Dodge the Drafts

Keep your heat inside this winter with weatherstripping and caulking.

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Open window, with drafts blowing in, introduces need to save on high home heating oil prices.

Photo: istock

By Brian Clark Howard

Keep your heat inside this winter by finding and plugging up those leaks. Check for window drafts by carefully holding an incense stick up to each frame and watch the smoke to see if there is a leak. (Be sure to remove all curtains and drapes first to avoid a fire.) Then use caulking or weatherstripping to seal the cracks.

Another method is, working with another person on the outside, have that person blow a hair dryer around the outside of each window while you hold a lighted candle inside. If the candle flickers or goes out, you need to caulk or weather strip around the frame. Use caulking or weather-stripping around window sashes and exterior doors, too, as well as around foundation cracks, pipe outlets and other places where air can escape.

For door drafts, place an old-fashioned draft dodger or draft-blocker along the bottom saddle. And be sure your thermostat is not affected by drafts that might give an incorrect reading.

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