B&M’s £10 winter hack went viral – I barely use my heating now

Heating bills turned into a character this winter — loud, sulky, always at the door. In Britain, we’ve fiddled with thermostats, timed our showers, layered jumpers like onions. Then a ten-quid fix from B&M started popping up in feeds and group chats, with people swearing their rooms felt warmer and their boilers took the night off. No jargon. Just tape, film, a hairdryer, and a little patience.

I first clocked it on a Tuesday, the kind of cold that makes your hallway smell like coins. The windows were sweating, the cat was a loaf on the warmest patch of rug, and my phone lit up with a TikTok of a woman smoothing a clear sheet over her sash. She called it a £10 winter hack from B&M and claimed she barely used her heating now. I wanted to roll my eyes, then I saw her breath stop fogging the glass. It sent me to the shop with a stubborn curiosity. Something felt too simple to be true. Then the room changed.

The £10 fix everyone keeps whispering about

Here’s the heart of it: a £10 window insulation kit that acts like temporary secondary glazing, trapping a thin cushion of still air between your room and the night. It’s clear, almost invisible once you shrink it tight, and it blocks the sneaky currents that steal warmth from your sofa. The hack went viral because it looks like nothing but feels like a blanket for your windows. Two strips of double-sided tape, a crisp film you smooth on, and a cheap hairdryer turn a thin pane into a quiet barrier. Your boiler gets a breather. So do you.

We’ve all had that moment when the living room turns chilly the second the heating clicks off. My place is a 1930s terrace with a draughty bay that’s more personality than performance, and that’s where I tested it first. I stuck the film up, waved the hairdryer until it tightened like drumskin, then sat with a cuppa and a £5 thermometer from the drawer. The room held at 19°C where it would usually sulk down to 16°C by late evening, and the radiator stayed tepid instead of roaring. I ran the heating two hours less that week. Not a miracle. Just a nudge that mattered.

The logic is simple and strangely satisfying: cold glass makes warm air drop, which drags more warm air across the window in a loop that feels like a leak even when nothing’s open. The film stops that loop, softening the chill’s bite and reducing radiant cold that creeps off the pane. Think of it as sunglasses for your home’s heat, a thin lens that cuts glare from winter itself. Pair it with thick curtains at night and the effect stacks. It also helps shift condensation patterns, because your humid breath no longer slams into a freezing surface. The science isn’t flashy. It’s just physics doing its tidy work.

How to copy the B&M winter hack at home

Start with a dry day and clean frames, because dust is the enemy of stick. Lay the double-sided tape around the inside edge of the window, peel, and let the backing fall away like a snake shedding skin. Offer up the film with a little slack, press it lightly to the tape, and only then bring in the hairdryer, slow and steady, until the ripples vanish and the sheet goes glass-flat. Trim the edges with a sharp blade. You’ll swear it won’t work, and then your fingers stop feeling that cold lick near the sill.

Go calm on the corners, because that’s where most people create tiny vents they didn’t mean to. Don’t yank the film; let the heat do the shrinking. If your house has old timber, leave the reveal clear so the frames can breathe, and crack the top vent for ten minutes every morning to keep moisture honest. Team it with thermal blackout curtains after dark, and lift them during the day so your room isn’t a cave. Let’s be honest: nobody does that every single day, but when you remember, you feel the difference. And if you’ve got a letterbox that flaps in a storm, add a brush — it’s the quietest upgrade you’ll ever make.

The film won’t fix bad insulation in the roof, yet it plugs a daily leak you can actually see and feel. It’s cheap, reversible, and quick, which is why it’s jumped from phone screens to group chats to the aisles at B&M. I slept without the boiler kicking in, and woke up warm.

“I did the bay and the box room for under a tenner,” said Sarah from Leeds when I asked on Facebook. “My gas usage dropped straight away on the smart meter — fewer spikes at night, no drafts on the sofa. It’s like giving your windows a jumper.”

• What to add for bigger gains: a draught excluder for the front door, radiator reflector foil, a letterbox brush, and keyhole covers.
• Where it shines: single glazing, tired double glazing, cold north-facing rooms, and rental homes where drilling is a no-go.
• Time and tools: 20–30 minutes per window, scissors, hairdryer, cloth, and patience.
• Cost reality: one £10 kit often covers a bay or two small windows; measure before you buy.

The bigger picture: a tiny sheet, a quieter winter

This small fix has a way of changing how you feel in your home, not just how you heat it. The room settles down, the radiators click less, the TV doesn’t compete with the whoosh of cold air sneaking along the floor. It won’t make a mansion out of a bedsit, yet it nudges you from shivering to comfortable, and that shift is priceless at 10pm on a Wednesday. Share it with the friend who’s always cold. Test it on the bedroom you avoid. Then notice how the ritual of taping and smoothing becomes its own kind of care.

FAQ :

• Will the film damage my paint or frames?The tape is designed to come off cleanly if you warm it and peel gently; a little residue wipes away with soapy water.
• Does it work on double glazing?Yes, especially if your units are old or leaky; it adds a layer of still air that calms cold radiation and micro-draughts.
• What about condensation?It can reduce it on the room side by lifting the surface temperature, but still ventilate briefly each morning to keep humidity in check.
• Can I reuse the same film next year?Not usually; it’s a seasonal fix. The tape and film are designed to be removed and replaced in minutes.
• Is one £10 kit enough for a whole flat?Probably not; expect to cover a bay or two small windows per kit. Measure up and buy two if your rooms are window-heavy.