Hi Moms!
We're renting an older home and this is our first funfilled Midwest winter (I thought they were joking when they forecasted 61 degrees in the morning and 16 degrees in the same afternoon! Um...I just realized they weren't kidding!)
Our daughter's room is the coldest in the house (we didn't know this as it was summer when we moved in). I noticed today that the old windows are letting the icy air POUR in...you can feel it! Is there any reason that duct taping around the window/window sill would be a bad idea? It seemed to help a bit. I also added a rolled towel at the bottom of the window (it's a huge double-window). All of the "adjustments" are temporary and can easily and quickly be removed in case we need to open the window in an emergency. I also thought about hanging a blanket over the entire window it this isn't enough. We plan to notify our property manager, but so far he hasn't been very willing to do anything to improve the condition of the house. Any other ideas? Any reason this is a bad idea?
Thanks!
They have Plastic that you can cover the whole window, its call Plastic window winterizing kits. You can get them at Home Depot, Walmart. The duct tape will leave alot of sticky residue behind and may have to repaint come spring.
Other than damaging the paint, it will work. I would buy one of the kits like the pp was describing. Our house is not super airtight either and you can really tell this time of year. A good way to keep her comfy without breaking the bank on your heating bill is a heated blanket - we use one through the winter. Even if the room never gets completely warm, she will sleep well.
Good luck.
ETA - I just thought of this - could you use painters tape to put up lightweight plastic sheeting? That way the paint is not damaged?
Amy,
I too would go to Walmart and get the kit, they work well to help keep the cold out. I know it can be hard to deal with a landlord who doesn't want to fix things, however there are laws to protect the renter and many people are not aware of this. Look into how to get the landlord to fix things legally as sometimes this becomes necessary and it helps to know your rights. If you need more information let me know and I will look up the name of the book and the phone number.
The electric blanket is a wonderful idea, especially since this is not a small child and it will help her stay warm. Hang in there with our wonderful weather this week.
I would stick with the plastic window kits - although you can get the ones that you use a hair dryer on to make them really tight. (Make sure you get the kit that specifies this!! It doesn't work on all of them - the plastic could melt!) We used these in our first apartment and our first home - if you get the regular ones and the draft is really bad, you have to listen to the plastic move all winter as the "breeze" goes in and out - by the middle of January you will be crazy!! :)
The kits that you use the hair dryer on are a little bit more expensive, but VERY well worth the money. (I think we used the 3M brand.)
Welcome to the Midwest - and our crazy weather! :)
Good Morning Amy, Duct tape it fine also you might try a sheet of plastic to cover the window also, on the outside. Then Put the blanket over it inside. Anything you can do to stop that wind is definitely a great help. They have the large rolls of plastic at Lowes'
Been there done what you are doing. Our kids are doing it now too. It's 6 dg, with wind chill of -13 here in Benton, ks this morning. Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
God Bless and stay warm. Keep hounding your prop manager.
Karen Nana of 5
I would tend to avoid duct tape as it may not leave the woodwork in very good condition when you take it off in the spring...and then that rental agent is going to be after you for the expense to repair it.
I would go to Lowes or Home Depot...and get a plastic winterizing kit...as the other mentioned you can get the ones that shrink to size or the regular ones. I would be tempted to put one inside AND outside on the window...if you can get to the outside without climbing a ladder in this ridiculous Kansas Weather. My daughter also uses blankets to close off rooms that she isnt using...so I would think a blanket on the window would be great...exceot if course you would be closing off any sunshine or view!! Anything you can do throughout the house to keep the warm air in and the cold air out will certainly pay off in your heating bills!!!
Good luck...arent Kansas winters fun?????
I heard this on the news last week. They said use a cheap plastic see thru shower curtain. It will keep out drafts but let the sun light thru.
I haven't personally tried this, I use the plastic kits everyone has suggested they work great.
I would agree that older homes have their own set of problems, you may actually add to the problems by using duct tape. The tape going on will be fine, coming off will be the problem. If you and your husband are willing to repair the damage, then go for it, but it will probably cause some damage. You may be looking at paint coming off with the tape, if the walls are platered it may take some of that as well. You could also cause some of the older wood around the windows to come off as well.
There are different types of weatherizing kits you can get, they work very well. There is a way to do something without getting too complicated if you would like. You mentioned putting a blanket up over the window. You can take a small decorative blanket, such a baby blanket with a cute little animal or soemthing on it. Place the blanket over the window. You may want to go around the edges of the window with plastic or towels first to block as much air as possible. You just use thumb tacks or pushpins to hold the blanket in place. This blanket, preferrably a quilts, is easily removed with a simple yank if needed. It adds a little bit of something to the room and allows for the window to be completly covered on every side.
