Frost, Frost, Go Away!

The past few weeks have brought us exceptionally cold weather. Don't you feel cold just looking at my big blue words? Fortunately, my boys worked hard over the summer to build up our supply of wood, and our wood stove does a wonderful job of keeping most of the house warm.

But our Pella casement windows do their evil best to let in the winter. I think the color red is needed here to emphasize that the windows are from hell. I thought Pella windows were supposed to be good. The ones in this house have serious issues.

It's not just one or two windows. It's all of them. They all open just fine. But few of them close without someone going outside and pushing on the window. Then, even with the extra help, (and noteworthy cooperation of my boys) few of the windows close tightly.

The large sun room on the back of our house is the worst. We use it as the playroom for the boys, but keep the door to the room closed. Otherwise, our wood stove can't keep up with the cold air flow.

I've been reluctant to caulk the windows shut, like my husband would like to do, because caulking them seems so permanent. After all, there is a day (or two) between the hot summer and frigid winter where it is actually nice to open the windows. It has nothing to do (of course) with my frequent need to air out smoke while I'm cooking.

But, anyway. . . one morning, when I went into the sun room to put something away, I saw that almost every window was frosted completely over --so you couldn't even see out! I took a picture of this one because you could at least see through a little and tell it was a window I was photographing.

I guess with the last few weeks giving us the coldest spell I've ever felt, it was to be expected. But it pushed me into action.

I gathered my tape and scissors and went to work. I taped both the inside, and the outside, of each window, determined to stop the gush of air. I know packaging tape isn't meant for such extremes, but I was a mom on a mission.

I will tell you, though, that I used Frost King tape last year and it didn't last. It cracked and flaked, and what remained glued to the frame was a sticky nightmare to remove. A NIGHTMARE, I tell you!!!

If anyone out there knows of a better way to deal with our huge windows from hell until we can afford to replace them, (there are SIX 4'x5' windows) I'd appreciate your suggestions!

Anyway, the result?

For now, we have been able to leave the sun room door (to the rest of the house) open during the daytime without freezing our batooshes off. That's a good thing for two reasons.

First, my boys can now keep their toys in the play room AND play indoors without donning their snow pants.

And second, I can now sit at my computer next to the sun room without my teeth chattering and my hands glued to a cup of coffee.

Happy sigh.