Your AC Never Gets a Break — and the Hole Is Under Your Front Door

Your AC runs all day, the electric bill keeps growing, and the house still feels… not quite cool. Before you blame the AC unit — check your doors. In South Florida, a worn door seal can quietly undo half of what your AC is doing.

Why it happens HERE

1. 🥵 FLORIDA HEAT NEVER STOPS — while up north a drafty door costs you in winter, here it bleeds money all year. Cold air leaks OUT, hot humid air pushes IN, and your AC runs longer to fight both.

1. 💧 Humidity is the hidden cost — it's not just warm air coming in. Moisture rides with it, and your AC has to wring that moisture out of the air before it can cool anything. Dead weatherstripping = your AC doing double duty.

1. ☀️ The rubber itself gives up — our sun and heat dry out door weatherstripping fast. It cracks, flattens, peels off the frame. After a few Florida summers, many seals are decorative at best.

The 10-second test

• Close a dollar bill in the door — if it slides out easily, air is sliding through too
• On a sunny day, look for DAYLIGHT under or around a closed exterior door
• On a hot afternoon, run your hand slowly along the door edges — you'll feel warm air sneaking in

What you can do yourself

• Peel-and-stick foam weatherstripping for small gaps — cheap and easy
• A door sweep on the bottom of the door kills the gap you see daylight through
• Check the strike plate — a tiny adjustment can pull the door tighter to the seal

Where DIY ends

• If the wooden frame itself is warped or starting to rot (Florida humidity is brutal on wood) — new weatherstripping won't stick to a crooked frame
• If the threshold under the door is cracked or sinking — the gap comes back no matter what you glue on
• If the door hangs crooked and won't line up with the frame — it needs re-hanging, not sealing

Honest pricing: replacing weatherstripping and fitting door sweeps around the house is usually a first-hour job ($80). If the frame is warped or the threshold needs rebuilding, that's a bigger job — but I'll tell you the exact price upfront before I touch anything.

⚠️ One more thing: a gap that lets air in also lets water in. The first heavy rain through a dead seal goes straight under your door and into the flooring. Fix the cheap part before it becomes an expensive one.