My mum tried an insulated door curtain to help stop draughts

When temperatures plummet, it can highlight areas of your home that need a helping hand when it comes to keeping warm air in and cold air out.

And if you want to save energy at home, lower your bills, and ensure a comfortable, warm environment all winter, it’s a good idea to resolve these issues as soon as you spot them.

Recently I was having dinner at my mum’s house, and while I was chatting to her in the kitchen, I noticed a really cold draught coming through the door that leads to the attached garage — and if you have a similar set up in your home, you may understand exactly what I’m talking about.

So we decided to try an insulated door curtain from Amazon (currently £20.23 in the Black Friday sale) to see if that would keep the cold draughts at bay.

Why use an insulated door curtain?

There are lots of methods you can try to insulate a draughty door, and the right one will depend on the specifics of your home and your budget. If you’re on a tight budget, these affordable draught proofing options are well worth considering.

In my mum’s case, the door from the kitchen to the garage is an old timber door, with a single glazed glass panel. There’s obviously no heating in the garage and so it feels like it leaks heat through every single particle of it’s construction, and so my mum was keen to try a curtain option that covers the whole door, rather that just draught excluder strips that would only resolve part of the problem.

As a longer term, more permanent solution, she has plans to replace the door entirely.

How easy was the insulated door curtain to install?

The door curtain was really easy to install. You simply lay the door curtain flat on the floor, attach the Velcro strips, peel off the backing and then stick it to your door.

If you are fitting it solo, you might find it easier to stick the Velcro to the clean door frame first, and then attach the curtain.

The door curtain was available in a couple of different widths and lengths, so make sure you measure your door carefully before you buy. If the dimensions don’t exactly match your door, opt for a curtain with the larger dimensions rather than smaller (the material is flexible so can be folded around corners if needed). My mum’s doorway was 87cm wide, so we opted for the 90cm width door curtain, which fits well.

Before you install it, it’s worth thinking about how you use the door, which way it opens and any door furniture that needs to be taken in to account.

The insulated curtain opens in the middle, and is held closed with magnets, so you don’t have to worry about your door being out of commission while the curtain is in place. Before committing to sticking the Velcro down, we determined that the door curtain wouldn’t practically work on the interior side of the door — the door opens inwards, and there are two bolts and a lock that need to be accessed if the door was to be used. Plus the insulating door curtain might be effective, but it doesn’t look pretty.

So we installed it on the garage side of the door.

Did it work?

Yes the door curtain definitely works. Before installing the insulating door curtain, you could stand by the door in my mum’s kitchen and feel it was colder than the rest of the room. When I’d run my fingers around the edge of the door, I could literally feel a cold draught coming through from the top, bottom and sides.

Now the curtain is in place, you cannot feel those draughts. And for around £20, that’s not bad going.

It feels securely attached with the Velcro, and it’s easy to move through the curtain, even if you are carrying things in your hands – the magnets simply pull apart when you move through and secure themselves again afterwards.

From an aesthetic point of view, it’s not the prettiest thing to look at, so I’d say it’s more of a temporary measure rather than a permanent one. Fortunately, installing it on the garage side of the door means it’s relatively invisible. This is also attached on a door that is only used occasionally rather than a front door that sees a lot more traffic. I think if you were looking to draught proof a front door, this insulating door curtain would feel in the way and cumbersome. But for a door leading to a garage, it’s very effective.

Whenever you don’t want it, you can simply peel the door curtain away from the Velcro. Whether you can remove the Velcro from the frame without causing damage or leaving any residue may depend on what your frame is made of. My mum has a painted timber door frame, and I do think some of the paint may come off, but fortunately that is a relatively easy fix.

If you are trying to save energy at home, blocking any draughty spots is a good place to start. But for the best results, this works best when combined with other upgrades to make your home warmer too.