My old way of sealing desert windows with duct tape vs. now using proper weatherstripping

After 3 scorching summers in Phoenix where my AC ran nonstop and my electric bill hit $320, I finally swapped out the duct tape for actual rubber weatherstripping from Home Depot last weekend and now my house stays cool without the unit fighting 110 degree heat - has anyone else dealt with that awful draft through single pane windows out here?

3 comments

3 Comments

daniel_cooper342d ago

Is it just me or does it feel like half of adult life is just slowly swapping out the quick fix for the right fix? That duct tape trick is such a classic first-year-in-the-desert move (I did the exact same thing with cardboard and packing tape on my laundry room window). It's funny how we all learn these little shortcuts until the pain of a $300 bill finally teaches us the proper way.

evan5432d ago

Yo, how many times do we gotta learn that lesson before it finally sticks? I swear I've been through this cycle like ten times myself. Every time I think "this cheap fix will hold for now," it just ends up costing me more down the road. It's almost comical how stubborn we can be about saving twenty bucks today only to pay a hundred later.

tessap732d ago

I moved out to Phoenix last year and my first month here my AC bill was $297 and I almost cried. I did the same thing with duct tape on my bedroom window for like four months before I finally got actual weatherstripping at Lowe's. The difference is crazy - my room went from feeling like a pizza oven to actually holding the cold air in. I used that foam tape with the sticky back and it cost me like $12 for a whole roll. Now I just need to do the rest of the windows in my place because that single pane glass is brutal out here.