We compared four popular shop-bought draught excluders for doors, available at stores such as Screwfix and Wickes, with two homemade versions we'd seen recommended online: a simple towel and old tights filled with newspaper.
In our laboratory we designed a setup using a hairdryer (to simulate a stiff breeze) and feathers to measure how much wind each draught excluder was letting through.
Watch our video above to see which came out best or read on for the full results.
Best draught excluders for front doors from our tests
Towels
Pros
Of course, the cheaper it is to get the materials to draught-proof your house, the better. So we were amazed that placing a towel over the gap worked just as well as, if not better, than the best draught excluders we tested that you can buy from the shops.
If you have an old towel, this solution is quick and free. Plus, it blocked out even the strongest draughts in our test.
We realise it isn't the prettiest or neatest solution, so if you want something a little more elegant plugging that gap under your front door, take a look at our next few recommendations below.
Brush door excluders
Typical price
Alternatively, you can have a look at these similar models, selected for being a similar style and price, from popular UK retailers.
They also come in different-coloured trims, which may match your decor better than aluminium.
ProsThis excluder lets a tiny amount of air through. This also makes it a good solution for internal doors, as it doesn't completely stop air circulation, which could lead to moisture build-up.
You'll need to get one with brushes long enough to cover the gap – typically, the longer you need the more this draught excluder will cost.
This type attaches to the door by various methods (self-adhesive tape, screws and so on), which means you don't need to worry about replacing it back over the gap each time you open the door like you would with a towel or fabric draught excluder.
It's more discreet and neater than using a towel. However, be prepared to do some DIY to cut the brush strips and holder to size. A good pair of scissors and junior hacksaw should do the trick.
Rubber door excluders
Typical price
Alternatively, you can have a look at these similar models, selected for being a similar style and price, from popular UK retailers.
They come with different depths of rubber, the shorter ones are better suited for internal doors. There are also different-coloured trims, which may match your decor better than aluminium.
ProsIt cut out strong breezes easily in our test. However, rubber draught excluders are less flexible than a towel or brushes, so you'll likely find them trickier to fit over an irregularly shaped gap. That's why we recommend a brush door excluder above this as a shop-bought option.
As with brush seals, you'll need to measure the gap to make sure you get an excluder long enough to cover it.
They're typically longer than brush excluders because they're sized for larger garage doors. This means you may have to cut the size down if you want one for an average front door. We recommend a junior hacksaw for the holder, and a good pair of scissors should get through the rubber.
Fabric door excluder
Typical price
We tested the Evans Lichfield Woodland Hedgehog Draught Excluder. You can buy this at the retailers listed below
Alternatively, you can have a look at these other Evans Lichfield draught excluders.
The only difference is the design, so they should perform similarly to our tested model, but may suit your home better than a line of hedgehogs.
ProsIf looks matter, then a fabric draught excluder may be more appealing to you than the draught excluders we found did a better job. There's a much larger choice of colours and shapes to match your decor, and they're usually bulky enough to cover any gap.
Fabric door excluders didn't perform as well in our tests, though. They let some light and strong breezes through, though they did reduce them decently compared to no draught excluder at all.
Similar to when using a towel, you'll need someone at home to move this type of draught excluder back over the gap when the door's been opened and closed, or get one that can be attached to the door.
Stay cosy at night with thethat heat up fast and don't cost much to runFabric door excluder with polyester-sand blend filling
Typical price
Alternatively, you can have a look at these similar models, selected from popular UK retailers.
The filling of weighted draught excluders can vary. So the similar models highlighted below aren't all sand-filled, but they are weighted, which is the main benefit we found with this style of excluder.
ProsScored just as well for reducing draughts as fabric excluders that don't have sand in them.
The extra weight from the sand means it's less likely to be knocked out of place accidentally, although it's heavier to budge out of the way when you actually want to open the door.
As with all fabric excluders, there's a wide choice of patterns and colours available.
Tights with newspaper filling
Pros
We tried this out after seeing it lauded online as being a good DIY draught excluder. But after putting it to the test, we couldn't disagree more.
It performed worse than all the other types we tried, only being slightly better than having no draught excluder at all.
It's free – if you have a pair of tights and a newspaper lying around – but given that a towel, another free method, worked much better, it really isn't worth your time making this draught excluder.
How we tested draught excluders
We're not able to show every retailer and cheaper prices may be available.
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