Condo Blues: heat
Showing posts with label heat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label heat. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 6, 2020

How to Weather Strip Windows and Doors the Easy Way!

All of the windows on my house are considered energy efficient. However, even the most highly rated doors and windows will still leak air a little bit due to the fact that windows are made to open and close and the builder had to cut a hole in the wall to install it. Not to mention, most usually have thin brush weatherstripping ( brush pile weather strip looks like this ) which in my opinion is utterly useless. (Disclosure: I am including affiliate links in this post for your convenience.)

Or at least the stuff on my windows and sliding patio door proved to be when the candle flame I carefully ran along them danced a crazy samba indicating there was air leaking through the brush weather stripping instead of stopping the air from escaping which is what weatherstripping is supposed to do. 

Tip: If you do not feel comfortable putting an open flame next to your windows and doors due to the potential fire risk, you can check for air leaks by running a stick of incense (you can buy incenses sticks here) or a smoke pen (learn more about air leak detecting smoke pens here) around the area where the door or window and the wall meet. If the flame/smoke moves in the slight breeze it is leaking air.

I also had air leaking around my sliding patio doors, exterior doors, and surprisingly under the doors to the closets on exterior walls. This is something you really want to fix because warm heated indoor air is drawn to cold outside air (and vice versa during the summer months) which means your heating or air conditioning system needs to use more energy and work harder to maintain the indoor temperature you set on your thermostat – which is why your heating or cooling bill is so high. 

how to fix cold windows doors sliding glass doors the easy way
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Sunday, April 5, 2020

How to Clean Furnace and Air Conditioning Ducts at Home

While doing a deep dive, move every piece of furniture that isn’t nailed down Spring Cleaning I noticed several of the heating and central air conditioning ducts had a black soot like dirt or dust collecting around the register grill on the wall and ceiling.   I vacuumed them with the brush and hose on my vacuum sweeper and made a mental note that I need to add this task to my deep cleaning  checklist.

A few days later it was back.

So. Gross.

DIY heating and air conditioning duct and vent cleaning
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Why do I have Black Stuff Around my HVAC Registers?

Sunday, July 8, 2018

How to Make 6 DIY Cooling Body Spray Recipes (Hydrosols)

Summer is hot.

Really hot.

Add a big dollop of Ohio humidity and it feels ridiculously stupid hot.

All I can think of when the heat index makes the air temperature feel like it is 105 degrees outside (like yesterday. Ugh!) is how nice it would be if I could accessorize my outfit of the day with a wearable air conditioner.

Which  I can, sort of, if I make and use a quick, easy, and cheap body cooling spray that feels like an air conditioner in a bottle! Or if you are not the DIY type, you can buy a refreshing cooling spray here (I am including affiliate links in this post for your convenience.)


how to make 6 natural essential oil cooling hydrosol spray recipes
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Six Quick and Easy Essential Oil Cooling Spray Recipes

Sunday, February 11, 2018

10 Easy Ways to Lower Winter Heating Bills

In 2008, my family went on a year long experience to try lowering our heating bills by %20 thinking it was a lofty goal we may not meet. a slew of Greenzillas swore up and down that the only solution was to trash everything that came new with our house (and was working great) and replace it by buying new top of the time super energy efficient everything. Replacing working and still fairly new things didn't seem very eco friendly. Instead we focused on changing old habits and a few inexpensive home improvements.

And we beat our goal by reducing our use and bill by 32%.

10 years later and we’re still using less energy to heat our condo than comparable energy efficient rated homes in our area – and we’re toasty warm doing it too!

10 Super Simple Hacks That Keep Your House Warm and Your Heat Bill Low

Sunday, January 7, 2018

6 Ways to Insulate a Drafty Sliding Glass Door

I walked from my toasty warm home office to the kitchen downstairs. It was so cold I almost felt like someone left a window open in the dead of winter. 

I found and sealed the interior air leaks around my windows, water pipes, and front and back doors years ago and mulled over what could be wrong when the cold air hit me.

I didn’t weatherize, weather strip, or check the sliding glass door for air leaks when I did the rest of the house.

I didn’t need to light a candle or stick of incense and run it along the patio door to find warm escaping because the air leak was so big and blatant it almost smacked me right in the face. There is absolutely no weather stripping between the stationary and sliding glass doors. Take a look!


how to winterize a sliding glass door
There’s yer problem!

Sliding doors can be tricky to weather-strip and seal to prevent drafts and leaking air if you need to use the door during the winter but it is not impossible.

6 Ideas for Winterizing a Sliding Patio Door

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Make a No Slip Stay Put Door Draft Dodger

I installed metal draft blockers on the front and back doors of The Condo. Then I noticed that some areas of The Condo were still cold and a bit drafty – around the doors to my coat closet and pantry, which are both on outside walls. These drafts meant that my heater needs to work a little harder to keep the Condo warm in winter and the air conditioning needs to work a little harder to keep the Condo cool during the summer.

Photobucket
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 These drafts were wasting energy and costing me money – something I try to avoid. I like to save energy and save money on my heating and cooling bills.

What to do? I needed something to block the drafts on those interior doors. I didn’t think a metal draft plate would work on my wooden hollow core doors. I didn’t like how traditional fabric door draft dodger/door draft blocker/door draft stopper/door draft snake won’t stay in place. So I made a no slip stay put door draft dodger. Here’s how I did it.

Not only is making this no slip door draft blocker quick and easy project, but it is also a great stash buster!

Sew a No Slip Stay Put Door Draft Blocker 


Wednesday, December 10, 2008

15 Habits That Lower Winter Utility Bills

During my 20% home energy reduction challenge, I quickly found that one of the best ways to lower my utility bills was to change my household habits according to the seasons. Seriously, folks, all of the energy efficient light bulbs and sealing of air leaks in the world won’t do much to p reduce your home’s electric and natural gas use if you keep every light in the house blazing and set the furnace to the highest temperature all day every day.

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Here are some of the things I do that help me lower my winter electricity and natural gas usage and hopefully the bill (unless they raise my rates.) These habits will work also work for apartment dwellers and renters too.

15 Easy Ways to Lower Your Winter Heating Bill