Winterizing Your Apartment

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post written by Gary Foreman, for www.stretcher.com

It’s a challenge for renters. How can you keep your apartment warm in winter without running up the heating bill? Unlike a homeowner, you don’t want to invest in expensive home upgrades, but finding low cost ways to winterize your apartment are possible. Let’s explore some of them.

Easy Changes That Don’t Require Landlord Approval

Many small changes do not require your landlord to approve them. Some are low cost. Others include equipment that you can take with you when you move. All of them will make your home warmer in winter without turning up the thermostat.

The simplest (and cheapest) ones work to keep the cold air outside.

Begin with your windows. Older windows provide little or no insulation. If you touch the inside you can feel the cold air right through the glass.

One way to combat that is to create air pockets for your windows. A second barrier is set up inside the window with an inch or more space between the two. There are a number of ways to do that. Some are prettier than others.

The simplest is to use painter’s tape to tape clear plastic over your windows. It’s cheap and efficient and lets in some natural light, but it is obvious to anyone visiting.

A more elegant way would be to use a tension curtain rod to hang plastic or a thermal blanket inside windows. Or you could make a frame that fits just inside your window of wood or coat hangers. Stretch plastic or a thermal blanket over the frame.

A more elegant, but more expensive, option would be to buy heavy drapes to hang over your windows.

One way to provide maximum insulation that can be removed quickly is to cut white insulating foam board the size of your windows and place just inside the window. It only takes a minute to remove when you’re expecting visitors.

Make good use of the heat that you have. If you have a real radiator place a thermal blanket behind it to reflect the heat back into the room. Use the air vents to direct warm air to where people sit in the room.

Reverse the direction of your ceiling fan. Most have a switch for this. Hot air rises, but you don’t live on your ceiling! By pushing air up the fan will cause the hot air to be forced down where you do live.

For less than $50 you can add a portable humidifier to your apartment. Moist air holds heat better than dry air and also helps to eliminate dry winter skin and static electric shocks!

Finally consider getting a space heater that you can move from room to room with you. It’s generally cheaper to heat one room than a whole apartment.

Cost Efficient Apartment Upgrades

While you don’t want to spend big bucks upgrading your apartment, there are some smaller changes that are inexpensive. Or that you can remove and take with you when you move.

Electric outlets on exterior walls allow cold air to enter your apartment. The fix is easy and cheap. Visit your local home center and buy a can of expandable foam insulation and fill in the space around the outlet. Spray foam costs about $8. They also carry precut foam pieces that can be placed behind your switch and outlet covers.

Look for air leaks around windows. It should be up to the landlord to caulk around windows, but if they won’t, you should. It’s a DIY job and you can buy a tube of caulk for as little as $3.

If you have window unit air conditioners that stay up all year, turn the setting so the vent is off and cover it with a towel or mattress pad that’s been cut down to size.

Cold air can enter your apartment under outside doors. Add a door sweep (less than $10) or a homemade draft dodger.

Finally, if you work during the day, consider installing a programmable thermostat. They can automatically lower the thermostat when you’re asleep under that comforter or away at work. Many can be easily installed and removed later.

Simple Lifestyle Changes

Most people enjoy the change of seasons. A time for different foods and activities. How you adapt to winter can make a difference in your heating bills no matter where you live.

Some changes are obvious. Adding flannel sheets and a comforter to your bed. Wearing more clothes inside can allow you to drop the thermostat by 5 or more degrees. Enjoying a warm drink.

But other changes require a change in habits. Spending more family time in the kitchen where the stove and oven create heat makes sense. And winter is a great time to snuggle with that special someone!

Consider changing your surroundings too. Tile and laminates are popular flooring options. But they can be cold. A throw rug can add a layer of insulation to a cold floor.

Psychology counts, too. Reds and yellows are warm colors. Consider adding some throw pillows or lap blankets in those warm colors.

Just because you rent doesn’t mean that you’re stuck with high heating bills in the winter. A few simple steps can keep you snuggly warm without setting your budget on fire.