If you daughter is young and you are concerned about using thumb tacks or push pins, you may want to use a small nail which will not easily fall out, or even go around it with a stapler. Just remembe to keep the holes small, they will be much easier to fill when you need to.
The residue left behind will be a nightmare to clean off and will pull the paint off. You will have to redo it or lose all your deposit. They have window kits you can get at WalMart to cover either the inside or the outside. I would suggest that.
I have done this & duct tape (especially when exposed to the sun light) can not be removed after a while. It can physically be taken off, but the residue can not be removed by anything but scraping it off. You need to get plastic window things from Wal-mart or Home Depot. You can see through it & it keeps the cold out. Our house is 60 some years old & we have had to do this for years.
God bless & Merry Christmas!
Duct tape will leave a sticky residue on the frame and may even peel off the paint when you remove it. Your blanket idea is probably the best bet. You could stuff it with newspaper and tack down the edges. The best thing is one of those plastic window kits. You put the tape around the edges and apply the plastic, then take a hair dryer to shrink it down to a tight fit. It is removed in the spring time. They range in price from maybe $5 and up. Good luck and stay warm! :o)
Haven't had a chance to read what anyone else has said but, here's what I do. Target, Lowes, Home Depot or any hardwarde store has a box set of plastic and tape. It is a weather proofer. They are usually only a few bucks a set. Use the double sided tape all around the window and place the plastic over it, then use a hair dryer to "seal" it. It's much easier to remove it when you want to open the window and it works wonders. SO welcome to your 1st midwest winter and the old house! Mine is over 100 y/o and many of the windows are original, so I totally understand!
Go to Walmart and pick up one of the window kits that seal your window temporarily for the winter. I don't remember what they are called but have seen them in the home improvement section. They don't cost much and I believe they use a hairdryer to seal. I wouldn't use duct tape because it will leave a residue that is really heard to get off. We used duct tape in New Orleans during hurricanes and removing it is a nightmare. Good luck and God Bless.
Go to your local hardware store and buy a roll of clear sheet plastic. I suspect the window in your daughter's room isn't the only one letting in cold air. Sheet plastic is so much more economical that the window kits because one roll should give you enough plastic to cover every window in your house and then some. (I have 21 windows including a sun porch and still had enough plastic left over to cover them all again the following year.) Then go to the nearest Dollar General and buy a roll of clear packaging tape ($1 per roll). Depending on how many windows you have, you may need more than one roll. You'll have to measure the windows and cut the plastic to size but this isn't difficult. Also, I have 3 different sizes of windows and I also cover the attic fan in the winter. The packaging tape comes off the window sill or wall easily and doesn't damamge the finish. The other responders are correct-duct tape will leave a sticky residue that's almost impossible to get off and it will damage the finish. After a couple of years I got smart and instead of throwing the plasic away each spring, I now fold them up and reuse them the next winter. Our rental doesn't have a garage and so I also have cut plastic from the roll to cover our front and back car windows during icy weather. The window kits cost between $5 & $8 for two windows. I paid $8 for one roll of plastic that covers every window in my house (and the windshield and rear windows on two cars).
Hi Amy and welcome to the Midwest!! I have friends who live in older homes (IL) and their windows have the same problems. If you go to Home Depot or Lowes, they have clear plastic-ky saran wrap type paper that you can use over the windows to keep the wind out. It doesn't look the best, but keeps it warmer!! You adhere it from one side of the window to the other (not directly on the glass) so that it almost hovers over the window. I would defintely go to Home Depot or Lowes and ask them for assistance! They may have better options too!
You can buy plastic to put over the windows, they install with a hair dryer and work great.
I have it on ny unheated back porch and it really helps keep A/C in during summer and much warmer in winter.
Hope that helps
Hi Amy,
I don't recommend duct tape if you want your deposit back, over time it will leave a sticky residue that is nearly impossible to remove without removing the finish from the window and the sill. The sell weather stripping at most hardware stores that sticks to the window, but the adhesive doesn't melt and leave a residue like duct tape. Good luck with the cold and the property manager!
Marcie
Amy,
I agree with all the other entries about the window film. If by chance you have used duct tape some place in your rental home and need to remove the sticky film use peanut butter on it. I know, it sounds stupid but it really works. My husband uses peanut butter to get duct tape up off floors at work. Put a dab of peanut butter on a soft rag and rub it around and around the area until the sticky stuff begins to roll off. Just FYI> Happy Holidays!
Jennifer N.
You can get a kit at most home improvement stores that has double stick tape and plastic. It is super easy to use, remove, and surprisingly is barely even noticeable. We did all but one window (completely forgot about it somehow) and have noticed a HUGE difference. The wind this weekend reminded us of the window we'd forgotten and could not believe the difference it made when we did put the plastic on it. I want to say it was like $5 or so for the kit and like i said, it was really easy. Sissors and a hairdryer were the only "tools" we needed.