With rising energy costs, it can be very difficult to keep your home warm on a budget, and those without double-glazed windows face additional struggles. According to window and door installation company Safestyle, approximately 18% of the total heat inside a home is lost via the windows, and so making sure to address this area can make a significant difference.
With this in mind, a savvy ex-builder has shared his tip for making a bargain version of double glazing, using a deceptively simple £3 plastic sheet. Placing this nifty film against your windows can apparently help to cut your wintertime energy bills, block chilly drafts, and keep any nasty mould at bay.
In an interview with The Sun, former builder, Clive Holland, now a broadcaster for tradesperson station Fix Radio, explained that you can buy specific cling-film packs for windows of various sizes to use as secondary glazing. Care should be taken when applying it, however.
Outlining the steps required, Clive told the publication: "Begin by cleaning the surface, so you have no mould. Then cut the plastic sheet to the right size and smooth it along the frame.
“At first, it will look saggy and horrible. But don’t worry about this, just make sure you have a really good seal. Once you take the hairdryer to it, it will shrink back into position.
"It’s such a simple technique, but it’s really effective. It will wrap the window so tightly, it will prevent any warmth from leaving through cracks. It will also stop any moisture from building up.”
The sheet may well end up wrinkling up a bit after a few weeks, so Clive recommends just giving it another blast of the hairdryer to get everything back into position once more.
Although any material can be used for the second layer of glazing, as long as it's transparent and airtight, Clive warns against using regular cling film, which he says is too thin and won't hold out when blasted with a hairdryer.
You can pick up home window insulation kits on Amazon, with some kits priced as low as just £3.
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