COLD WEATHER TROUBLES.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 145, 21 June 1934, Page 14

COLD WEATHER TROUBLES.

KEEPING OUT DRAUGHTS. A problem that many housewives have to contend with in the winter months is the exclusion of the draughts that whistle chilly under doors or window frames. Fresh air does nobody any harm, but draughts can be really dangerous, especially when they come sweeping into a cosily warm room.

Draughts in new houses, as well as old, are nearly always due to ill-fitting doors and windows and warped wood work, though faulty ventilation is also frequently to blame. For example, if you close the doors and all windows tightly in a room where a fire is burning, the heated air will ascend the chimney, and a strong, suction will be exerted upon any cracks or crevices, with the result that the cold air from outside will whistle through ill unpleasant draughts. The obvious remedy here is to provide adequate ventilation for the room by opening a window at the top. This will admit the air slowly; it is only when the air pours into the room at high speed through a small aperture that you are likely to have trouble with draughts.

So much for draughts caused by faulty ventilation. Rather more difficult to cope with are those due to ill-fitting or warped wood work. Often the space between the door and the floor make's for trouble. Several patent draught excluders for doors can be had quite cheaply now, one of the commonest types being the cloth or felt-covered roller, mounted on brackets screwed on to the door. But a similar device can be made at homo quite simply by seaming up a long narrow strip of felt and packing it tightly with wood-wool or sawdust. This can be attached to the door with tacks, or simply pushed into place when the door is closed. The disadvantage here, of course, is that, unlike the patent roller attachment, this will not run smoothly over a carpet. 111-fitting windows arc another cause of draughts. For these the remedy is quite simple. Felt or cloth strips can be glued or nailed around the window frames, so that the joints are sealed or the cracks completely covered. An indiarubber tube with a canvas flangd can also be used instead, but the felt is a rather more economical proposition, for the rubber is inclined to dry and split in the hot weather. An effective way of excluding the draught that sometimes comes up between the lower edge of one ■window frame and the top of the other is to insert a brass thumbscrew in place. This will hold the frames so closely together that there should be no space for the draught to penetrate. If there is a draught in a room which cannot be traced either to the window or door, it will very likely be found to come from a tiny aperture between the floor and the edge of the skirting board. The best way of dealing with a draught of this kind is to purchase a length of the special wood moulding made for the purpose. To nail this in place is a very simple matter, and afterwards it Can be painted or stained to match the flooring. Rubber moulding can also be had for! this purpose, but it is no so easy to keep j in place as the wood, and consequently! is not quite such a satisfactory remedy. This rubber moulding, however, is excellent for excluding the draught that comes through the sides of a door; fix it in! place with a few tacks. I One final hint. Remember always to' trace a draught to its source before i seeking a remedy; otherwise you may j go to all the trouble of fitting some kind i of draught excluder, say, to the sitting door, while the draught still I remains in the passages and hall out- j "side, and you find it impossible to get i the house warm and cosy. But attach the draught excluder to the front or backdoor, or wherever it- is the draught has its origin; and your house will be a very much more comfortable place. [