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5 Reasons Why Your Bedroom Is Cold (DIY Fixes)

5 Reasons Why Your Bedroom Is Cold (DIY Fixes)

My daughter’s bedroom was always colder than the rest of the house. Noticeably colder. I did a lot of research on this and here’s what I’ve learned.

Here are 5 likely reasons why your bedroom is cold:

  1. Vents may be covered or closed.
  2. Windows and walls may not be sealed.
  3. High ceilings mean that heat will rise further.
  4. Keeping doors closed can cut off airflow. 
  5. Air vents may need to be cleaned or replaced. 

Let’s take a closer look at these reasons and how to help get your bedroom back to the temperature you want it to be. 

1. Vents May Be Covered or Closed

Sometimes vents aren’t put in the best places in our bedroom. If you have limited space already, you may have covered a vent with some furniture or even decorations. While this helps give you more space to work with, it will not allow heat to circulate properly through your room. 

Make sure that if your vents are low, you need to make sure they aren’t covered by your bed frame or something that would abstract air from getting to the rest of the room. Even allowing it to be covered a small amount can cause your room to not get warm enough (source). 

If your bed is why the vent is partially or completely obstructed, you should consider moving the bed to a different wall. If you can’t do that, then the bed will need to be moved away from the vent enough for air to still be able to pass through the room. 

In some cases, you may think it is best to close a vent that is near to furniture and just rely on other vents in the room to produce heat, but this is also a problem. If you have done this and noticed that your bedroom is too cold, then you should move the furniture and open the extra vent. 

It may not seem like a big deal, but it’s critical to have every vent open, especially for rooms that tend to get cold. Uncover and open those air vents and make sure there is no furniture blocking them.

Consider investing some time in conducting your own home energy audit and use my free guide and downloadable worksheet.

2. Windows and Walls May Not Be Sealed

If there are cracks in your wall or windows, this can be a real problem when it comes to keeping your bedroom warm during the winter. Sometimes it is difficult to even notice these cracks until you first realize the temperature difference in the room. 

Some professionals will come to your home and check for cracks in your walls and windows, but this will cost you a fair amount of money. For those who don’t have the extra money to spend, you can find these cracks and gaps for yourself. 

The best way to check and see if there are any cracks or gaps that may be causing unwanted air to make its way into your room is to wait for a cold, windy day. Then, feel around your walls and windows, looking for any cold air.

This can be tricky when working with windows because you may feel some cold air even if they are sealed, but the key is to feel for a draft. Once you feel a steady draft of cold air coming from outside, you know that you need to seal that spot. 

Sealing your walls and windows is relatively easy to do. Caulk is the best way to get the job done quickly and at a reasonable price. This YouTube video demonstrates just how simple this is:

How-To Caulk Your Window

Another solution that you can try is a window draft stopper (link to Amazon).

There are some other more expensive or time-consuming options that you have for sealing windows during the winter. You could consider getting your windows redone and ensuring they can be sealed shut for the colder months but that can get costly.

If you want an effective DIY solution read what I did in my daughter’s apartment to solve drafty windows.

3. High Ceilings Mean That Heat Will Rise Further

Warm air rises. With rooms that have higher ceilings, it can be difficult to keep them warm during the winter. 

Even if you don’t have high ceilings, dealing with heat rising can be a challenge in any home, and it can be the reason that you have a cold bedroom. We can’t change how tall or short our ceilings are without some major renovations. 

So, let’s consider some other options that we have to help with all the heat heading up to the ceiling. 

A ceiling fan can be a very big help in this situation. A ceiling fan probably isn’t something you think a lot about during the colder months, but since heat rises, the fan circulates the heat. Make sure it is moving in reverse. 

A ceiling fan moving in a normal direction will push cool air down to you to cool you off when it is warm. When you reverse the fan, it will pull up the hot air and distribute it through the room. Keep your fan on a low setting during this time; otherwise, it may redistribute cool air instead.

