apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I have a terribly drafty plastic slat window in my shower - anyone know how to calm the cold breeze during this time of year as a renter (accepting suggestions outside of boarding up the window. haha)

Thanks!!

How difficult is it to remove the film? Does removal leave any trace of the tape?

I just applied the very same product a few months back and it's worked fairly well and keeping our place less drafty. I can't be sure, but I think the taut clear finish had been ruined a bit by my curious cats, but another non reachable window lost the smooth finish after a few weeks. These might require occasional touch up with a hair dryer.

Tried this stuff last year. HATED it. Doesn't work that well - tape pulls away in spots, it's difficult to apply - and when I went to remove it the tape ripped patches of paint away.

I think I'd rather be cold.

If you were going to do something like this, I'd say get a sheet of plexi cut to fit, edge the side of it facing the window with some kind of thin weatherstripping to function as a gasket that'll create an airtight seal, and tack it to the window. You could probably use those plastic clips that are used to hold mirrors in place to hold the plexi tight over the window.

More expensive, but potentially reusable, and it might actually work without damaging your paint (apart from a few easily-patched screw holes).

Bubble-wrap works pretty well.

I had an apartment with large 4'x 6' windows......it was cheapest to buy patio-door kits and cut the film in half. One kit would cover two of my windows.

Use it every year and it works great. We lay a strip of blue paint tape down first, then apply the tape that comes with the plastic. That way it's all easy to remove a few months later.

And we also have 2 plexi-frames like sunspot describes. But unfortunately, it's really hard to get a good fit on old windows (there's nothing about our house that's plumb) and last year we just put up plastic over the plexi-frames. Oh well.

I survived many a Boston winter in old apartments and houses using that stuff. Yeah, after a while, the tape tends to get a bit dry and brittle and so pull away a little in spots and the film gets a teeny foggy over time, but it works and you can usually patch the gaps in the tape with a little duct tape. Pulling the stuff off in the spring is pretty easy and as long as you are careful, the paint won't peel.

It may not look the greatest but who cares? I'd rather have a much less drafty, more warm house and save on the heating bills. In some of the old houses I lived in, come November in Boston, if I didn't put that stuff up, I felt like I was paying to heat the outdoors.

Would the film take away from a nice view? we have north-facing windows so probably no glare from the sun, but I wouldn't want it to impact our view.

Love this stuff - kept me from going broke through six New England winters. If you're careful in applying heat, the optical distortion should be minimal, and if it's cold when you first put it up, it helps to heat the wall around the windowframe with the blow drier first to improve adhesion. Taking it down was never a big deal - residue was minimal and easily removed by rubbing or with a little bit of surface cleaner. Never damaged paint, but ymmv where painted surfaces are concerned. Consider it worth a try - it's not that expensive, and you can take it down if you don't like it.

my landlord told me about this stuff and i just bought some. i will be putting it up as soon as it arrives. To tell you the truth, I really don't care how it looks so long a my gas bill is not through the roof, like it is now. my landlord actually used to live in my apartment and he said that his bill never got that high, and he thinks it is because of this stuff. I don't even turn the heat on past 63 but it's FREEZING even three feet from the window.

this stuff i awesome. i used the frost king brand. at lowe's it's about $30 for 3, but i got 9 on ebay for $5. try ebay if you have lots of windows. people sell them NIB.