What to Know About Drafts: Advice From the Pros

Air leakage and drafts occur when outside air enters your home through small gaps, crevices, and other openings, while conditioned air escapes. This makes for an uncomfortable living space and soaring energy bills. Here Renewal by Andersen® of Portland, the expert in Salem, Oregon, window replacement, discusses drafts and how to prevent them.

Problems Caused by Drafts

Drafts and air leakage can cause the following problems inside your home:

• Discomfort: When outdoor air enters through gaps in your windows, this puts extra strain on your HVAC system, driving up your energy costs. It also makes your living space uncomfortable.
• Poor Indoor Air Quality: If you live in an area with poor air quality, air leakage is particularly harmful. In addition to causing your HVAC system to work overtime and boosting your utility bills, this means the air you’re breathing inside your home is harmful to your health.
• Excess Moisture: Air leakage can lead to mold and mildew growth. These issues can endanger your health as well as your home’s durability.

Effective Tips for Dealing With Drafts

Minimizing air leakage is essential for achieving a comfortable, energy efficient home. If you feel drafts in your living space, we recommend you inspect both the inside and outside of your home. Conduct a visual inspection by checking all exterior corners and outdoor water faucets. You should also examine areas where your siding and chimneys meet and where the foundation and the bottom of exterior brick meet.

Check your home’s interior for signs of leaks. Examine your door and window frames, as well as your dryer vents, for gaps and cracks. Once you pinpoint where drafts are coming from, you should caulk and seal these areas.

Investing in window replacement in Salem, OR, is another great way to deal with air leaks. Our windows come with Fibrex® frame composite that offers superior insulation as well as quality seals and strips. Furthermore, we have High-Performance™ Low-E4® glass options that will reduce the amount of heat that enters and leaves your home. This will minimize the burden on your HVAC system. We have years of experience and training that will help us ensure your windows are airtight.

Count on Renewal by Andersen to provide you with Portland, OR, replacement windows that will serve as lasting solutions against drafts. Call us today at (503) 419-3960 for more information about our windows.