# Putting plastic film over your windows for better insulation **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 25, 2014, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putting-plastic-film-over-your-windows-for-better-insulation/679711 "2014-01-25T23:08:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putting-plastic-film-over-your-windows-for-better-insulation/679711/41 "2014-01-30T04:56:28Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > The packs come with double stick tape. Unfortunately, damaging woodwork is a risk for this type of operation. You’re either going to use tape or staples, and either can be a problem. > > I don’t know if you can protect the wood with low tack masking tape, but even those can be a problem when you leave them up for a few months. You do have to be careful. We left the plastic on an upstairs window in an infrequently used room for three years, and I ended up having to sand the window frame to get the adhesive residue off after we replaced the window. > [@harmonicamoon](#): > > We cut 1 inch wide cardboard strips, and using a staple gun nailed the plastic to the wood frame windows. You could buy the plastic in 8 or 12 foot widths. My neighbors enclosed their south facing porch. You could go out on the porch in the middle of winter with just shorts and a tee shirt. This was our solution for a gigantic front window that was really difficult to apply tape and plastic to, and it worked really well. The only difficulty with this was finding a place to store it. > [@Enright3](#): > > If you want to see if it’s “worth the cost” you should look at as a comparison to what you’re trying to gain. For example, is it worth the cost when comparing it to replacing the windows, which may cost you several thousand dollars? Are you reasonable comfortable in your home now? Then you’re right, maybe it’s not worth it to you. After using the plastic on our windows for years, we finally decided to take the plunge and replace our many drafty windows with new double-pane models. Even though we didn’t buy the top-of-the-line windows, they cost an arm and a leg - we replaced seven windows, and the total came to almost $6,000. Our cost may be higher than most, because four windows were really large and one was an ancient model with a metal frame that had to be ripped out of the wall and reframed with wood. Although I’m very happy with the new windows, and they’re probably more energy-efficient than the plastic, that amount would have paid for decades worth of window kits and slightly higher energy costs if we were just considering the money. ---
**Author:** ![Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tastes_of_chocolate/32/3232_2.png) [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tastes_of_Chocolate)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putting-plastic-film-over-your-windows-for-better-insulation/679711/42 "2014-01-30T22:45:07Z")
My house is 45 years old with single pane glass, and we live in Minnesota, a cold climate. Because the previous owners did a crappy job of painting latex paint over smoothly varnished wood window trim, we have decided not to use the double sided sticky tape; it pulls off the paint. Instead, we have applied a plastic cover to the screen window inserts. It’s not perfect, the screen fittings aren’t air-tight, but it does create a still air pocket the glass and the screen. In our bedroom, where we keep the heating vents closed, applying plastic film to the windows keeps the bedroom maybe 5° warmer. If imperfectly sealed plastic film will do that, then yes, it’s well worth, dollar wise, what we pay on the film kits. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2014, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putting-plastic-film-over-your-windows-for-better-insulation/679711/43 "2014-01-31T01:26:00Z")
Another data point - we’re repainting the whole upstairs in our house, so I had to remove the film that I had left on a window for a couple of years now. The tape removal was actually surprisingly good - the tape came off very easily with no residue left behind on the paint. Only one small piece of paint was pulled off; another larger chunk was pulled off, but that was actually a good thing, because it exposed an area that hadn’t been fixed properly, so we ripped that whole corner out and are re-fixing it. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2014, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putting-plastic-film-over-your-windows-for-better-insulation/679711/44 "2014-01-31T03:24:55Z")
> [@usedtobe](#): > > If the windows are air-tight, it is a waste of time. Not necessarily. You can lose heat through the glass as well as through an open seam. The basic rule of thumb is to touch the glass from inside your house - if it feels cool then you’re losing heat through it. ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_York](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f6c823/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_York](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_York)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2014, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putting-plastic-film-over-your-windows-for-better-insulation/679711/45 "2014-02-02T01:35:49Z")
I notice not many people mention curtains. Although the lowest temperature I have to put up with is only about 10c, I have heavy curtains which stop cold entering the room via the windows and during the 42c days in summer they keep the heat away too. Is it because the really extreme cold still gets in past curtains? I notice in American movies they don’t have curtains on windows, enabling the local serial killer the opportunity to watch his victim from the street. This is information I have obtained from watching “Criminal minds” so may not be an accurate perception. So the question is, are curtains not enough protection from the extreme cold? ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2014, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putting-plastic-film-over-your-windows-for-better-insulation/679711/46 "2014-02-02T04:56:51Z")
