Winter is cold. That is one universal fact. Sometimes, it can be a struggle to keep the cold out and keep the warmth in. It’s hard to go about your day when your house is freezing. Here are 21 tips (most of which are cheap or free) to keep your home warm during the winter months.
- Reverse the fans. Your fans need to be going clockwise to push the warm air from the ceiling down into your living space.
- Open the blinds and curtains when it is sunny. It’s good to soak up all the sunshine you can.
- Keep the blinds and curtains closed when it is not sunny. Keeping the blinds and curtains closed will help retain heat.
- Leave the oven door cracked open. When you’re done baking something, turn the oven off and open the door. Of course, keep children and pets away, but this will allow the remaining heat in your oven to warm up your room. But firefighters advise not to use this as a main source of heat.
- Use shower steam. Don’t hog the steam when you take a shower. Keep the door open when you shower to allow the steam to warm up the house and also help that dry winter air moisten up.
- Boil a pot of water. The steam will help warm up your kitchen, and a warm cup of tea will also warm you up.
- Unblock radiators and vents. Do you have furniture in front of your radiators or vents? Move them to allow the warm air to move.
- Close doors in unused rooms and spend time in rooms that are naturally warmer. Don’t let unused rooms get too cold though, especially if they contain pipes.
- Open your dampers. Some ductworks have dampers to control airflow. Look for handles and markings on the ductwork such as “summer” and “winter.” Set the damper handle parallel to the duct line for maximum airflow.
- Get some fluffy rugs. Put down some rugs on your hardwood or tile floors to keep your feet warm.
- Get a hot water bottle. Purchase a hot water bottle, fill it up, and put it under the covers near the foot of your bed. It will keep your feet toasty overnight.
- Change your filter. If your heater has a filter, just replacing it can make a huge difference in your home’s temperature.
- Grab some foil. If your radiator is attached to an external wall, put up some foil behind it to reflect the heat back into the room, instead of it going through the wall out of the house.
- Grab some bubble wrap. Instead of using regular plastic sheeting on your windows, wrap any windows you don’t need to see out of with bubble wrap to better insulate them.
- Get some pipe insulation. It’s not just for pipes. Put it on the undersides of doors to prevent drafts.
- Plug mail slots and doggy doors. Use towels or wool blankets to block mail slots and doggy doors to keep those drafts from coming into your house.
- Make sure your attic door or access is very well insulated. If you are not planning on using it in the winter, don’t be afraid to make it unusable in blocking out all of the air coming through it.
- In the event of extreme cold, if you have some thick blankets to spare, hang them over windows and external walls. They will be added insulation against the cold.
- Plug your fireplace. If you don’t use your fireplace, purchase and install a plug. Make sure you get the right size. Make sure that the flue and draft are closed.
- Put up a snow fence. Airflow matters outside of the house, too. Do some research and put up some fences outside the house to control where the snow drifts and where the wind blows. Even the smallest fences can help.
- Get a duct booster fan. If you have forced air heat, a duct booster can be a moderately expensive but very helpful solution to warming up your house.
With these ideas in mind, you can make the most of your current heating system and keep warm in the cold winter months.
By Bethanie Ryan
