One of the most annoying problems a home owner or renter may face is dealing with drafts. They are nowhere near as serious as plumbing problems or structural issues, but a drafty building is uncomfortable and inefficient; two things no home or place of business should be. Sometimes, the source of the draft isn’t even in the room where you feel it, but whips through the room from one point to another. When the problem is identified as coming from doors, an easy solution is a draft blocker; a simple tube or slide-on system that stops the movement of air, providing passive, quiet insulation.
There are two basic styles of draft stoppers. One involves two cylinders filled with various stuffing materials like polyester, cotton, or foam, attached by a span of material barely wider than the door’s thickness. These are placed under the bottom of the door, so there is a draft guard cylinder on both sides. The cylinders help the stopper stay in place, and ensure quiet door movement as it glides across the floor. This works well for interior doors that lack thresholds, but exterior doors often require more substantial construction, framing, and thresholds that prevent this style of draft stopper from being implemented.
The simpler style is a one-sided draft stopper that rests against the base of the door. Made of dense materials like expanded polystyrene foam beads, these cylinder stoppers can block air from getting through by forming around the gaps present in the door frame. Eliminating the draft in a room not only makes for better comfort, the building’s heating and cooling system doesn’t have to work as hard to keep temperatures steady. In short, stopping drafts saves money, so the next time you feel a gust in your den or bedroom, don’t get another sweater, get a draft blocker.