of time.