KEEPING THE ROOM WARMER:
Some things you can't change - Heat travels to the south, so northern rooms are usually colder than southern. Its also harder to get heat to those rooms from other areas. Keep the door open to gain heat from the other parts of the house.
If the room is next to a set of stairs - cold air will be coming DOWN those stairs and it will cool down that area
If you move bed (couch) off the exterior wall it helps
CHECK THE HEAT SOURCE:
do you need to clean the vent? move furniture? If you have baseboard heat you can vac the fins and it helps.
Up here in Maine (New England) the old old houses did not have heat upstairs at all. I put in floor register on the landing so the heat went upstairs faster. Other than having little toys coming down on heads its worked well for 30 years. If anyone needs to know how to put in floor register and the metal walls let me know.
WINDOWS:
#1 what shape are your windows? gaps mean lots of air infiltration. If old windows and the caulk is missing more wind. They make a reusable rope insulation (sorta like clay). If its really cold caulk may not stick to the cold glass. Stop as much wind as possible before putting up plastic.
#2 do you have storms? if not try putting plastic on the outside of house, and inside too (double is best). If you have littles or have kids with mental health issues that can't have plastic inside put it on the outside at minimum. Cats will wipe out the plastic in no time - renenforce with duct tape or packing tape
#3 Pull the mouldings around the window and check for insulation - many times it doesn't have any .. Buy the super skinny mini rolls of insulation for door frames use a spatula or paint scraper to stuff it in the gaps around the window
Then use a caulk gun and caulk on top of it .. (wet finger to smooth it) use exterior grade caulk.. let dry then put the trim back up
ELECTRIC OUTLET/SWITCH HEAT LOSS:
Pull any electric outlets or switch plate covers on exterior walls .. Buy the foam insulation for them -- if you can't find it you can:
MYO SWITCH & ELECTRIC OULET PLATE INSULATION
Using foam trays from the grocery store trace out the plate (mark where the screws go). You will need to cut them about 1/4 inch smaller all the way around. I use a razor cause its easier to cut the curve of the electric plug. If you loose your screws local hardware will have them
CURTAIN LINERS:
These can help a lot. Make sure your curtains go above the window and all the way to the side walls. If no heaters below you can go all the way to the floor with the curtains
Ria
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