Save 20% on Your Utilities!

1 Material
$2.00
15 Minutes
Easy
Yeah, I was skeptical too. Save 20%? Huh? Really? 20% seems a hefty sum, right?
They hooked me. I clicked the links: "Insulate your outlets and save 20% on your utility bills!" the websites I saw cried out. It seemed like a stretch but I thought about it.
I checked out the Menards website and sure enough, they had the foam sealers. I figured since we have so many outlets and switches on outside walls, likely uninsulated walls, this might be a good thing to do, 20% utility bill savings or not.
As you can see, this particular brand had ones you can use either on outlets or switches. Just pop out the corresponding rectangle.
Super easy to install. The right thing to do is shut off the power to the outlets and switches you're working on, open them up, pop on the foam piece and reattach the cover plate. More details are on my blog at humboldtartdept.blogspot.com.
I came across instances with two switches. The foam overlapped so after a minor amount of trimming, I was able to get the cover plates back on securely to the wall.
In other instances, an outlet took up half the opening so I put a foam piece on just one half. Easy peasy. Will they save us 20% on our bills? Let's hope so but that remains to be seen. They have vastly improved a draft we have that comes down our staircase, so for just a couple of bucks, it was already worth it. I was pleasantly surprised! Come read the whole story over on my blog, Flipping the Flip! Click the link below for this and more fun stories!
We want to help you DIY, so some of the materials in this post are linked to sellers. Just so you know, Hometalk may collect a small share of sales from the links on this page.
Resources for this project:
Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
Hometalk may collect a small share of sales from the links on this page.More info
Becky at Flipping the Flip
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
Go
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
3 of 8 questions
  • Beverly Johnson Beverly Johnson on Jan 03, 2019

    Should you do this to ALL outlets or just the ones on the walls by the exterior of the house

  • Vicky Thomas Vicky Thomas on Jan 03, 2019

    Yes, Im wondering the same as above...all the outlets, or just those on outside walls?

  • Courtney Maples Courtney Maples on Jan 10, 2019

    Wouldn't the foam be a fire risk

Comments
Join the conversation
4 of 137 comments
Next