Oil is Dumb

To participate in the December, 2009 No-Brainer, you must find a draft in your home and fix the problem.  Oil is Dumb will pay you $5 for each draft you find and fix, up to 4 drafts for $20.



1.  Go around your house or apartment and find drafts (places where the cold gets in).  This can include doors, windows, window air conditioning units, giant holes in the wall, etc.

2.  Address the problem by sealing the drafty area.  You can do this with window film, weather stripping, snakes for window sills or the bottoms of doors, lots of ways.  Here are some tips.

3.  Take a picture of each drafty area before and after you seal it.

4.  Send the pictures to no-brainers@oilisdumb.com.
 
5.  We pay you $5 per drafty area, up to 4 areas.

BONUS:  $50 bonus drawing for everyone who submits an entry.  You get one entry into the bonus drawing for each drafty area you fix!  (Unlimited drafty areas for bonus drawing!)



Valid entries will accepted by email only, sent to no-brainers@oilisdumb.com.  Challenge entries must be received by the end of Thursday, December 31, 2009.  Entries must be received by midnight (Central Standard Time) of that day.  Oil is Dumb will send you an award of $5 per drafty area fixed, up to 4 areas.  Please note this challenge gives a lot of freedom in determining the particular problem and the fix.  Please make it clear in your pictures that the problem areas you identify are genuine, that the fix will be effective, and that the fix is new.  See tips below.  Oil is Dumb is absolutely the sole arbiter in determining which entries are valid.  Maximum award per entry is $20.  We also pay via PayPal.  If you prefer PayPal, please indicate your PayPal email address when you send us your email.  Limit one entry per household.  Offer is open to the general public, and there are no special membership requirements for Oil is Dumb.  Offer limited to first 100 entrants.  Please limit photo attachment to 500 kb.  Photos submitted become the property of Oil is Dumb and may be used for marketing purposes.

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Tips and information:

- Around 15% of your home's heat is lost through doors.
- Another 10% of your home's heat is lost through windows.
- The average home can save up to 10% on heating bills by eliminating drafts, according to The Daily Green citing a Department of Energy study.


- Examples of entries that are valid (not limited to these):

Problem	Fix	Photo
window A/C unit has holes	seal it with bubble wrap or insulation	picture before and after
door lets in air because weatherstripping is old	replace the weatherstripping	picture of old and new weatherstripping side-by-side
window is cold to the touch	apply window film or bubble wrap	picture before and after
window sill is cold to the touch	use a snake to seal the draft	please take a picture of yourself making the snake (if homemade) or a receipt (if store bought)
door lets in air at bottom	use a snake to seal the draft	please take a picture of yourself making the snake (if homemade) or a receipt (if store bought)
wall has giant hole	seal it	picture before and after
outlets are exposed	use plastic outlet covers	pictures before and after - replace whole house
fireplace leaks air	install fireplace cover	picture of receipt for new cover

- Examples of entries that are not valid (not limited to these):

Problem	Fix	Photo
door is open	close door	picture before and after
window is open	close window	picture before and after

- We can't think of all the ideas!  Not sure?  Just ask us:  no-brainers@oilisdumb.com.