Window Cleaning Time

Don't Forget The Windows When Insulating Your Home

21 August 2015

Lawrence Robinson

If you're tired of wrapping up in blankets and wearing two layers of clothing just to keep warm in your home during the winter, you need to improve the insulation in your house. If your insulation isn't as good as it should be, your furnace can run all day, and you'll still be cold. While you probably know about adding insulation to your attic, you may overlook insulating your windows. Here's what you can do to keep cold air from seeping in around your windows.

Apply Spray Foam Insulation

The first step is to seal all the tiny gaps around your window frames. The ideal product for this is spray foam insulation. While a contractor can also apply spray foam to your attic using a canister and wand, the kind you use around windows comes in a small can you apply yourself. You spray it on as a foam and it fills all the cracks and grooves around the frames before it hardens in place.

This effectively blocks air from blowing through gaps. Spray foam insulation quickly dries into a very hard substance. For that reason, you don't want to spray it along the track of your windows because you won't be able to open them again, and that could be a hazard if you ever need to escape through a window due to a fire.

Use Plastic Film

If you have old windows, they probably aren't very energy efficient. For instance, if you have aluminum frames with single-pane glass, they get very cold in the winter. You can feel the chill when you sit near them. Unless you want to replace the windows with newer and more energy efficient windows, you should consider covering them with some type of insulation during the coldest months of the year. Buy a plastic window kit at a home improvement store for this purpose. The plastic covers the glass and the frame as an added layer of insulation. You may also want to use heavier curtains during the winter, and keep them closed tight over your windows. You'll lose natural lighting, but your home will stay warmer.

Taking these steps to stop cold air from getting in your windows will help a lot, but you should also look for other problem areas too. There may be a gap under your front door or a gap around a pipe to the outside of your home. Most importantly, you'll want to take a look at the insulation in your attic and on your home's exterior walls. If you have older fiberglass batts that are wet or worn down, it's worth the expense to hire a contractor to replace them with better forms of insulation.

For professional window insulation services, contact a company such as R & K Windows.

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