22+ years making draft stoppers, find our thoughts here.
On dual / attached draft stoppers.
We only make traditional one sided draft stoppers, they are not attachable. For a draft stopper to be attachable (or two sided), it needs to be very light, ours are heavy so that they seal well. To be attachable (or two sided), a draft stopper also needs to be stiff, like a hard foam tube, ours are pliable so they seal well.
Problems with attached or dual draft stoppers include:
1)     Won’t stay on the door
2)     Won’t work with carpet or thresholds
3)Â Â Â Â Â Scratches wood floors
4)     Because they are stiff and light (bought & tested one, weighed 1.1 OUNCES), they don’t seal the draft
5)Â Â Â Â Â Not attractive
If you have a door that isn’t suitable for a traditional draft stopper, please consider purchasing a door sweep. It attaches to the door and doesn’t create the problems mentioned above. While it doesn’t provide the draft stopping power of a traditional draft stopper, it works as well as attachable or dual draft stoppers as far as reducing the draft.
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Best weight for a draft stopper
The actual weight of a draft stopper is going to differ depending on it's size. We have found that a draft stopper that is one pound or more usually does a good job. Our draft stopper weights range from 1 to 5 pounds. Some use fiber-fill, or foam. These fillings are much too light. Some manufacturers put some small bags of sand at the bottom of their draft stoppers hoping it will hold them down. We have found the entire draft stopper needs to have a heavy material in it to stay put. That said, some materials are too heavy and stiff, like rocks, or pebbles. Rice can work, it's a little too heavy. The biggest problem with rice is that bugs like to eat it.
Pliability
Very few folks consider that if a draft stopper uses any filling that won't conform to the opening to be sealed, the draft stopper won't work properly. That is one reason we use buckwheat hulls. The filling will shift around inside so that a great seal can be obtained.
Insect / Rodent Resistance
Think about if bugs or other critters will be attracted into your home by the filling in the draft stopper. Rice and beans are food sources. Fiber-fill and foam is good for making nests in. Buckwheat hulls are naturally resistant to bugs and rodents.Â