Draught Excluders

PolkaDotsAndLace

I had a few old (fairly thin) duvets and pillows kicking around when I made mine, i just cut them up smaller and stuffed them in!

jackyann

traditionally, old stockings / tights were the best. I have used all the things mentioned (except rice, and I'd be wary if there is any damp or likelihood of spilt liquid). Tearing up old fabric is very thrifty, but beware of lumps!
Our market has a foam stall that stocks loads of cheap foam chips, polystyrene beads etc.
One advantage of wadding is that you can wash it. This is quite a cheap site: http://www.fabricuk.com

beadgirl87

I was thinking of making one of these the other day as I have some old cord fabric which I thought would be nice and durable.
Could you stuff it with bubble wrap or old papers or is something textile the best route to go down?

tori.k

Inside of mine is a couple of 2lt coke bottles filled with sand from my nephews sand pit, used the wadding from an old single duvet

jackyann

beadgirl87 wrote: »

I was thinking of making one of these the other day as I have some old cord fabric which I thought would be nice and durable.
Could you stuff it with bubble wrap or old papers or is something textile the best route to go down?

Depends whether it needs to be movable - against a door, something relatively light, against a wall, heavier. Also, how dirty is it likely to get? On a tiled or wooden floor, against an outside door regularly used, you're going to want to wash it.
Old papers - I'd worry about mould, never tried those.

squeaky

Hiya

Lots of help and advice here:- Draught Excluders

I'll add your query to it shortly.

hermum

I going to use sand in mine as someone else said in washed out plastic bottles.
It may be worth asking in your local charity shops if they have some rags that you can have for a donation to stuff your sausage with.
I'm going to try sewing rings on mine & putting hooks on the door so that it will hopefully move with the door.
I wouldn't use anything that mice would like, I get enough of them in the house without tempting them. I'm going to put peppermint oil on mine as mice apparently don't like it.

iamthrifty,you_are_mean

thriftlady wrote: »

My mum used to make them from a length of 2 by 4 which she padded with old blankets. She then covered it in fabric (red for some reason). The result was a sausage about 4-5 inches in diameter. They were very effective.

I wouldn't have them in my home though as my sons would use them as weapons.. bless.

the cardboard tube from the middle of a fabric bolt makes an excellent rigid lightweight core for anything you want to be stiff enought to hit your brother with but not hard enough to hurt him...

katie_lou2017

i used tartan material from a fabric shop, cost me less than £2 per meter and i could probably make 2 excluders at least from a meter square of fabric.
to weigh the excluder down, i used some dried rice contained within the leg of an old pair of tights (to make a sausage within a sausage if that makes sense?!) For filling/padding i took the middle out of an old lumpy pillow that was about to be chucked.

taj

I just use a rolled up towel which is heavier than a stuffed sausage so that I can kick it closer into the gap under the door. I alternate with another ohen and when it's looking a bit grubby and pop it in the washer, it works a treat!