How Leaving Kitchen Cabinets Open Can Make Your Home Less Drafty (& Even Save Your Pipes)

When you're dealing with a cool, drafty house it's common to look to the windows and doors as potential suspects. However, if you've already checked your windows and doors for drafts and determined they're not the source, then it may be time to investigate your kitchen cabinets. Built-in cabinets that are installed on exterior walls with poor insulation can easily become cold and drafty. This issue is exacerbated when the cabinet doors are left closed and the warm air from the rest of your home can't get in. 

When left unchecked, those cold cabinets can create a draft in your home — or worse, lead to bursting pipes. Of course there are a few solutions for this issue, such as sealing gaps around your pipes and adding new insulation, but for an easier and more instant solution, you can try simply leaving the cabinet doors open in winter. This method allows the warm air from the rest of your home to circulate through the cabinets, lessening the draft and keeping your pipes warm and safe. 

Cabinets that sit on the ground, like the kind under your kitchen sink, typically have a kickplate on them — that little piece of wood that closes the gap between the bottom of your cabinets and the floor. The dead space behind that kickplate is the perfect area for cold air to collect. If you've ever felt your toes get chilly while washing the dishes, that unused pocket of space is likely to blame. If you leave those under-the-sink cabinets closed and the temperature outside gets cold enough, the water in your pipes could freeze, leading to the pipes bursting. By opening the cabinet doors, you can combat the cold and keep warm air circulating through. This may not completely eliminate the draft, but it will certainly make the draft feel less drastic. This same principle applies for bathroom cabinets and even closets built on an exterior wall.

One huge problem with this simple solution is that not everyone can leave their cabinet doors open. Some might struggle to keep the open shelves in their kitchen organized and aesthetically pleasing. Others might have pets or small children who shouldn't have access to the contents of the cabinets. Either way, there are some other solutions to try before embarking on an all-out renovation. Cabinets with louvered doors, for example, are a happy medium that allows warm air to circulate through the slats on the door without exposing the inside of your cabinets. Although louvered doors can be a smart design to help with warm air circulation, make sure you're prepared for the potential downsides as well. For example, dusting those hard-to-reach crevices in louvered cabinet doors can be a real pain.