As nights draw in and mornings bite, households hold off the heating and chase low-cost ways to feel warmer, faster.
Enter a timely bit of kit that blends cosiness with common sense: a £9.99 pumpkin-shaped draught excluder from Home Bargains that plugs chilly gaps at floor level and freshens up autumn décor without denting the budget.
What shoppers are snapping up
Home Bargains has rolled out The Lifestyle Edit Pumpkin Draught Excluder for £9.99, a soft, door-length bolster shaped like a string of small pumpkins. The piece comes in classic autumnal orange and a neutral cream, so it slots into most rooms without clashing with your style.
Price check: £9.99 at Home Bargains for a seasonal draught excluder that tackles cold air sneaking under doors.
The premise is simple. Place the excluder snugly along the bottom of an internal door and it blocks the flow of cold air sweeping along floors. You feel the difference most on breezy evenings, in rooms with hard flooring, or in older properties where gaps add up.
Why a simple draught excluder matters
Warm air leaks out. Cold air sneaks in. That works against your thermostat and forces your boiler or heat pump to run longer. Plugging the worst gaps helps stabilise room temperatures, especially in the first metre above the floor where you sit and kids play.
- Slows the cold airflow that spills in at floor level.
- Reduces temperature swings that trigger extra boiler cycles.
- Improves comfort near doors, sofas and play areas.
- Costs less than a single day of full-house heating for many families.
You won’t rebuild your insulation for a tenner, but you can stop obvious leaks instantly, and you’ll feel that change before the kettle boils.
How much could you save?
Actual savings vary with your home, energy tariff and how draughty your doors are. Still, even small reductions in heat loss add up over a heating season. Use this quick, conservative guide to sense-check the payoff.
| Scenario | Annual heating spend | Potential reduction from door draughts sealed | Estimated saving | Payback on £9.99 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lightly draughty flat | £800 | 2%–3% | £16–£24 | Half a season |
| Typical semi-detached | £1,200 | 4%–6% | £48–£72 | Within weeks |
| Older, leakier home | £1,800 | 6%–10% | £108–£180 | Days to a fortnight |
These figures assume you target the worst offenders: gaps under main living room doors, draughty hallways and through-rooms that act like wind tunnels. If you only heat a couple of spaces, moving the excluder to where you sit in the evening pays quickest.
Many homes claw back several percentage points of heating use by sealing obvious door gaps—small tweaks, noticeable comfort.
Placement tips that boost the benefit
Put the excluder against the door on the colder side. For a living room with a cooler hallway, seat it along the living room threshold. That way you keep the warmth where you are rather than heating the landing.
Make it fit, make it safe
- Check length: your excluder should cover the full width of the door opening.
- Push it tight to the gap, with the seam facing the door for a neater seal.
- Keep a clear path: never wedge it where exits must open quickly.
- Move it with you: shift it to the bedroom at night for instant cosiness.
Families with toddlers or pets may find the pumpkin design irresistible. Treat it like a cushion that lives by the door, not a toy. If a curious dog drags it off to bed, you lose the seal and the warmth.
Design and feel
The pumpkin motif taps straight into the season—cheerful enough for October, subtle enough to keep using through winter. The orange version brings a warm pop of colour; the cream gives a quieter, Scandi-style look. Either way, it softens a stark doorway and takes the edge off bare floors.
Care and upkeep
Shake it out every week to lift dust that collects at floor level. Spot-clean with a damp cloth and mild soap, then air-dry thoroughly. Keep it away from open flames, heaters and wet thresholds. If a door needs ventilation for an appliance cupboard, leave that route clear and draught-proof other areas instead.
Who benefits most
Renters who can’t fit permanent seals. Families spending evenings in one or two rooms. Anyone in an older home with lively gaps and original doors. The device needs no screws, no adhesive and leaves no marks, so it suits short-term lets and student houses as well as busy family homes.
Alternatives if pumpkins aren’t your thing
- Plain fabric “door snakes” with sand or recycled filling for extra weight.
- Adhesive foam or rubber strips to seal the door frame perimeter.
- Brush strips under doors for high-traffic thresholds.
- Letterbox brushes and keyhole covers to stop whistling gaps in halls.
- Chimney balloons for unused fireplaces that gulp warm air.
- Heavy, lined curtains over draughty doors and single-glazed panes.
A five-minute check that finds leaks
On a breezy evening, close windows, switch on the kitchen extractor, and hold a smouldering incense stick near the bottom of doors. Watch the smoke trail. If it pulls strongly under or around the door, a draught excluder or frame seal will pay its way. Repeat along skirting boards and around letterboxes to prioritise the biggest offenders.
Stacking small wins
Combine the £9.99 excluder with simple tweaks: shut internal doors, close curtains at dusk, and place reflective foil behind radiators on external walls. You create layers that slow heat loss without touching the thermostat. If you use a smart thermostat, a steadier room temperature can also reduce overshoot and stop short, wasteful bursts of heating.
The bottom line for your bill
A tenner buys you a fast, tidy fix for a common source of discomfort. You feel warmer where it counts—at floor level—while your boiler or heat pump idles less often. For many households, that translates into double-digit pounds saved over the season, sometimes far more in leaky spaces. The seasonal design sweetens the deal and makes energy sense feel a bit more fun.
If you’re tightening the belt this winter, start with the gaps you can see and feel. Seal door bottoms first, then frame edges, then the hall. The Home Bargains pumpkin helps you start that journey in minutes, no tools required, with just enough charm to raise a smile when the wind picks up outside.
Love the idea of a pumpkin doing HVAC’s job—seasonal and thrifty. But does it stay put on slick laminate, or does it slither away every time the door opens? Also, is the cream version more stain-magnet than “Scandi chic”? Asking as a clumsy teaa spiller.
That 15% figure feels optimisitic. Has anyone measured actual kWh savings with and without it over a week? On a modern, well-sealed door I’d expect marginal gains. Also, what’s the length in cm and will it cover a 92cm doorway, or do you end up with draughts at the edges?