At Home with Lisa: Keep the heat out with a door sweep

It’s been a hot couple of weeks and keeping cool has been a priority in my house.

I spend a lot of time during the winter trying to keep in all the heat escaping from my 112-year-old house. Finding where the leaks are is key. But during the summer months, finding where the hot air comes in is just as important.

My old door isn’t very energy efficient. I can see daylight coming through the bottom seal. I mentioned this to a vendor at Avista’s energy fair a couple of years ago. They gave me a door sweep and I took it home.

I’m not very handy. When I first got this door sweep, I tried to line it up with the bottom of my door, but it was way too long. I put it aside for a long time until I saw this video on Avista’s website. Yeah. I just needed a hacksaw.

Once I measured the door sweep and cut it where I needed to, it was super easy to break out my hand-drill to screw in the screws. It makes a big difference—I no longer feel a breeze at my feet where the hot weather is trying to get into my house. And during these hot summer days, that makes my home more energy efficient.

You can find more do-it-yourself videos on Avista’s website. The page has lots of easy project ideas to make your home more energy efficient, even if you aren’t very handy, either.

Lisa, an Avista customer, bought her 1910 house because she loved the old-world character, some of which doesn’t make her house very energy efficient. Lisa is sharing her experience on taking some simple do-it-yourself improvements to inspire others to do the same. You’ll find her stories right here every Tuesday morning.