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A simple trick from my block for stopping drafty windows
Last winter, everyone on my street was complaining about cold drafts. One neighbor bought basic weather stripping and foam tape from the store. It made a big difference in his heating costs. I gave it a shot and now my place stays warm without cranking the heat.
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olivia_mitchell454mo ago
My apartment in Chicago has original 1920s windows, and that foam tape actually made things worse last year. It trapped moisture against the wood (which is already pretty old) and I ended up with more condensation and some mold spots in the corners. For truly old drafty places, you really need a pro to look at the whole frame, not just a quick tape fix. Sometimes sealing it too much without proper airflow causes its own set of damp problems.
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jamessanchez4mo ago
@olivia_mitchell45's story is a classic case of quick fixes failing old systems.
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dixon.felix16d ago
That line about "trapping moisture" hit me hard because I had the exact same thing happen with my 1910s bungalow. I slapped some foam weatherstripping on the windows thinking I was being smart, but a few months later there was this musty smell and I found black spots in the corners of the sills. You really can't just seal up old wood frames without thinking about where the damp is supposed to go. It's frustrating because you want to fix the draft but you end up creating a whole new mold problem instead. Sorry you had to deal with that, it's a real pain to clean up and fix.
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