How to Draught-Proof Your Home: Where to Look and What to Use
Draughts are the small, constant leaks that let warm air out and cold air in. They make rooms feel colder and make your heating work harder. Draught-proofing is among the cheapest improvements you can make, and many fixes cost only a few pounds and need no special skills.
Finding draughts
On a windy day, move your hand slowly around windows, doors and skirting boards and feel for cold air. You can also hold a lit incense stick or a thin strip of tissue paper near suspect gaps and watch for movement. Check:
- Around window and door frames.
- Letterboxes and keyholes.
- Gaps between floorboards and skirting boards.
- Loft hatches.
- Pipework entering walls, such as for sinks and radiators.
- Unused chimneys.
Windows and doors
Self-adhesive foam or rubber strips around opening windows and doors are cheap and effective. Choose a thickness that closes the gap without stopping the window or door shutting. For doors, fit a brush or flap seal to the bottom, and a cover for the keyhole and letterbox. Silicone or flexible sealant can fill small gaps between frames and walls.
Floors and skirting boards
Gaps between floorboards can be filled with flexible filler or special strips, and gaps along skirting boards can be sealed with sealant. Rugs and carpets with underlay also help but should not replace sealing real gaps.
Loft hatches
Fit a draught seal around the hatch and insulate the back of it. This stops warm air from rising through the opening, and complements loft insulation.
Chimneys
An unused open chimney can lose a lot of warm air. A chimney balloon or a cap fitted at the top can reduce this, but you must not block a chimney that serves an open fire, gas fire or boiler flue, and any appliance still in use needs air supply and safe venting. If in doubt, ask a professional.
Do not block ventilation
Homes need controlled ventilation to remove moisture and pollutants and to supply fresh air to fuel-burning appliances. Do not seal air bricks, trickle vents, extractor fans or intentional vents. Over-sealing a home can lead to condensation and mould, and it can be dangerous with open-flued appliances. See our guide to condensation, damp and mould.
Curtains and other simple measures
- Thick lined curtains over windows and doors help, and keep them tucked in at night.
- Use a draught excluder or rolled towel at the bottom of an internal door.
- Heavy curtains over an external door reduce heat loss in older properties.
When to call a professional
For larger problems such as damaged frames, rotten timber or significant gaps in the structure, ask a builder or window specialist. When combined with good loft insulation and sensible heating controls, draught-proofing makes the whole home more comfortable. Try our other low-cost energy saving ideas as well.