Do You Need To Clean Door Draft Stoppers?

Whether you face a drafty house all year or simply super-cold winters, a door draft stopper can be the answer to staying cozy. Yet much like trash cans and soap dispensers, a door draft stopper is a practical item that tends to get dirty often but cleaned rarely. And they do need to be cleaned: Thanks to their placement, dirty door draft stoppers make it easy for people to track that filth all over the house.

Door draft stoppers come in a few different styles, which need to be cleaned in different ways. Some are long, sand-filled rolls of fabric that can be slid against the door, while others are stiff plastic or rubber strips that adhere to the door itself. Some can even be made at home using simple sewing skills. However, no matter the style, most door draft stoppers will either be made of soft fabric or a hard substrate, which makes it easy to decide how to clean them. Basically, you can wipe down the hard ones with your favorite surface cleaner. The soft ones, meanwhile, can be spot-cleaned, or, if the cover is removable, machine-washed.

It's important to clean door draft stoppers regularly, since they pick up dirt and grime from your floors and from outside. Stoppers in little-used rooms can be cleaned once a season or so. However, in high-traffic areas, consider cleaning the stoppers every time you clean your floors. That way, you won't forget to wash them.

Before cleaning a door draft stopper, always check the manufacturer's instructions, as these will often tell you how to wash it. For hard stoppers, applying cleaner with a stiff brush can help you get in the grooves and along the edges. For fabric stoppers that must be spot-cleaned, an enzymatic laundry spray can work well. These biodegradable products use microorganisms to break down stains and grime. Avoid tossing a fabric stopper in the washing machine unless the instructions say you can; otherwise, they may fall apart and leave you cleaning up the filling.

Note that some door draft stopper styles will be easier to clean in certain households. For example, if you have pets, a fabric one will attract hair and dander, but a hard stopper won't. No matter which style you choose, though, a clean door draft stopper will help your house stay warm and comfortable, sealing door gaps and blocking out the cold without letting dirt in.