Interior door sweep is one of the cheapest soundproofing materials for doors.
Not only does it help in preventing airborne noise from outside from leaking into your house but also improves heat insulation. (Source)
A door sweep is installed on the gap between the floor and the door.
This gap is deliberately left during construction and facilitates easy door opening and closing.
This gap needs to be properly sealed off with a flexible and yet durable material- and that’s what an interior door sweep does.
Let’s have an in-depth look at how door sweep work and some of the different types of door sweeps.
Types of Interior Door Sweep and How They Work
There are two main types of interior door sweep, they include:
- Rubber door seals
- Heavy draft stoppers
While these are two are the main ones, I’ve seen different people use household items as door sweeps for both soundproofing and weatherproofing.
You can also read my detailed guide on how to use household items for soundproofing.
A good example of the household items used as door sweep are heavy rugs, towels, and blankets.
However, it’s important to note that a door sweep will always give better results and practicability than household items.
1. Rubber Door Seals
Rubber door seals have the primary purpose of soundproofing.
These door bottoms are an inexpensive way of soundproofing against airborne noise and increase draft protection to your home.
They mainly constitute of two parts, namely:
- Rubber strip
- Metal or plastic bit
The plastic or metallic part is attached to the door’s bottom side, while the rubber part helps form an airtight seal between the door and the floor.
The rubber helps dampen noise from leaking in or out through the gap between the door and the floor.
The plastic/metallic comes with an embedment that makes it easier to fix it over your door.
There are different types of rubber door seals on the market today- they all serve the same purpose.
However, some rubber door seals have gaskets for airtight sealing.
Gaskets are commonly used indoors of quiet refrigerators and most other cooling units.
They form an airtight seal that helps block airborne sounds from traveling through your door.
In case you choose to buy a rubber door seal, I would highly recommend solid rubber seals.
Unlike nylon brush sweeps, they are somehow difficult to install compared to draft door stoppers below.
Installation Process
Rubber seals feature plastic or metallic part that have holes that allow you to screw them over the door.
Luckily, most of them come with screws needed for attaching to your door.
The first step would be to measure the door seal against the length of your door.
If the seal is too long, you will need to cut it to the desired size and get rid of the extra parts before you can fix them on the bottom of your door.
Some of the rubber seals I would mostly recommend in this case include:
TRIM-LOK Rubber Seal is great for eliminating vibrations, drowns out the noise, and helps protect your home, vehicle, or boat from outside elements.
One of the popular door seals I recommended in my previous article on how to reduce road noise in the car.
M-D Building Products 68247– designed for both residential and commercial use, which offers all-season protection against moisture, draft, insects, and dust.
2. Draft Stoppers
As the name suggests, these products are mainly used for preventing drafts.
They are sort of long heavy filled pillows that help prevent draft hence keeping your house cool during hot summer weather and warmer in the winter.
And since they are somehow dense, they help in preventing some sound from leaking through the door.
You can use them to soundproof your hollow doors or solid core doors.
Not only do these products stop draft and soundproof, but they also help prevent the door from slamming.
You can easily make your own door draft stoppers DIY.
However, because door drafts are quite cheap, I would recommend you waste your time trying to figure out how to make one.
With less than $10, you can get yourself something like Suptikes Door Draft Stopper.
This product is designed for interior and exterior doors and provides all-season protection from adverse weather conditions.
Its three-layer design helps in reducing unwanted noise from leaking through the door.
This means you can easily block noise from your neighbor’s yard leaking through the door.
Another great recommendation is the Evelots Draft Stopper Door designed to fit even larger doors measuring up to 36 inches in length.
It works with any floor surface, including carpet, tile, vinyl, and wood, and helps insulate and soundproof your home from bad weather and noise, respectively.
Installation
These are the easiest to install, unlike draft stoppers.
All you have to do is to slide them under your door, and you’re good to go.
You’ll have to remove the padding on one side to slide it under the door and replace the removed padding.
The draft stopper will fit snuggly such that it’ll slide along when the door is opened or closed.
Interior Door Sweep Alternatives
I understand that interior door sweep may not be the real deal for everyone.
Alternatively, the gap could be so small that it can’t accommodate the two products highlighted above.
In that case, I would highly suggest you get a substitute.
I would highly recommend one product that resembles the rubber stopper- weather stripping.
Door sweeps will block the gap hence blocking air gaps between these small spaces.
Weatherstripping also contributes to soundproofing and hence will not only help in insulation but also noise reduction.
They are available in adhesive rolls.
You only need to cut it according to the length of your door.
Peel the side with the adhesive part and stick it under your door, or alternatively, you can attach it to the floor where the door rests when it’s closed.
KELIIYO Door Weather Stripping is one of my recommended products in this case.
Final Thoughts on Interior Door Sweep
Gaps and cracks in your house are the biggest culprits in leaking noise in or out.
While I’ve always recommended green glue sealant compound for dealing with gaps on the walls, you will need sweeps for doors.
It’s important to know that door sweep is one of the many soundproofing methods you need to implement to ensure that your door is properly sealed.