Any ideas to insulate my mobile home? The floors and walls are cold and I am restricted on money.
By Lorraine from Bristol, CT
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Go to a thrift store or the attic of a friend or relative, or go to www.freecycle.com and get curtains or decorative sheets to put up on the wall. Line them with old blankets. You can hang them with push pins. While you're there, get loads of rugs to put on all of your floors, even on top of carpet as heat will be lost downward. While you're at it, cover the inside of your windows with plastic, you can buy inexpensive plastic storm windows at the Dollar Store, and make "draft-dodgers out of old fabric to put at the bottoms of ALL of your doors (interior as well as exterior).
Newspaper is a great insulator. Apply it to the walls like you were making a paper-mache pinata. After you have a thick layer built up, you can paint it or cover the whole thing with fabric - see the DIY tips on how to make fabric stick to walls. My neighbor was renting and wanted temporary wallpaper and used the fabric technique - it was amazing. So your place will be warm and fabulous. (But don't smoke inside).
Add newspaper? Mobile homes burn completely in about 18 minutes. I dont recommend adding fuel to a already dangerous deal.
Call your local Community Action Agency. Ask about their Weatherization Program. If you're income elegible, which it sounds like you are, they will inspect and insulate your home for free!
I also live in a badly insulated mobile home. It took me a long time, but I took one wall at a time, took down the entire wall, and replaced the insulation with better grade and more of it. Then I replaced the wall board (I forget what it's called). As each room got done, I repainted or wallpapered. Now my home is a lot better insulated and my electric bill has gone way down.
It sounds like a lot bigger job than it really is. I did all this by myself. But by breaking it down to one wall at a time, it made it a lot easier, plus the cost was a lot easier to bear too, because I didn't have to pay for it all at once, or put it on a charge card with exorbitant interest rates.
Go to the "community action agency" found in the county office of your area court house; they have helped my friend with her mobile home issues. Ask a clerk in the court house where these folks are and they can point you in the right direction. Good luck and keep us posted on what you do.
Dear Cumberland: Please don't advise paper in the walls. It gets wet and even if it doesn't, it is a horrible fire hazard.
Heat rises, so do go to the local community action agency and get an energy audit.
Thank you for your responses. I will call tomorrow to see if someone can help me.
I'll keep everyone posted as this goes.
Here's some tips that I've posted that may help you::
I hung new throw rugs on my walls (as tapestries) for insulation...
You can also buy those stick-up carpet tiles (or use double-backed carpet tape on the back of carpet samples then hang on the wall as "art")
Insulate windows with bubble wrap year round:
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In our area they have help for free winterizing:
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There's a powder you can add to paint that's supposed to help insulate
---> insulating additive for paints:
www.hytechceramics.com/
www.nansulate.com/
Since you live in a mobile home (like I do) I thought you might find this info valuable too:
Spray & forget siding, roof & deck cleaner:
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* Here's some great tips from other ThriftyFun readers:
Winterizing Your Steel Doors
www.thriftyfun.com/
Do It Yourself Weatherstripping
www.thriftyfun.com/
Insulating walls:
www.thriftyfun.com/
I called CL&P for help. It costs $75 dollars for them to come in to inspect. They do not install anything for insulation. I have to get a contractor to write out the price and they will rebate me about 8% of the cost.
If you have central heating, turn your heat up to about 72 degrees during the day. Your rooms may still feel cold. If so, get some space heaters for the rooms you spend the most time in such as your living room and your bedroom. You can get good space heaters at Fred Meyer for about $40 to $60 dollars. Get ones with a digital thermostat that will turn off and on automatically.
Run them only when your home. Insulating your home better is a long term goal you can work on as you get the money and have time. You can beef up the R-factor of your crawl space by adding some foam board insulation if you don't have a skirting with a high R-factor. Remember to cut vents in it if you do this. Good luck.
I also live in a mobile home. I have done a few things that I believe have helped with energy costs!! My home is not that old, so I have wonderful Lockheed windows, which help a LOT, but I also have a "chair railing" of paneling throughout, which adds a touch more help along the walls.
I make sure all blinds go down past the window sills in late afternoon, and they make really nice thermal curtains which will help as well. I put in a good quality carpeting in all rooms but the kitchen which help with the cold underneath the skirting. I also have heated pipes which (it may be my imagination) help too...lol.
I put something against all outer doors too. Was thinking of spray in insulation...but not sure of the cost. You may want to consider a kerosene space heater....not scary at all anymore, and a few dollars a day will keep the chill out. Hope you all have a warm and cozy winter!
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