My son’s room has a problem. It gets cold in there. Very cold. As in “same temperature inside as outside” cold, despite the rest of the house being, oh, in the 50-60 degree F range.
As you can imagine, window insulation is at least a part of the problem. We rent, and it’s an old casement window, which means repair is up to the landlord, and I just don’t see that happening. Odd thing is that it’s one of two windows in the entire house that has clearly never been replaced. The other’s in a bathroom. Every other window is much newer.
We’ve taken the simplest solution for now. We got some of the large size bubble wrap, and cut and taped it to fit the window.
No, plastic bubble wrap isn’t all that green, but if you can get it used you aren’t doing half bad. I understand you can get it free from furniture stores that would otherwise throw it away. And of course at this time of year it’s not completely impossible you’ll get some in one of the packages you get for Christmas to protect a gift. Perfect for reuse if you get enough!
I have to admit, I’m impressed already. Just one layer of the large size bubble wrap, and his room is staying 5-10 degrees warmer overnight than it had been. That’s looking at the thermometer in his room first thing in the morning.
Still cold, but better.
I want to put up fabric insulation. My husband worries about it cutting the light that comes in, but realistically, it doesn’t get any direct sunlight, being on the wrong side of the house for that. The blinds are rarely opened, so I don’t think the difference would be significant in therms of lighting the room or natural heat.
It would last better, and I could make some choices as to what was used. Put a little batting between two layers with some light quilting, and I think it would do pretty well, maybe even in combination with the bubble wrap up already.
It’s just so nice to be able to keep my poor son from freezing at night. 3 year olds are so good at kicking off blankets, not so good at pulling them back on.
You can also buy (at about $3-$4 a can) spray foam insulation. It has a little straw that connects to the nozzle so you can direct the foam into nooks and crannies around the window on the outside. I don’t think landlord will mind you doing this, it’s actually an improvement to the property.
The insulated curtains will also help. You could have them open in the day to let the solar energy in, but they will be very useful at night.
The bubble wrap isn’t a bad idea either!
Duck products – same company that sells duct tape, has a clear plastic product that goes across window and then you make it stretch and seal with the heat of a hair dryer.
Target carries children’s fleece sleepers in many sizes also – even up to teenager sizes. They sell for about $10-$15 for the nice ones.
Thanks, Darla.
He does sleep in footie PJs, but when a room gets to be as cold as his, that’s often not enough. He’s the kind who gets cold easily. Had to break him of the 4 blanket habit during the summer. He thought it was cozy even though he was sweating.
The challenge with putting in insulation is that it’s a crank out window, and I don’t know if we could get it done neatly enough to not make things worse. It would probably have to come from the inside since the window cranks out. Not the best at DIY, although possibly better than some of the things our landlords have done (this place has some “interesting” DIY oopsies).