Winterizing a Mobile Home: Insulation, Window Sealing and More

Mobile homes are a terrific, affordable way to live. However, in cold climates they can be difficult to heat, which can lead to expensive heating bills if you are not careful. By taking some simple steps to get your mobile home ready for winter, you can help to keep the heat your home’s interior where it belongs and lower your winter heating bills. Here are some tips on way you can winterize your mobile home to make it more efficient this winter.

First, plug any holes, whether they are in your home or in the skirting underneath. Often time skirting around mobiles has access holes cut in it which can allow icy cold air to get in underneath your home during the winter. Head to your local home improvement store and pick up a can of spray foam insulator. Walk around the exterior of your home and fill in any holes that you see that you know you will not need to access during the winter. If you have a water valve on the outside of your home you may also need to spray foam around it since this is often another place where cold air seeps in during the winter.

Next, buy an insulating blanket for your water heater. Water heaters on mobile homes are usually accessed through a door on the outside of the mobile and are separate from your main living area. Because of this they are particular susceptible to winter cold and a lot of heat can be lost from them. By adding an insulating blanket you will help to keep the heat from transferring out of your water heater into the air which will help to lower your expenses related to heating water for your home.

One of the hardest parts of keeping a mobile home warm and efficient during the winter is dealing with the windows. This is especially true if you have an older mobile home since the windows on older mobiles were not necessarily designed with energy efficiency in mind. If you have storm windows for you windows you should put them up and take down your screens. If you do not have storm windows, consider buying some of the shrink wrap film designed for sealing windows during the winter. It looks similar to plastic wrap. You just put it up over your window and use a hair dryer to seal the edges. This will help tremendously to keep heat from escaping through your window and to keep cold breezes from coming in. You may also want to use a silicone window sealer on the outside of your windows to seal any cracks or seams to further help prevent air leaks.

Finally, schedule a time for the power company to come and look at your furnace to make sure that it is still in good working order. Most power companies provide this service free of charge and can help you with any problems you may be having with an old furnace.

While you may need to invest a small amount of money to get your mobile home in good shape for the winter it will easily pay for itself with the energy savings that it will provide.