The prospect of below-freezing temperatures for the next two weeks across the Carolinas has homeowners rushing to hardware stores for quick and easy fixes to the leaky gaps in their doors and windows.
"My kitchen off the patio had air coming in around the doors, and it was very cold," said Susie Barnhardt, as she clutched her second roll of insulating tape and headed for the cash register at Blackhawk Hardware in Park Road Shopping Center.
She knew she had to do something about the leaks, or face some very cold mornings in her condo.
The roll of weather stripping seemed like just the thing.
“It’s very effective and very inexpensive, and something even I can do,” she said.
Pete McHale has been helping customers find just what they need all afternoon.
"A lot of people today have been coming in looking for weather stripping to put around doors and windows," said McHale. “A lot of people have been asking about faucet covers -- just sealing those drafts.”
The items are inexpensive and easy to install – most don’t require tools, and can make winters more comfortable in a drafty house. They can also save money – especially on repairs, like broken pipes.
"If you had a pipe freeze and break, that would be an expensive repair," said McHale. That’s why faucet covers are popular. They are nothing more than a Styrofoam-lined, plastic cup with a hook and tie, but they can prevent a lot of headaches.
"It will insulate this water opening to prevent water from freezing here and going back into your house," said McHale, as he demonstrated how to attach one to a faucet.
He also recommends shrink-wrapping windows and insulating pipes and water heaters.
“You’re sitting on the couch and you’ve got your back door there and you feel the breeze,” said McHale about the insulation, “You’re gonna be a lot more comfortable doing that.”
Then he added the part most customers appreciate: “It's not going to break the bank either.”
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