In the colder months, keeping your home warm can be challenging, especially when cold draughts are coming in through your windows and doors.
Aside from making your home feel uncomfortably cold, draughty windows can lead to higher energy bills as you may need to use your central heating more frequently. Experts suggest that draughts in your home could add around £40 to your annual energy costs. Fortunately, fixing this issue might be easier than you think.
Which? experts have shared a simple method to stop chilly draughts from entering through your windows and doors.
The best part is that you only need one common tool that most households already have.
In a TikTok video, a Which? representative demonstrated how draughty it can get around a glass door by using a candle as an indicator.
He then showed an Allen key and mentioned, “Draughty windows and doors? You only need one of these to fix it.”
He explained that many uPVC window frames and doors have simple adjustment mechanisms that can help eliminate draughts during the colder months.
By inspecting the frames, you can often fix the cold gaps and draughts that might be present.
He further explained, “Slightly turning this cam here pulls the strike plate in, which means the closed window will be pulled tighter.”
However, he advised, “If it needs too much force to close, simply turn the cam a little the other way to give it more room.”
The expert then demonstrated the effectiveness of the method by showing how the draught disappeared after making the adjustments.
If your window doesn’t have an Allen key cam, it may require more intricate adjustments to the hinges. In such cases, he demonstrated how to use a screwdriver to adjust the cams inside the window hinge.
He recommended viewers to check their manufacturer’s instructions before making any adjustments, even though it is still worth trying.