AS HEATING bills skyrocket, we've started looking for simple, affordable and effective alternatives to protect our homes against the cold, like draught excluders.
We've picked some of the best draught excluders around to help keep your home warm without the extra-pricey heating bills. They can seal off your front door, internal door, garage door and windows, and even bring a little bit of joy inside your home.
Whether you're looking for practical air-sealing solutions to blend in seamlessly with your decor, or you're after something that's more of a fun focal point, we've got your needs covered.
Check out our roundup of the best draught excluders below.
Stormguard Door Brush Strip Draught Excluder
- Stormguard Bottom of The Door Brush Strip Draught Excluder, £9.29 from Amazon – buy here
Stormguard's metal door brush draught excluder seals gaps of up to 25mm, can be cut to size and comes complete with fixings and pre-drilled holes.
At under £10, it's a super cheap and effective way to deal with draughts, and has been praised by reviewers for being 'easy to fit' and making 'a huge difference' to inefficient doors.
It comes in a gold or aluminium finish, and there's also a smaller version for gaps of up to 15mm. Just measure the space under your door and you're good to go!
Key specs – material: aluminium dimensions: 37.2 x 1.97 x 0.31 cm machine washable: no
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Izabela Peters Luxurious Draught Excluder
- Izabela Peters Luxurious Draught Excluder, £28.99 from Amazon – buy here
If you're looking for a movable internal door draught excluder to enhance and match your home décor, Izabela Peters has a beautiful range of door draught excluder designs.
We've picked out this chic grey 'home' slogan style but there are also plenty of patterns to choose from to stop the cold air in style, including tartan, florals and stripes.
Made from a heavyweight polyester wool fabric, this luxurious door draught excluder is machine washable and also has a loop on the top which allows it to be hung up in a cupboard when not in use.
It's got plenty of five-star reviews too, with one buyer saying it made 'a huge improvement' to stopping the draught coming in.
Key specs – material: fabric dimensions: 80 x 20 cm machine washable: yes
Garden Trading Braemar Draught Excluder
- Braemar Draught Excluder, £30 from Garden Trading – buy here
If you don't want to make a statement with your draught excluder, but would prefer something that will blend in seamlessly with your décor, this simple knitted style by Garden Trading is the one.
Made from 100% cotton, this grey knitted garden door draught excluder is perfect for both light and dark interiors and is filled with polyester and stone chips that hold it firmly in place.
Place it by the front door, garden door, or windows for a subtle and chic way to seal draughts.
Key specs – material: knitted cotton dimensions: H10 x W90 x D10cm machine washable: no
Diall White Self-adhesive Draught seal
- 6m White P Profile Draught Seal, £4.79 from B&Q – buy here
Old windows or poorly installed frames can cost a fortune to replace, but all is not lost, as using window draught seals is an easy and affordable way to stop the cold winter air from coming in.
B&Qs rubber window seal fills gaps from 3mm up to 5mm, helping to reduce heat loss. It's self-adhesive and can also be used on doors to stop hot air from disappearing, even when the door is shut.
Key specs – material: Ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) rubber dimensions: (L)6m (W)9mm (T)5.5mm
Country Club Dachshund Draft Excluder
- Country Club Dachshund Draft Excluder, £12.95 from Amazon – buy here
Okay, find us someone who doesn't love Dachshunds — we'll wait.
This super cute sausage dog draught excluder is available on Amazon, and at just under £13, it's something of a bargain, too.
Constructed using a dashing brown herringbone, this draught excluder might be cute, but it also does a mighty job of keeping out those nasty draughts with its polyester filling. Perfect for adults and kids alike.
Key specs – material: polyester dimensions: 90cm x 13cm machine washable: no
Amazon Nicola Spring Door Draught Excluder
- Nicola Spring Door Draught Excluder, £19.99 from Amazon – buy here
These weighted fabric draught excluders from Amazon are high quality and super affordable, coming as a pack of two for only £19.99.
The textured herringbone stitching pattern adds a traditional, cosy cottage feel to any room.
Each draught excluder is over 78cm in length, and we love that it comes with two hooks stitched to them, making them ideal for hooking onto the screws on the base of your door.
Plus, it comes with a two-year warranty for ultimate peace of mind.
Key specs – material: cotton/polyester dimensions: 78.5cm Depth: 7cm Height: 12cm
Best for on a budget: Dunelm Teddy Bear Draught Excluder
- Teddy Bear Draught Excluder, £12 from Dunelm – buy here
You'd be forgiven for wanting to use this super soft teddy bear draught excluder as a pillow, instead of popping it next to your door. Arguably, both ways will help you stay warmer during the winter months, but the latter will work much better.
This budget-friendly draught excluder option from Dunelm is only £12, but absolutely does not compromise on style or quality.
