Methods to Stop Windows from Leaking

Install New Windows

Installing new windows is expensive, but well worth it, as they will stop all the leaks all year round if installed properly. But again installing new windows can be a bit pricey so if you don’t have the money you may want to try a cheaper method of stopping leaking windows.

Re-caulk Old Leaking Windows

Re-caulking windows is cheap and easy to do, but will not stop all the leaks. Re-caulking your windows will only stop leaks around the window’s frame and between window’s glass and it’s frame. Re-caulking your windows will not stop leaks between the glass frame and the window frame or between the glass that slides and the other glass as those have different seals to keep them moving free so you can open your window. Plus re-caulking the between the glass and the glass’s frame could look a little tacky if not done right as this will put caulk on your window’s glass.

Covering Windows with Plastic

Covering your windows in plastic however will be a temporary fix just for the winter season. Covering you windows with plastic will block all air leaks in the window. Sometimes covering your windows in plastic can be a little pain when the plastic is not wanting to go where you want it, but is still very easy to do.

You can buy window kits that come with all the materials needed to cover your windows with plastic. These window kits are pretty nice except some of the double sided tape they come with is kind of cheap and do not have a very strong hold.

I would recommend purchasing 3M window kits or Duck window kits as the tape in these window kits are a lot stronger than some of the other brands of window kits, but you can buy any window kit you like.

How Much Money will I Save Covering Windows with Plastic

This is very hard to answer as every home will have different amount of leaks, different temperatures they have the thermostat set at, different temperatures of the air outside, and efficiency of the furnace. But you will save money on gas or save money on electric as your furnace will not have to work as hard to heat the cool air the windows let in or to replace the hot air that leaked out, as well as not have to run as often. I don’t like not placing a dollar amount and math on these go green tips, but there is really no way for me to calculate an average amount of money saved by covering your windows with plastic.

How to Install Plastic Window Covers

Installing the window kit on your leaking windows is very easy to do. The kits come with easy to follow directions, but here are the steps on how to install plastic on your windows.

Things you will need:

• Measuring Tape
• Hair Dryer or Heat Gun
• Scissors
• Razor Blade or Utility Knife (optional)

Installation Steps:

1. Measure the window to see how big to cut your plastic. Measure the window frame, wall, or window sill, depending on which one will be the easiest for you. I recommend putting the plastic on the wall if you don’t have any obstacles in the way like an extended window still.
2. Use the scissors to cut the plastic to the width and height of the window, I usually add a 3-4 inches to each measurement just in case I cut crooked as I don’t use a straight edge or framing square, I don’t need my cuts to be that accurate.
3. Now hold the plastic up to the window to make sure it fits properly.
4. Clean the surface with alcohol that you plan on putting the double sided tape on. Some window kits come with alcohol wipes.
5. Add tape to the window frame or if you don’t have any obstacles in the way you can add the tape to your wall or window sill to cover the entire window. Use the scissors again to cut the double sided tape. Make sure you press the tape down hard running your finger over the tape.
6. Peal the other side of the tape off to expose the second sticky side. This can be tricky getting the strip off without pulling the tape off completely. So just peal with caution.
7. Now stretch out the plastic starting at the top and align the plastic with the tape on top first. Push the plastic to the tape. You may want to have someone help you at this point to make sure you don’t get the plastic bunched up.
8. Now stretch out the sides and press them to the tape, don’t pull too hard when stretching as it may pull the plastic from the tape.
9. Now stretch out the bottom of the plastic covering and press it to the tape.
10. Go over the plastic again pressing it hard against the tape. Don’t worry of you have extra plastic hanging over or if there is a bit of bunching up in the center, we will fix this.
11. Now time to shrink the plastic window cover using a hair dryer or a heat gun. This plastic is low temperature heat shrink, it does not need a lot of heat to shrink it. If you use a heat gun be very careful not to melt the plastic as heat guns can produce a lot of heat. If you are using a hair dryer use the lowest heat setting first to see if it works. If not use a higher heat setting. Start heat shrinking the outside edges first.  like to heat up the tape area first to try and make it stickier. Then I work my way inward then just look around for any crinkles. Do not shrink the plastic too much. The more you shrink the plastic the more stress it puts on the tape. I don’t shrink mine until they are perfect because I tend to have the plastic pull from the tape if I do this.
12. Use the razor blade or utility knife to cut excess plastic from the edges.
13. Done! You may now clean up your scraps and throw them away before your boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, or wife starts nagging about the mess you made! Then move on to the next window.