Nope, they aren’t. A cold draft (which is what is stopped by the stretched plastic film) still gets in and makes a room cold. I guess they would help a bit - we don’t really have heavy drapes on any of our windows. It could be a chicken and egg kind of thing here - we have good insulation and good windows in houses, engineered for -40ºC temps, so we don’t need to put heavy drapes up. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2014, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putting-plastic-film-over-your-windows-for-better-insulation/679711/47 "2014-02-02T14:12:45Z")
I also do curtains. But heavy drapes are pretty expensive. The basement gets sheets of fleece tacked over its windows (its an unfinished basement). Most of my windows have blinds, which help too. But the nice thing about the plastic is that you get the light, the view, and the solar heat, but the insulating layer keeps the cold at bay. In Minnesota you don’t get much natural light in the winter - keeping the drapes closed can create suicidal tendencies. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2014, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putting-plastic-film-over-your-windows-for-better-insulation/679711/49 "2014-10-07T15:59:01Z")
I think I will have to do this over some windows pretty soon. I’ve watched a video or two of someone working with Frost King plastic, cutting a big sheet and sticking it on to the double sided tape. But I do have a question: When sealing with the hair dryer, do I aim it all around the frame? Do I also move the hair dryer across the window itself? Do the whole window or just a big ‘X’? It seems a little unclear. ---
**Author:** ![babygoat666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/2acd7d/32.png) [@babygoat666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/babygoat666)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2014, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putting-plastic-film-over-your-windows-for-better-insulation/679711/50 "2014-10-07T16:13:06Z")
Last year, my wife discovered that there is such a thing as [thermal curtains](http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=thermal%20curtains). They’re actually pretty effective, and a lot nicer to deal with and look at than the plastic. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2014, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putting-plastic-film-over-your-windows-for-better-insulation/679711/51 "2014-10-07T16:54:34Z")
> [@babygoat666](#): > > Last year, my wife discovered that there is such a thing as [thermal curtains](http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=thermal%20curtains). They’re actually pretty effective, and a lot nicer to deal with and look at than the plastic. I have those - they create those suicidal tendencies in Minnesota where you don’t get enough natural light in December and January to start with - closing drapes does NOT help with that mid-winter emotional blech. But they are great once the sun goes down to add another layer of insulation against 16 below. ---
**Author:** ![Anita\_Dayoff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Anita\_Dayoff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anita_Dayoff)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2014, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putting-plastic-film-over-your-windows-for-better-insulation/679711/52 "2014-10-07T17:59:35Z")
Seal n Peel is Daps tradename. Used plastic and Mortite in various houses and this stuff is much better for drafty windows. Stops all drafts, goes on easily and I’ve never seen it damage any surface. In the spring it pulls off as a water clear rubber band (kind of fun). It seals so well that you can hear an acoustic difference in the room. A little pricier than regular caulk but Well worth it. > **[DAP Seal 'N Peel Clear Polymer Door, Siding and Window Sealant 10.1 oz - Ace...](https://www.acehardware.com/departments/paint-and-supplies/caulk-and-sealants/caulk/1329770)** > > Unique, removable weatherstrip caulk to seal drafty windows and doors. Saves energy and reduces utility costs. Provides a temporary waterproof and weatherproof seal. Peels away easily when removal is desired. Won’t damage painted surfaces.... ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2014, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putting-plastic-film-over-your-windows-for-better-insulation/679711/53 "2014-10-07T18:31:52Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > I think I will have to do this over some windows pretty soon. I’ve watched a video or two of someone working with Frost King plastic, cutting a big sheet and sticking it on to the double sided tape. But I do have a question: When sealing with the hair dryer, do I aim it all around the frame? Do I also move the hair dryer across the window itself? Do the whole window or just a big ‘X’? It seems a little unclear. I start in a corner and work out. For the 3M product, you end up doing pretty much the whole window, and I sometimes end up playing “chase the crease”, as heat shrinking one area would cause a crease/wrinkle nearby. ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2014, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putting-plastic-film-over-your-windows-for-better-insulation/679711/54 "2014-10-07T21:40:09Z")