The textured fabric will create a homely feel in your lounge or bedroom while eliminating any cold air – it comes in taupe, or charcoal to match any décor or taste.
Key specs – material: polyester dimensions: 22cm x 90cm
Dora Designs Bertie Bristle's Family Draught Excluder
- Dora Designs Bertie Bristle's Family Draught Excluder, £72 from Hayes Garden World – buy here
This hedgehog family draught excluder, made out of faux fur and brocade, will be a fun, extra special addition to the household.
It's 84cm long, so perfect for windowsill draughts or any draughty door in the home, and filled with sand to give it a sturdy weight.
It's a little pricey, at £72, but so unique and cute. Plus, if hedgehogs aren't your thing, then Hayes offers a sheep design for your next draught excluder, too.
Key specs – material: faux fur dimensions: 84cm machine washable: no
Best for Christmas: Novelty Reindeer Draught Excluder
- Novelty Reindeer Draught Excluder Christmas Home Accessory Decoration Festive, £16.99 from Amazon – buy here
This adorable and clever Christmas-themed design is a draught excluder you'll be eager to get out each winter and the kids are sure to love it.
This 84cm-long reindeer draught excluder, with its legs a-splay, would look fantastic at the bottom of your front or internal door, as it keeps in the warm Christmas cheer.
It's pretty weighty, so it's stable enough to keep upright and working perfectly for one Christmas after another. And if you love this, there's a snowman version too!
Key specs – material: polyester dimensions: 84 x 43 x 25cm
What is the best draught excluder?
When you've got small gaps in doorways and window frames, it's easy for cold air to make its way around and create pesky draughts in your home — and no amount of cranking the heating up seems to help. After all, you want to reduce – not increase – your energy bills.
Luckily, the best draught excluders are a cost-effective way of sealing off your rooms and stopping the cold air from travelling. Saving warm air inside means you'll need to use less heating and save money on energy bills.
So how does it work? Using draught excluders on doors and windows helps you trap warm air from escaping and prevents cold air from coming in, whether it's the outside or any rooms that you don't usually heat up.
An additional benefit of using tight draught excluders is that they can keep out mice and insects. Your home will be protected from any little things that can fly inside with the blowing wind.
For front doors and garage doors, fixed draught excluders with brushes are the most durable choice, while for living spaces and bedrooms, movable door draught excluders are perfect and can look really stylish, too.
Meanwhile, for windows, self-adhesive draught excluders can be a good solution: these stick to the inside of your frame and come in a range of lengths, thicknesses and colours to suit your requirements. Some popular colour choices are black, white, brown and grey.
For internal doors, you can even have the options of velvet-felt and animal-shaped door draught excluders.
How much are draught excluders?
Draught excluders come in a variety of prices, but tend to be quite affordable — especially if you shop around.
We found that fabric or patterned draught excluders often start from around a tenner, and usually go up to around £30 – with exceptions for seasonal designs, or one-of-a-kind handmade, unique purchases.
If you're looking for the more utilitarian kind (for example, metal, rubber or brush draught excluders for your doors and windows), then these are usually around a fiver.
Where to buy a draught excluder
For the most affordable range of draught excluders — including fabric, and the more technical — as well as multi-packs in all shapes and sizes, we recommend first trying Amazon. Search for what you want and you can sort the results by customer review or price – there will be a draught excluder that nails down your needs.
If you're looking for something that will help give your home a stylish, cottage feel while fitting in with your existing furniture, then we recommend Wayfair. They have festive options, too.
For a more unique and one-of-a-kind, handmade affair, check out Etsy or Not on the High Street and support independent draught excluder sellers. They tend to come with a price tag, though.
How to fit a draught excluder around a door
What items you need will depend on the type of draught excluder you use. Some common tools to fit a draught excluder are screws, screwdrivers, drills, pliers, hacksaw, pencil, and bradawl.
For example, to fit a draught excluder with a rubber strip, first, measure the door. Then cut the rubber strip and the carrier to size.
Place the draught excluder against the door so that the rubber strip blocks the draught gap. Mark the positions where to fit the screws, drill the holes and fix the draught excluder to the door with the screws.
To fit a draught excluder with a brush strip, you need to make sure the bristles firmly stroke the floor, which is the key to blocking the draughts.
Meanwhile, for fabric draught excluders, you can use adhesive strips to stick them to the doors.
Can you paint over the draught excluder to match it with your door and home?
It depends on the material. You can't paint over the fabric ones for obvious reasons. For rubber draught seals, you might be able to paint them with pigment, but it's best to check the product carefully.
An easier way is to choose the draught excluders made in the colour that matches your door and home as closely as possible. You can always DIY it if you have time and feel creative.
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