Why Does My Furnace Consume Gas When Not In Use

Your pilot light is still burning gas. Your pilot light is a small flame that stays lit 24/7. This little flame is used to ignite the furnace’s burners which heat your home.

Now there are some furnaces on the market that use an electronic igniter instead of a gas pilot light. If your furnace uses an electronic igniter then this article may not save you much money.

Why Does My Furnace Consume Electricity When Not in Use

There are electronic valves that turn on and off your gas to your main burners and also to your pilot light. There is also a thermocouple that senses heat from pilot light. If your pilot light goes out, the thermocouple tells the electronics to shut off the gas to the pilot light so you are not filling the air with natural gas or propane. Each of these electronics are consuming electricity 24/7.

How Much Gas Does My Pilot Light Use

Your pilot light on your furnace or fireplace is a flame a little larger than what a candle would put out, but your pilot light is hotter. Your pilot light on your furnace or fireplace will consume 600 – 900 BTUs! Some would try to argue saying there is no way a pilot light consumes 600 – 900 BTUs, but it does.

How Much Money Does a Pilot Light Cost

This will depend on how much your pilot light consumes and how much you actually pay for your natural gas. This is usually printed on your gas bill. But on average 600 – 900 BTUs would cost you around $0.08 – $0.11/day. Which would be $2.44 – $3.35/month, or $29.22 – $40.18/year!

How Much Money Will I Save Turning Off Gas to Furnace

This depends on where you live. Here I could probably turn off the gas and electric to my furnace 6 months of the year. So I would save $14.61 – $20.09/year just by turning off the gas to my furnace during the summer months.

How Much Money Will I Save Turning Off Electric to Furnace

First if you are using central air conditioning system, you can not turn off your electric to your furnace as the air blower on the furnace is used to blow cold air through your home. For those of you that do not have central air, you can turn off your gas and electric to your furnace to save even more money! I’m not 100% sure on how much electricity is consumed by just the electronic valves, sensors, etc. in my furnace as I haven’t measured it yet, but with my electrical knowledge in circuits and such, I would have to guess around 10watts are being used for these devices 24/7. So shutting of the electricity to your furnace would save you an additional $4.39/year!

So saving gas and saving electricity by turning off your gas and electric to your furnace will save you a total of $44.57/year!

Why Not Wash in Hot Water

Washing your clothes in hot water is really a waste of electric or gas depending on what your water heater uses. The reason washing your laundry in hot water is a waste because most people have their water heater set at 120°F – 140°F. When your washer is set to hot water it only allows hot water to enter the washer, no cold water is added. Therefore your clothes are being washed in 120°F – 140°F hot water when dirt, grime, body odors, sweat, etc. are all best dislodged at 100°F! So that extra gas or electric used to make the water 20°F – 40°F hotter is wasted for no reason at all!

How Can I Make My Washer Use 100°F Water For Warm Water

You rarely need to use warm water to wash your clothes in, but for those loads of laundry that do require warm water you will want to make sure your clothes washer is only using 100°F warm water. Most clothes washers will open both cold water and hot water valves 100% to get it’s warm water. So it will mix 50% cold and 50% hot water to make it’s warm water. Most of you will have around 50°F cold water and 140°F hot water mixing. Your cold water will also depend on the temperature outside and inside your home. The best way to adjust the temperature of your warm water is by adjusting the valves manually yourself. While doing a load of laundry use a thermometer after the water is completely filled and starts swishing around so you know it is mixed well. Take your water temperature during that load and see what it is. If your water temperature is above 100°F, reach behind your washer and turn down the hot water valve. If the water is below 100°F turn down the cold water valve. After you have done this, check the temperature again during your next load of laundry. Keep repeating this process until your washer’s warm water achieves 100°F. Also note, you may have to make this adjustment in the summer and in the winter as your cold water’s temperature will change slightly.

