Warm Chilly Rooms with Draft Blockers

One of the most agitating issues homeowners and renters face in their homes is a drafty doorway. Big picture, they don’t carry the level of seriousness as plumbing or structural issues, but drafts make buildings uncomfortable and inefficient; two things no building should be. Sometimes, a draft can cut through a room far from the source it originates from, making it an even harder issue to solve. When you’re able to locate a draft as originating from a door, the easiest solution is a draft blocker; a simple weighted or slide-on system that blocks the movement of unwanted air.

Draft blockers are made in two typical styles. The more secure of the two is made from two cylinder-shaped pads filled with stuffing materials such as polyester, cotton, or foam, attached by fabric that spans the width of the door’s underside thickness. This slides along the bottom of the door, putting foam cylinders on either side, blocking drafts while moving with the door when it opens and closes. They’re light enough to glide along the floor without bunching, and are silent as well. These stoppers are perfect for interiors or doors with an additional storm door, but for exterior doors or ones with substantial thresholds, framing and thresholds preventing this style of draft stopper from being implemented effectively.

For exterior doors, the simpler draft blocker style is effective, which is just a simple one-sided tube that rests against the door’s base. Packed with dense materials like expanded polystyrene foam beads or popcorn kernels, these stoppers block air by forming a barricade around the gaps that are present in the door jamb. Eliminating drafts not only improves personal comfort, your heating and cooling systems aren’t forced to work as hard to keep temperatures at acceptable levels. In short, blocking drafts saves money, so the next time you feel a gust while on the couch or at the table, don’t put on a coat, get a draft blocker.