Fed up with a cold home? Here’s how I used the ‘towel trick’ to keep in the heat

News
By last updated

Beat door drafts with this quick fix

Living room with door open
(Image credit: Future/Camilla Sharman)

With an exceptionally cold blast of winter weather across the U.S. right now, homeowners are struggling to keep the heat in and their homes snug. It seems like a constant battle to help your home stay warm while conserving energy without the threat of high utility bills.

Knowing how to winterize your home can help you beat the cold and save you money. Now that sounds like something we should all be doing. And there’s a clever hack that will beat annoying under-door drafts, which can be a major cause of heat loss in our homes.

I live in an old house and am constantly fighting the battle against winter drafts. One of the biggest culprits, apart from drafty windows is how heat escapes under my doors. Whether it’s my front door or internal doorways, if there’s a gap, cold air will enter or warm air will escape.

Unless your home is full of fire doors, which are super-sealed, it’s very likely you’ll have a problem with heat escaping under your doorways, too. Luckily, there’s a cheap hack that you can follow to prevent those drafts from wasting energy and causing a chill.

In fact, this draft-proofing hack isn’t just cheap; it won’t cost you a dime, as you’ll have all that you need in your laundry closet.

How to draft proof your doorways

Towels organized on shelving

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

The towel trick involves rolling up a towel and placing it at the bottom of a door to stop drafts from entering or heat from escaping a room. What’s more, you don’t need to use a new towel; you can use whatever you have to hand, and it’s a good reason not to discard your old towels. And the best bit is that this draft-proofing hack won’t damage your towel — you can pop it in the wash and use it again.

Here’s what to do

1. Take a clean towel.

2. Lay out your towel on a flat surface, the floor is fine.

3. Start to roll the towel up from one end into a tube. Depending on the size of your towel, this will either be the short or long end.

4. Secure each end of the towel with a tie. A rubber band will do, but I grab a couple of hair ties.

5. Place the rolled towel in front of your doorway, just as you would a draft stopper.

Image 1 of 4
How to make a draft excluder using a towel
(Image credit: Future)

Why I’ll be using the ‘towel trick’

What I love about this draft-proofing hack is that it doesn’t add another element of clutter to your home. Once the weather turns fine, you can simply remove the towel, wash it, and return it to your laundry closet. You can also use the same hack to prevent window drafts.

However, if you buy a draft excluder, such as this Gorilla Grip Door Draft Stopper, $26 at Amazon, you’ll have to find somewhere to store it once the weather warms up, although it is a good alternative if you don't have any spare towels.

Vellure Door Draft Stopper
Vellure Door Draft Stopper: was $12 now $8 at Amazon

This silicon door draft stopper attaches to the bottom of doors to prevent drafts, with an adhesive seal. Plus, it can be removed esaily without causing damage. It's suitable for internal and exterior doors and can fill gaps up to 1.5 inches wide. The door draft excluder is available in white or brown, to blend into your interior

View Deal

Another alternative is to attach a draft excluder to the bottom of any problem doors. This ensures there’s no issue when opening and closing the door, so you won’t have to remove the towel and then reposition it.

Whichever method you choose, you’ll be guaranteed a warmer, cozier home, during the cold blast.

Google News

Follow Tom's Guide on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds.

More from Tom's Guide

Camilla Sharman
Camilla Sharman
Staff Writer, Homes

Camilla is the Homes Staff Writer and covers everything to do with homes and gardens. She has a wealth of editorial experience, mounting over 30 years, and covers news and features, tests products for reviews and compiles buying guides. 


Her work has appeared in business and consumer titles, including Ideal Home, Real Homes, House Beautiful, Homebuilding & Renovation, and Kitchen & Bathroom Business. She’s even appeared on the cover of Your Home, writing about her own house renovation.


Although she’s obsessed with decorating her home, she also enjoys baking and trying out the latest kitchen appliances. But when she’s not inside, you’ll find her pottering about in her yard, tending to her vegetable patch or taking in her prized hydrangeas.

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.