How Much Money Will I Save Washing Clothes in 100°F Water

It cost’s about $0.30/load of laundry washed in 140°F hot water. Which the average family will do 312 loads of laundry a year, so $93.60/year is spent to do laundry using hot water. NOTE: $93.60/year is just spent on heating the water, not including the cost of electricity to power the washer itself. If you use 100°F warm water to wash your clothes it cost about $0.16/load of laundry. So 312 loads a year in warm water will cost $49.92/year to heat your water. So if you wash your clothes in warm water instead of hot water you will save $43.68/year!

How Much Money Will I Save Washing Clothes in Cold Water

Being that cold water is not heated at all you will save $93.60/year by washing your clothes in cold water instead of hot water!

How Can I Save Even More Money Washing Clothes

If you want to save more money you could even use a Wonderwash hand crank clothes washer, which uses no electricity or gas at all! You can’t do a whole lot of laundry per load, but if you wash a portion of your clothes in it you will save even more money! If you are a single person or even just you and 1 other person, you could use the Wonderwash to wash all of your laundry. If you have children you can give them some small chores like doing the laundry using the Wonderwash! The clothes will come out of the Wonderwash very wet, so you will want to use a clothes spinner or clothes wringer to get the extra water out before hanging on a clothesline or clothes drying rack to dry or put in your electric clothes dryer or gas clothes dryer.

You can also read my go green tip: Save Money Doing Laundry Drying Clothes to learn how to save even more money while drying your clothes!

How Much Does it Cost to Dry a Load of Clothes

Drying clothes cost around $0.50/load of laundry done in an electric dryer or around $0.45/load of laundry to dry in a gas clothes dryer. The gas dryer costs around $0.04/load for electricity and $0.41/load for the gas. The average family will do around 6 loads of laundry a week, which is 312 loads of laundry a year! So if you are using an electric clothes dryer you will spend around $156/year just by drying your clothes. If you are using a gas clothes dryer, you will spend around $140.40/year to dry your clothes!

How Can I Dry Clothes Without Using a Clothes Dryer

Yes, you can dry your laundry without having a clothes dryer, or even if you have a clothes dryer you can use these methods to save money. Simple, you can hang your clothes on a clothesline to dry. You can hang your clothes on a clothes drying rack, indoor clothesline, outdoor clothesline, etc. Just hang your clothes somewhere dry, and your clothes will dry. Hanging clothes to dry will save you around $156/year. Plus, if you don’t already have a clothes dryer, you will save more money by not buying a clothes dryer!

If you want to hang your clothes indoors, you can simply get a clothesline and run it across your basement. I’d recommend using a clothes drying rack and a clothesline. I like clothes drying racks slightly more because they are not in the way. You can place clothes drying racks off to the side somewhere and you don’t have to duck every time you walk around in your basement! You will still want to use a clothes line for some of your larger loads or even larger laundry, like sheets, blankets, etc.

Hanging your clothes on an outdoors clothes line will usually dry your clothes faster as the heat from the sun will dry them. Some people worry about clothes fading as they are in the sun. I really haven’t had a problem with that, but I don’t leave my clothes out all day. I usually only set them out to get them partially dry, then bring them indoors to finish drying.

Another way to dry your clothes even faster is to use a clothes spinner or a clothes wringer first before hanging them to dry or if you are still wanting to use an electric clothes dryer, spinning or wringing your clothes out first will save you money, but not as mush as just hang drying your clothes.

A clothes spin dryer is kind of like the last cycle on your washer, it spins clothes really fast using centrifugal force to force the water out of the clothes. A clothes spinner will get clothes dryer than the spin cycle on your washer. The clothes wringer squeezes the water out of the clothes.

