Does covering your windows with plastic really help?

Question

I have a single pane window in my living room and the cold air just pours in. I bought one of those plastic insulation kits. Does anybody think it will help? And why do i have to heat it up with a hair dryer?

Answer 1

yes, and the higher the mm the better, clear packaging tape works the best to hold it to the paint, and put it on the inside so you're neibors don't think ur trashy!!!

Answer 2

Plastic Window Covers

Answer 3

Window Plastic

Answer 4

It will indeed work. I have used them in the past & have had great results. I like the 3M kits better than the generic brand but the generic kits work well too. (Buy a piece of weather stripping in the "window kit" section of Lowes or wherever you shop for your window kit. Place it along the window sill if you have one. Place it where the window & sill come together to help cut down on the draft) Make sure you read the instructions on the window kit box carefully. If you cut the plastic too short or not wide enough, you're in trouble. The hair dryer must be used to seal the plastic tightly against the window, just don't put the dryer too close to the plastic or it will put a hole in it. If there are wrinkles in the plastic, you need to apply more heat to the plastic. Caulking around the window on the outside will make a big difference also. If you have any rooms that are cold or drafty, don't forget to use the little outlet protectors that people use so their little ones can't stick something in the outlet & get zapped. You can buy a package of them cheaply at the dollar store. They keep the draft out.

Answer 5

I tried it one year and it did work. You get a kit that has heat-shrinkable plastic and some tape. You tape the plastic snugly on the inside window frame. Then you shrink it perfectly tight with heat from a hair dryer so it is as clear as a window. In the springtime you peel off the tape and throw it away.

The last few years I have been using seal-and-peel squirt caulking by DAP (can get it in Home Depot). You squirt it around the edges of the window and the storm window to stop the drafts. It goes on like rubber cement. In the springtime you grab an end of the rubbery caulk and peel it off. Since you have no extra plastic over the window it is perfectly clear. If you have no storm windows use the plastic sheet but otherwise this is easier and better looking.

Answer 6

Yes, it will help--particularly if the window is drafty.

The hair dryer helps to tighten up the plastic after you seal it around the window frame with the double-sided tape. That way it doesn't make noise when the wind blows or anything and it looks better when it is tight.

If your window leaks air badly, you will want to use the heaviest plastic you can find--doing some outside as well as inside if you can reach the window from outside. You may also want to get some insulated curtains to go over the window as well--I really dislike the look of the plastic.

Stay warm!

Answer 7

It's always helped with our windows and we have the thermo-pane windows and still use it. They have you use a hair dryer so it will shrink the plastic to make a nice tight fit. That way you aren't looking through wrinkles. However, I have never had to shrink mine since I pull it tight while I am installing it. We have cut out many, many drafts by using plastic on the windows.

Answer 8

Cover the "Outside" of your window with clear plastic and staple well........it acts like a cheap insulator trapping some air in between the plastic and window.........it will save heating costs

Answer 9

For the best answers, search on this site https://shorturl.im/avE1s

Make sure the windows are closed (sometimes they slip from the top - be sure to check that). Using solar film will help but it is rough to work with, replace the screens with solar screening as it is easier and does help quite a bit. Insulating the floor will do very little, extra insulation in the attic is the way to go. Be sure to replace the AC filter as that could be clogged with dust. On very sunny days close the blinds or shades to help prevent heat build-up.

Answer 10

It really doesn't help much. No air is coming in through the glass, it comes in around the window frame. Taping the joints around the window will do the same thing; the plastic just does it in one shot. It has no insulating properties, whatsoever. It only stops air infiltration, which is different from drafts.

If you made an air-tight box with one glass side, you'd still have drafts. Drafts are the result of warm air inside the building contacting a cold surface. When the air cools, it falls, displacing warmer air. It's the same principle that drives ocean currents, wind, and thunderstorms.

Double-pane windows keep the inner pane warm by using an inert gas between the panes, preventing the transfer of heat to the colder outer pane. With regular air between the window and the plastic, heat transfer will still occur.

The reason that you heat the plastic is to shrink it. You can't stretch it tight enough to get the wrinkles out, but heating it will shrink it in every direction at once, getting out the wrinkles.

Answer 11

Yes it will help alot. You heat it with a hair dryer so it expands and tightens up. Also buy a cheap caulking gun(a couple of dollars) and all purpose caulking and caulk all the way around the trim.