3 Causes Of Creepy Crawler Drafts

In ghost movies, there is often a "cold spot" or a draft that lets the hero know the invisible visitor is around. This also happens in many homes, and if it happens in yours, don't worry; it doesn't mean you have ghosts. Drafts come from areas that allow air to move from the outside to the inside of a building.

 

There are three major conditions that cause cold air in your home. 

 

1. Many older homes are heated by fireplaces that can produce sizeable drafts. Because most of the heat from a fire goes up the chimney, the suction this creates draws air back into a room.

 

2. The second cause of the movement of air that can produce a draft is your heating and air conditioning unit. During the heating cycle is when you feel the draft because air coming out of the registers is warm; it rises so cooler air circulates below.

 

3. The third reason for drafts has to do with the wind blowing outside. The pressure that is created pulls the inside air to the far side of your house. Only a perfectly sealed home, which exists in all probability in theory only, does not experience air movement when the cold winds blow.

 

 

The ways you address drafts are dependent upon the type of home you have and where the most penetration of air is coming from. Insulation in the attic may need replenishing, but it does not in itself stop drafts. If ductwork is in the attic, it needs to be completely insulated so air escaping doesn't add to the draft situation.

 

Re-caulking around windows and doors and, if applicable, at cracks in lap siding is a good place to start on eliminating drafts. After that, replacing worn weather-stripping around doors and checking windows for air infiltration covers the standard bases. Then you begin to fine tune other possible problem areas.

 

A couple of other places to seal leaks are around electrical boxes and baseboards. You can buy gaskets to place at light switches and receptacle boxes to control airflow. The best way to seal behind baseboards is to remove them and apply foam insulation; an alternative is to pull back carpeting and apply foam to fill the gap, or in hardwood flooring areas to caulk at the baseboard and shoe mold areas.

 

It may not be possible to stop all the drafts in your home, but the more effort you put toward doing so, the less temperature change you will have throughout the home, resulting in an improved comfort level and lower utility bills.