I think the clothes wringer is more efficient than the clothes spinner. The clothes spinner is a little faster, and also uses less effort from you. A clothes wringer still requires you to feed each article of clothing into the wringer, even if you get an electric clothes wringer, you will still have to feed the clothes into the clothes wringer, but you won’t have to hand crank the clothes through the wringer. I recommend thinking of it like this, if you get a hand crank clothes wringer, you get to do laundry, save money, and get a slight exercise all at the same time!

You may also wat to read my go green tip: Save Money Doing Laundry Washing Clothes

How Much Heat is Wasted

When you are sleeping your furnace is heating your entire home when your bed only needs to be warm! So all that extra heat is wasted for those 8 hours of sleep time. You are also wasting heat while you are away from your home for 8 hours at work or school and you leave your heat turned on. So in total there is 16 hours of heat being wasted in your home!

How Will I Save Money Using an Electric Blanket

Using an electric blanket at night will allow you to turn your furnace’s thermostat down to 55°F instead of your normal 70°F. This 15°F temperature drop during the 8 hours you are sleeping will save you money. How will you stay warm in 55°F temperatures? Easy, use an electric blanket, a 90watt electric blanket on for 8 hours a day will only cost you $2.20/mo. for each electric blanket in your home, yet will drop your gas bill or electric bill which ever you use for heating your home dramatically.

How do I Save Money on Heating While I’m at Work

Easy, turn your heat down to 55°F for the 8 hours you are at work or school as well. There is no point heating your home when no one is in it to benefit from the warmth. Now if you have pets or someone still in your home, them maybe don’t turn your thermostat down to 55°F, but you can still turn it down at least a few degrees. For every degree you turn down your heat you will save around 2% – 3% on your heating bill.

How Much Money Will I Save on Heating My Home

If you follow these steps and turn down your thermostat to 55°F for the 8 hours your sleep and the 8 hours you are at work or school, you will save around 22.06% on your heating bill!

So if your monthly heating bill is usually $140/mo. your new heating bill following these gas saving tips will be only $109.12/mo. which saves you around $30.89/mo. on your heating bill! Well subtract the $2.20/mo. that you would be paying for each electric blanket running. So you are saving $28.69 every month during the winter on your heating bill!

Programmable Thermostats

For those of you that forget to turn down the heat thermostat to 55°F while you are at work, school, and sleeping, you can buy a programmable thermostat! Basically you can program the thermostat to automatically turn the temperature down to 55°F for the 8 hours you are sleeping, and also for the 8 hours you are at work or school! This way you can have your heat kick back on and heat your home to 70°F before you get home, or before you actually get out of bed!

Electric Blanket Tips and Recommendations

When buying an electric blanket, make sure you get a decent one. You don’t have to buy anything very expensive, but make sure it has a temperature control and also an auto shutoff. This way when you get up in the morning it will automatically shut off incase you forget about it, so you are not wasting electricity to heat your bed when no one is in it. There are also programmable electric blankets, and also auto temperature controlling electric heating blankets. These blankets are a little more exspensive, but they auto adapt to your body heat, you get too warm in the middle of the night it will automatically turn itself down or off. If you get out of bed to go to the bathroom and come back, it will sense that your body temperature has dropped and heat you back up! But, any electric heating blanket or matress heating pad will work great to help you save money on your heating bill.

If you do buy an electric blanket be sure to also buy a decent quilt or comforter to put over top of it so the comforter or quilt will help keep the heat under the covers so the electric heating blanket doesn’t have to run all night to keep you warm.

So if you are saving $28.69/mo. for heating bills, and around my area I am heating my home for about 8 month of the year, so $229.52/year I save! But if your normal heating bill is more than $140/mo. originally, you will save even more money than me!

I hope you use these money saving tips to lower your heating bill. Using an electric blanket to heat your bed is more efficient and also usually a little more comfortable.Your entire bed is nice and warm, even when you first get in it. I hate getting into a cold bed and having to rub my body to create heat by friction to get warm enough to fall asleep. With an electric blanket you will be nice and warm in no time at all. So now you can sleep great knowing you are saving money while you sleep!