The first cold snap is when you find out which window leaks. You sit down near it, and there's a draft on your neck that wasn't there in September.
Replacing a window is a big job. Covering one for the winter is a small one, and it fits inside a Saturday morning.
Below: how window film works and how to put it up, the lint screen scrub most dryers need, what not to put on a new driveway, the oven clean to run now instead of Thanksgiving week, and how to close the gaps mice use.
Reply and tell us: which window in your house is the cold one? We read every one.
Your Drafty Window Needs a Winter Coat
Image: The Home Wire
A window insulation kit is a sheet of clear plastic film that you tape to the trim around a window and tighten with a hair dryer. It's the closest thing to a storm window you can put up from the inside.
It works by trapping air. Per Frost King, which makes these kits, the film holds a layer of air between itself and the glass, and that pocket acts as insulation. Because the film is taped to the trim, it also covers the gaps around the window itself.
Windows are a big share of the heating bill. Frost King cites the Department of Energy's estimate that heat loss through windows can add up to 25 to 30 percent of a home's heating energy use.
It does the most on the windows you can actually feel: old single-pane glass, a loose sash that rattles in the wind, or the bedroom window that fogs up every morning. A tight, newer window gains less.
Most kits come with the film and double-sided tape. You'll also need a hair dryer and scissors.
Clean the trim around the window with soapy water, and let it dry.
Tape all four sides of the trim, pressing the tape on firmly.
Hang the film from the top, then pull it snug as you press it down the sides and across the bottom.
Shrink it with a hair dryer on its highest setting, held 4 to 6 inches from the film, until the wrinkles pull out.
Trim the extra film along the outer edge of the tape.
Kits vary, so read the sheet in the box too. Per Family Handyman, some come with adhesive already on one edge of the film, and that edge goes at the top.
In spring, Frost King says you just peel off the plastic and the tape. Test the tape on a hidden corner of the trim first, since double-sided tape can lift paint when it comes off.
Renters, this is one of the best cold-weather jobs you can do without a contractor, and it's gone by April. Scroll down for the kit we'd use.
The Lint Screen Scrub Most Dryers Need
Image: The Home Wire
Pulling the lint off the screen is the easy part. The mesh also builds up a film you can't see.
Per Whirlpool, detergent and fabric softener residue can coat the screen. The sign is lint falling off the screen while it's still in the dryer. That means it's probably clogged.
The everyday clean is a dry one. Whirlpool says to roll the lint off with your fingers and don't rinse the screen for that, since wet lint is hard to get off.
Then, every six months, or sooner if it's clogged, give it a scrub. If your house goes through a lot of fabric softener, check it more often, since that's part of what builds up.
Wet both sides of the screen with hot water.
Dip a nylon brush in hot water and a little liquid detergent.
Scrub the screen to lift the residue.
Rinse it with hot water.
Dry it completely with a clean towel before it goes back in.
Per Whirlpool, a clean screen also helps head off the fire risk that comes with built-up lint. It's a five-minute job, and it works the same in a rental.
Keep Salt Off a New Driveway This Winter
Image: The Home Wire
If your driveway, walk or patio was poured in the last few years, the ice melt you grab this winter matters.
The City of Pendleton, Oregon's guidance on new concrete treats concrete as new for its first five years, and lists the deicers to keep off it:
Rock salt (sodium chloride) and calcium chloride
Anything with ammonium nitrate or ammonium sulfate
Magnesium chloride, magnesium acetate or magnesium nitrate
For traction, the city's staff recommend sand or cat litter instead.
Whatever you buy, read the label. Pendleton notes that most deicers warn against use on new concrete right on the package.
Buy the sand now, before the first storm clears the shelves.
Self-Clean the Oven Now, Not Thanksgiving Week
Image: The Home Wire
A self-cleaning cycle burns old spills down to ash. It also smokes, smells, and locks you out of the oven until it cools, which makes the week of a holiday the worst time to run it.
Run it on a free weekend in October instead, when a smoky afternoon with the windows cracked costs you nothing. Your manual lists the cycle settings for your model. Whirlpool's self-clean guide lays out the prep:
Take out the racks, the broiler pan, any cookware and any foil.
Wipe out loose spills. Less mess going in means less smoke.
Hand-clean the door edge and the 1½-inch strip around the oven opening. Leave the door gasket alone.
Clear plastic items off the cooktop and empty the storage drawer.
Open a window or run a fan, and keep the oven vents clear.
Close the door all the way. It won't lock otherwise, and the cycle won't start.
If you keep pet birds, move them to a closed, well-ventilated room first. Whirlpool says some birds are extremely sensitive to the fumes.
The cycle time includes a 30-minute cool-down. When it's done, wipe out the ash. Whirlpool also suggests not waiting until the oven is heavily soiled, since that means a longer cycle and more smoke.
Close the Gaps Mice Use Before It Gets Cold
Image: The Home Wire
Mice don't need much of an opening to get in. The CDC's advice is to seal the gaps, inside and out, before they find them.
Where to look, per the CDC:
Around windows and doors, especially ones without weatherstripping
Where the foundation meets the ground
Around attic and crawl space vents
Around the holes for electrical, plumbing, cable and gas lines
For small holes, the CDC says to pack in steel wool, then caulk around it or use spray foam to hold it in place. Larger holes call for lath screen or metal, cement, hardware cloth or metal sheeting.
Do the outside lap in daylight with a flashlight, since the gaps behind shrubs and under decks are the ones that get missed. Then do the inside lap in the basement, garage and under the sinks, where pipes come through the wall.
Renting? Note the gaps you find and send them to the landlord in writing.
The Kit We'd Use on a Drafty Window
For the job up top, you want a kit that covers more than one window, because there's rarely just one.
The one we'd point you to is the 3M Indoor Window Insulator Kit, five-window pack, at $18.86. That's under $4 a window.
The box holds folded film, two rolls of double-sided tape and an instruction sheet. 3M lists energy savings and less condensation and frost on the glass among its benefits.
We haven't run this kit through a winter ourselves. The specs and price come from 3M's Amazon listing.
That said, measure first. Each piece of film covers a window up to 3 by 5 feet, so a big picture window or a patio door needs a larger kit. If yours fit, here's the five-pack on Amazon.
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One quick tap
Which weekend project should we cover next?
That's Friday: a winter coat for the drafty window, a scrub for the lint screen, sand for the new driveway, an early oven clean, and steel wool for the gaps.
If you only do one thing this weekend, find the window you can feel from the couch and cover it.
Forward this to whoever in your house always sits by the cold window.
See you Monday.
The Home Wire
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