See this guide to choosing the right size ceiling fan for a room.

For those with high ceilings and no ceiling fan, you may need to consider turning up your heat during the winter to allow it to travel further down in your bedroom. This will increase your heating bill, but it may be worth it if your bedroom is cold enough to be uncomfortable. 

Remember that turning up the heat in your home will make every room warmer. If other rooms in your home are comfortable before you adjust the thermostat, that may change afterward. But you can try out some different temperatures to try and find a happy medium. 

Another option for those who have high ceilings is to use a space heater to help produce some extra heat. The prices of space heaters vary depending on the quality and size, but if you have a smaller bedroom, this won’t be a big expense. 

The only downside to a space heater is that you must be careful where you put it and make sure it is turned off when you leave the house as it can be a fire hazard. However, as long as you are careful with your use, a space heater can be an effective way to heat your bedroom. 

Try to use a space heater when you sleep at night to make your room more comfortable. If the space heater isn’t working as well as you thought, closing your bedroom door can help as it will only spread heat through your bedroom and not the rest of your home. 

4. Keeping Doors Closed Can Cut Off Air Flow

This can work to your advantage and disadvantage, depending on how it is done. Keeping your door closed can keep the air circulating in your bedroom only in there as it does not allow air to pass all throughout the house. 

If you are using a space heater, closing the door can really help you keep a room warm, but it can do the opposite for traditional heating systems. If your heating does not work as much in your bedroom as it does in other rooms of your home, then closing the bedroom door will only make it colder. 

While we all enjoy our privacy, it may be best to leave the bedroom door open as much as possible to ensure the heat from the rest of the house can circulate in there as well. This is especially important if you have any vents in your bedroom that are partially blocked or closed. 

If you or your family members normally tend to close the bedroom door during the day, that may be why it is cold in your room. Try keeping the door open instead. If this isn’t an option because of a messy room or nosy roommates, then there are some other options to look into as well. 

For a bedroom door that is always closed, you can try a space heater, as discussed above. Not only is this a great way to heat one small space without raising the temperature all over the house, but space heaters work better on closed-off areas. Keeping the door closed would then work to your benefit. 

Another important but subtle change you could make is leaving the curtains open in your bedroom during the day and letting sunlight in.

A little bit of sunlight can go a long way in warming up your room. Sunlight is a fast, effective way of heating any space. Make sure you are getting plenty of it if you want to see a difference (source). 

5. Air Vents May Need To Be Cleaned or Replaced

One of the most forgotten parts of our home is air vents. Whether it’s because we can’t reach them or don’t even pay attention to them, we tend to miss air vents during our normal cleaning routine. It’s important to see if they are the reason your bedroom isn’t heating as well as it should. 

If you notice a heating problem in your bedroom, then it’s time to clean your vents and see if that helps. Do this by removing the vent cover. This will allow you to thoroughly clean the inside and outside of the cover. Cleaning only the outside is fine for spot treatments, but long-term care requires removing the cover (source). 

Once the cover is removed, clean the cover thoroughly with your favorite cleaning product. Sometimes if you have gone a long time without cleaning the vent, there may be a lot of buildups. If this is the case, soak the cover to fully remove the dirt. 

When cleaning out the vent cover, make sure you are also cleaning the grate thoroughly. Most of the time, the grates are built into the cover, but this is not always the case. So, make sure that you are cleaning the grates as well. These can catch a lot of dirt and dust. 

It may seem strange to focus on the dirt, dust, and buildup on vents, but it is very common and can cause issues with ventilation. It’s vital to keep up with cleaning your vents and grates to keep your airflow as strong as possible. 

Add it to your normal dusting routine, and every few months, take off the cover to do a deep clean. This will ensure you are getting the most possible air from the vent and that you are breathing cleaner air. 

See How To Seal Air Vents Correctly: 2 Steps To Energy Savings

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