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From adorable designs to super practical styles, we’ve found the perfect options for every home
With winter temperatures dropping and energy costs continuing to rise, finding effective ways to keep your house warm is essential, and one easy way to make spaces cosier is by using a draught excluder. They won’t warm up rooms like electric heaters, of course, but they will help keep chills at bay – they can be particularly effective in older, draughty properties.
The household heroes help reduce heat loss by sitting against the bottom of the door, preventing cold air from seeping in through the gap between the door and the floor, while also making it harder for warm air to escape. The best draught excluders will therefore help keep your living spaces warm, cozy and comfortable, and could potentially save you money on your heating bills.
According to the Energy Saving Trust draught-proofing your windows and doors could save you up to £40 a year. This is because homes that don’t have draughts are more comfortable at lower temperatures, so, you don’t need to crank up the thermostat. Plus, when you do have the heating on, that heat is more likely to stay contained in rooms, so you remain warm and cozy.
Whether you’re dealing with gaps under doors or a draughty chimney, we’ve rounded up some of the best draught excluders you can buy right now. From traditional fabric doorstop styles to innovative chimney plugs, whatever your taste or budget, there’s a perfect draught excluder for you.
We tested a variety of draught excluders in a Victorian terrace house that is extremely, well, draughty. We tried the draught excluders in a variety of rooms and tested how well they worked when the heating was on and when it was off. We looked at how durable and effective the draught excluders are and how easy they are to look after and maintain.
Rachael Penn is a freelance lifestyle journalist who began writing for IndyBest in 2021. She’s written reviews, buying guides and shopping features covering tech, kitchen gadgets, food, drink and household appliances. Her expertise has also earned her bylines in The Spectator,Real Homes, Gizmodo, The Evening Standard, Metro, TechRadar and CreativeBloq.
This adorable sausage dog design is functional as well as being super cute. The dachshund-shaped stopper sits neatly against doors, and, at 76cm, it’s a good length – it’ll cover the whole width of standard doors. Because it’s quite weighty, it won’t fall over if someone opens the door, either.
The Rex draught excluder did an amazing job at effectively blocking cold air from coming through the bottom of the door, meaning the room stayed warmer. The only real drawback is the pup’s jumper can collect dust, so it will need regular cleaning. Although you can’t bung this draught excluder in the washing machine, you can keep it clean by going over it with a damp cloth.
Although it’s a lightweight option, this sherpa design is still great at keeping draughts from entering a room. The material is super soft to the touch and it comes in two colourways: grey and light pink. During testing, we found this draught excluder to be super efficient, with its 90cm length perfect for any standard door size. It’s also more affordable than many other options, which is good news if you’re on a budget or want to buy multiple draught excluders for your home.
The downside is, because it’s so light, it doesn’t seem to hold its shape very well against the door, meaning you will need to readjust the draught excluder from time to time. The sherpa material is a bit of a dust magnet, too, and you can only clean it by giving it a wipe down with a damp cloth, so, do keep that in mind.
Cold air doesn’t just creep in under doors – chimneys should also be points of focus in the battle against draughts. Crafted from Herdwick wool, this chimney draught excluder is a brilliantly innovative product that fits inside your chimney to help avoid chills while maintaining the necessary ventilation.
This product comes in a range of sizes and shapes, so there is one for pretty much every chimney. There is a full measuring guide on the brand’s website – although, we did find the measuring process a little fiddly – and once our Chimney Sheep was in place it fitted perfectly.
We noticed a huge difference while testing this product, with our room feeling a lot warmer – it’s surprising just how much of a draught is created by an open chimney. The Chimney Sheep also has a handy label, to remind you its there, in case you want to light your fire. If that’s the case, you can just remove the draught excluder and replace it once the fire is extinguished.
It can even be machine washed on a cold wool cycle (but it can’t be tumble dried).
It’s almost a shame to place this draught excluder on the floor. Made from a super soft boucle fabric, it sits neatly against all standard door frames, to keep the cold air out. It comes with a zip fastening, so you can remove the cover and machine wash it, to keep it fresh and clean. It’s also got a reversible design with a knife-edge trim, so it looks great in all surroundings. It comes in a choice of colourways and is packed with thick stuffing, so it doesn’t bend or get misshapen over time. During testing, this draught excluder worked instantly, stopping icy blasts from creeping under the door.
Who wouldn’t want a fluffy Highland cow guarding their room against draughts? Although we loved the super-cute design of this draught excluder, we found the main body of it didn’t cover the full width of a standard door. During testing, this design did a good job of keeping the worst of draughts at bay but we did feel some airflow. If your house isn’t quite as draughty as ours, however, this one could still be a great, fun option.
This draught excluder is super effective at stopping cold air in its tracks. The foam design simply slides onto the bottom of your door and it’s easy to remove for cleaning, too – we found it attracts dust. It will fit a standard door and can be cut down to size with scissors, if needed. During testing, we found it did a superb job of stopping any draughts and, because it attaches to the door, we didn’t even notice it was there. The only downside is it can sometimes snag on carpet, when opening or closing the door.
Want a versatile design? This reversible draught excluder means you can choose between patterns just by flipping it over. It fits neatly at the bottom of doors and worked really well at keeping draughts at bay during testing. It’s weighty enough that it can even be used as a doorstop, while the removable cover enables you to pop it in the washing machine when needed, to keep it fresh and clean.
Our top pick is the sausage dog draught excluder from Rex London. It is such a cute design that will look good in any home. It’s also really weighty, so, it stays in place and can double up as a doorstop. However, if you’re looking to plug draughts coming down your chimney, the Chimney Sheep is one of the best products we’ve come across this year.
Meanwhile, if you’re on a budget or don’t want anything too obtrusive, the Diall grey foam draught excluder is another brilliant choice. This draught excluder simply slots onto the bottom of your door and stays secure even when you’re going in and out of the room.
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