It’s the middle of October in Ohio. You can feel it in the air, can’t you? The mornings are chilly, and the furnace is finally kicking on. This is the turning point of the season. Winter is officially on its way.
This is also your last chance to do one of the most important jobs for your house: weathersealing.
If you wait any longer, the job gets much harder, and you’ll be stuck in the cold. Let’s talk about why now is the perfect time to get it done.
Why Waiting Is a Bad Idea
Lots of people wait until they feel a cold draft in the middle of winter to fix it. But that’s a mistake! Waiting costs you in two big ways: comfort and money.
It Costs You Comfort: If you wait until it’s freezing outside, you’ve already been living in a chilly, uncomfortable house for months. You’ll have cold spots in certain rooms and you’ll always be reaching for another blanket.
It Costs You Money: Every single day you wait, your furnace has to work extra hard. All the warm air it makes just leaks right out of your house through tiny cracks. By waiting until December, you’ve already wasted two months’ worth of money on heating the outside!
Winter Makes the Job Harder
Putting this off doesn’t just cost you money; it makes the actual work more difficult.
Some Tools Don’t Work in the Cold: The special glue-like stuff called caulk is used to seal cracks around windows. It needs the weather to be above 40°F to dry correctly. If you wait until it’s freezing, the caulk won’t stick right and the seal will break.
Sticky Stuff Isn’t as Sticky: The sticky foam tape you use to seal doors (weatherstripping) doesn’t stick well to a freezing cold surface. It can peel off in the middle of winter, leaving you with the same draft you tried to fix.
It’s No Fun! Do you really want to be on a ladder in the freezing November wind? Doing the job now, while it’s still pretty nice outside, is much more comfortable.
Your “Last Chance” Checklist
Before Halloween gets here, check these four spots in your house. They are the biggest sources of drafts.
The Basement: Go into your basement and look up at the spot where the wooden part of your house sits on top of the concrete wall. This area lets in a ton of cold air. Sealing it makes a huge difference.
The Attic Door: Warm air rises. If the door or hatch to your attic isn’t sealed, all the heat from your furnace is escaping right into the cold attic. Put some sticky foam tape around the edges to seal it tight.
The Door to the Garage: Your garage is basically a big, cold box attached to your house. If the door between your house and the garage has drafts, it’s like leaving a window open to the cold.
Holes in the Wall: Look on the outside of your house where pipes, vents, or faucets go through the wall. Often, there are small gaps around them. Sealing these holes stops cold air from getting in.
Don’t regret waiting until it’s too late. A little bit of work now will keep your family warm and cozy all winter long and save you money on your heating bills.