I live in N.Alberta and even though my house was built within the last ten years and has decent windows and double panes on the french doors out back I still use plastic on the windows and back door to the deck because it really works! For those of you with tape issues, try heating the tape gently with a heat gun/hair dryer before trying to pull it off. [Goo gone](http://googone.com/Home.aspx) works well but make sure it doesn’t pull your paint or finish as well. ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putting-plastic-film-over-your-windows-for-better-insulation/679711/55 "2014-10-08T07:02:16Z")
tl;dr A sheet of plastic over a single-paned window is NOT the same as a double-paned (at least a decent, modern one); a double-pane has a vacuum between the panes - a sheet of DIY plastic does not - as stated, it will block direct draft, but it is not the same R value of a double-paned. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putting-plastic-film-over-your-windows-for-better-insulation/679711/56 "2014-10-08T13:16:52Z")
The instructions say point the hair dryer at ‘the wrinkles’ - do I pass the hair dryer all around the edges where the film is on the tape? Do I pass the hair dryer on the film on the entire window so it’s clinging tight to the window, or just the wrinkles?Do I do it in a big ‘x’? (am I putting this the right way? basically, what is it you do with the hair dryer after you attach the film to the tape?) ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putting-plastic-film-over-your-windows-for-better-insulation/679711/57 "2014-10-08T13:35:57Z")
> [@usedtobe](#): > > tl;dr > A sheet of plastic over a single-paned window is NOT the same as a double-paned (at least a decent, modern one); a double-pane has a vacuum between the panes - a sheet of DIY plastic does not - as stated, it will block direct draft, but it is not the same R value of a double-paned. Obviously not. But any layer of insulation can be helpful even if it isn’t a vaccuum, even just an extra layer of air - and replacing old or drafty windows with can be expensive. With single pane windows, a layer of plastic AND thermal drapes - you might just manage to keep from spending a gazillion dollars heating your house - without spending a gazillion dollars on new windows. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putting-plastic-film-over-your-windows-for-better-insulation/679711/58 "2014-10-08T13:38:08Z")
It should not cling tight to the window. It should be attached to the window frame, giving you an inch or two space between the plastic sheet and the window itself. Apply the plastic to the tape, trying to keep it relatively tight as you stick it down. Once you have all the edges taped down and trimmed, use the hairdryer on all of the film. I generally start at the top and work my way down, if you kept it fairly tight to begin with, it should be almost entirely wrinkle free when you get to the bottom. If you see wrinkles, keep the hairdryer around that area a little longer, they will tighten up. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putting-plastic-film-over-your-windows-for-better-insulation/679711/59 "2014-10-08T13:42:29Z")
> [@Folacin](#): > > I start in a corner and work out. For the 3M product, you end up doing pretty much the whole window, and I sometimes end up playing “chase the crease”, as heat shrinking one area would cause a crease/wrinkle nearby. And, some products will shrink out wrinkles better than others - the 3M you can - with a little work - generally get wrinkle free (depending on how nice you taped) - but I used ACE’s much cheaper house brand last year and there was no way you were getting that stuff wrinkle free. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putting-plastic-film-over-your-windows-for-better-insulation/679711/60 "2014-10-08T15:01:30Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > I think I will have to do this over some windows pretty soon. I’ve watched a video or two of someone working with Frost King plastic, cutting a big sheet and sticking it on to the double sided tape. But I do have a question: When sealing with the hair dryer, do I aim it all around the frame? Do I also move the hair dryer across the window itself? Do the whole window or just a big ‘X’? It seems a little unclear. it contracts where it has been heated. if you saw wrinkles on a diagonal then heating to both sides at a right angle would tighten it. when you put that on the window on the tape hand tight then it is still loose enough to make noise flapping back and forth from air currents in the room. it will show visible wrinkles especially in good light. you should go over the whole thing in all directions. unless you do the whole thing you will cause tension ripples. when you do the whole thing it pulls uniformly tight and becomes invisible like window glass. use 3M quality stuff. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2014, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putting-plastic-film-over-your-windows-for-better-insulation/679711/61 "2014-10-08T15:53:17Z")
OK, I think I have it now. - Put the tape all around the window frame. - Attach a big square of film as best I can onto the tape so it sits there like another thin glass window (on top of the real glass). - Use the hair dryer going across the entire square of film, back and forth, from top to bottom (or side to side) - it will then tighten up like another thin glass window (but not touching the real glass underneath) Is that how it should go? I think so. Thanks for the answers. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/putting-plastic-film-over-your-windows-for-better-insulation/679711.md?page=2)