apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

step 5 1/2:
turn power back on

How do you know which outlets need this to be done? Is it only useful on outlets located on exterior walls? This is our first winter in an old house.

OB - only outlets and switches on exterior walls (unless you feel a draft.

Somebody's been watching Ask This Old House.

I must be bad, I've done this without turning off the power.

If you like to live dangerously keep the power on, and just use an insulated screwdriver.

If you like to live really dangerously then use a regular screwdriver.

dn i was going to make the same ask this old house comment too!

i did this this past weekend on half of the exterior ones, and the other half gets it soon. I could literally feel a draft coming through my outlets last year (and i live in a nicer and newer apartment)

I did it without turning the power off. That just seems stupid. I mean yeah if you were extremely bad at using a screwdriver, you could mess up, but come on. one screw, out then in.

I also purchased the outlet plug type things last night. Even with the foam i could still feel a slight draft coming through the holes. So i thought the things that are like for safety and kids, and plugged them, no air coming through now.

Also if you buy window shrink wrap sealing things you can get the foam outlet covers for free, I bought a kit to do 10 windows (i;ve done al the math though, i have big windows so i can only do 5 maybe 6....) and you get 6 outlet covers. They are duck brand and were $10 at Walmart. I bought a different kit previously. 3M, and it was more expensive, and it was for 5 windows (so 3 for me)

These kits will help you save a lot of money. Just do windows you don't use often, or if your blind are set up right, you can seal the windows and still have the blinds out, instead of sealing them inside. We used to rent an old apartment that was a historical house. We had to do this, with them sealed you could see them moving in and out from the wind. And the bill was already ridiculously high with them, can't imagine what it would be without.

Thanks for the tip -- sounds like a no brainer!

Thanks! I'm going to go buy some tonight on the way home! This is the kind of stuff I LOVE to see on this site. THANKS EVERYONE!

Never even heard of this before but I'll definitely put these in now.

This energy saving stuff is like hot rodding your house. Love it.

All this talk about cold weather makes me remember when I lived in the far north in a Nordic country. The winters were so cold that there was frost on the outside of the houses, but it never dropped below 75 or so inside and we didn't have any drafts that I recall.

Regarding the window kits- Anyone know a way to get the adhesive off nicely come Spring? So that lovely stained wood windowsills will be no worse for the wear?

well for the window kits don't put them on paint. I have had them come off of paint just fine and then other times take the paint with it.

If you want to remove it, try heating it up with a hairdryer and pull slowly. It should come off good. If not all the adhesive comes up a little goo gone should help. Other then that i don't think it should hurt strained wood. Paint usually is the only problem.

I'm doing al of our windows soon. We didn't last year and should have.

I was going to ask if this works but i just felt my outlet which has an external outlet parallel to it and it does have a cold draft coming in. This is brilliant! I'll buy this tomorrow

Use them on interior walls especially if you are in an apartment or condo. last year during my audit i had cold air blowing in from interior switches.

annamaria, we used weather tape (aka thick scotch tape) on out windows, it's the only thing that does not require much cleanup, does not leave any sticky mess.

Any other good tips from the audit like this? Cheap, easy and anyone can do it?

Has anyone tried the removable caulk (not the clay-like rope) that is available, for weatherstripping/sealing?

Jen C: I do have more tips...keep an eye out for the posts!

Electrical Outlet Switch Cover Sealers/Gaskets really do work. They can reduce your heating and cooling bill by as much as 20%. They are a cheap way to retain heating and cooling in your home. If you place your hand over your outlets in the Winter on a windy day, you will feel air blowing through them. So the purpose is to seal off the outlets & switches from the living space. I found a local energy audit firm to conduct what is called a blower door test on my home. Before the sealers were installed, the outlets whistled; they leaked so bad. The tech conducted a post test after the sealers were installed and they were not only sealed, but I reduced my home's over-all air infiltration rate. Simply stated, I am now retaining my heating and cooling. What good is a high efficiency or geo-thermal system if your home cannot retain what is generated?

I went to Home Depot and paid a fortune in small Frost King packs to do my entire home. (It cost me over $100). A couple years later I built a new home, which I had more modern switches and receptacles. I found a company that sells the "Decorator" or "Decora" Leviton switch and outlet sealers/gaskets in bulk, costing a fraction compared to those retail Frost King packs that you find at Home Depot or Lowes. I looked all over for these foam gaskets. For those of you don't know, the Decora are the fat, contemporary rocker style switches found in newer homes. They will also work on bathroom GFI outlets. I ordered them from ReduceMyEnergy.com and installed them in my home. What a BIG difference. My rooms are cozy and more comfortable too. They have already more than paid for themselves.

Here is a link that might be useful: Electrical Outlet Switch GFI Leviton Decora Sealers Gaskets http://www.reducemyenergy.com/draftproducts.htm