Indoor Kit Covers 5 - 3' x 5' Windows

I bought this kit 2 winters ago. We have a ranch house on the side of a mountain and it gets very cold. Combine that with really crummy old windows and our house was freezing. Not good when you pay for home heating oil!!! It was so bad at one point that when it was windy outside, I actually witnessed the drapes in my house billowing into the room. That is when I decided to purchase this kit. I actually got 2 kits to make sure I could finish all the windows in my house, and I ended up having plenty left over. I installed the double sided tape and stuck on the plastic, used the blowdryer to warm it up and shrink wrap the windows, and I was done. No more draft or chilly rooms! You are supposed to take it off after each winter but I have left it on for 2 years now. I find it also keeps my house cooler in the summer. Combined with thermal drapes, you have a combination for energy savings. PROS: - sticks great and lasts for a long time -once you get the hang of it, its easy to install -really has saved us money on home heating oil CONS: - if you don't totally shrink the plastic, you can see the ripples from the outside of the house and it looks a little messy, but if you do it right it is crystal clear -it is awfully hard to get the double stick tape off if you leave the product up for a long time We are now going into our third winter with the same kit on our windows and we are only now noticing some of the windows are losing their plastic in some places, peeling etc. But thats to be expected when its only supposed to be left on for a shorter period of time.

This could have gone one of two ways. Either it was going to be a huge pain in my butt to do and I'd end up just tossing the whole mess out in a big plastic ball of sweaty frustration, or it would just work. Well, I'm here to tell you that this stuff works! I have two gigantic 3'x7' "picture windows" that have zero window coverings. They face my lake view. I was using a blanket to cover them which, while it worked, made the house dark, and really, who wants to spend 6 months out of the year not lookin' at the view I bought this house for?!?!... So, this was my cheap first attempt at getting rid of the blankets and not spending any money (yet) on window treatments. There was PLENTY of plastic and PLENTY of tape for my use. In fact I only used one roll of tape. I thought it would be messy, clingy, wrapping up on itself, sticking to what it wasn't supposed to, and in the end, hard to see out of. It was/is NONE of those things. I am pretty handy for a gal, so this was within my abilities, but really, as long as you have full range of motion (can hold your hands up to apply the tape and the plastic), then you are "skilled" enough to apply this. I can see through it. It was easy to make minor adjustments on the outside edges once applied. I used the hair dryer, and it did "melt" away the small tiny ripples (they were barely noticeable to begin with). The only "tip" I have is before putting the tape on the window (sticky on the window side, paper on the side facing you), unpeel part of the paper and bend it in towards the tape to make a little folded tab so that when you are ready to pull the paper off you can just grab the little "tab" and rip it off. My first window I did not do this and I think I spent more time trying to get that danged paper off the back than I did on any other aspect of the project. And it was by far the only frustrating part of the entire project. I have attached some photos to show you how well you can see through it, and how well it works on a relatively large window. I live in a 1970 mobile, so every little seal counts. To be honest, I don't even see me pulling it off in the summer. I have a heat pump, and this will help keep the cool air in on those hot days. Since I can see out of it, and you really don't know it's there unless someone points it out, why take it down and do it again 6 months later? If you are on the fence, jump off and just do it.

I know how reviews go- I know that usually you have that one person who got a dud or was temperamental or had bad intentions and I take one bad review in a slue of many with the gain of salt. I also seldom write reviews and I know that people are more motivated to write a review based on a negative experience than a positive one! I usually write about good experiences. This was not such an experience. I do agree with the other reviewers that it was a pain to do with their directions and the cutting was problematic, etc. I remember buying the packages for my storm doors, not realizing that it would cover both until I had already bought 2. Perhaps that was my error. The rest, I'm sorry to say, must have been the company's. I covered a large storm/patio double door, one quite large window that took up much of the wall (with some creativity on my part) and 3 other, over-sized windows (I say over-sized because they are a little wider than some and definitely longer. "luxury windows" except for the fact that they leak air like you wouldn't believe!). I spent some money here, folks. What is that? A storm door, lets say 2 or 3 sheets for the wall sized window (maybe a triple window size) plus 3 more? It didn't break the bank but hey- I wasn't buying new windows. It shouldn't have come close to breaking any bank. I have convinced myself that this helped in some way but honestly I'm not sure. I really hardly ever say I will never buy this product again but I will not. I feel like this was such crap. I had faith in 3M but they obviously spent all their money in the packaging of the product. It did not take long for me to notice that I had lines or wrinkles in the paper. This usually meant that a spot had come unstuck or needed to be heated more. I found this material very temperamental to the blowdryer. I remember my family using these in the 90's. I watched them use it and I've used it since then. You would think that products would have improved over time(non-appliances specifically). If I tried to get wrinkles out of stubborn spots, it risked being ruined. So some of the film had creases which I feel that yes, my neighbors might have noticed from the outside on a sunny day. Not my preference as the window film became more obvious to onlookers as time went by! Most of the time when the wrinkles or creases would show up, it was because the product came unstuck. I read every bit of the information. I also installed enough of them and not in the same day (because who the heck has that kind of time?) so you would think that at least the last few that I did would turn out flawless. It was such a hassle to babysit these windows and when it was obvious that they weren't sticking I just sort of threw in the towel because I was so annoyed with all the time I wasted trying to monitor something so simple and stupid. A person should be able to put something up in their home and then trust that it does what it's supposed to do. I don't remember when I gave up on each window but I know that it didn't take long before corners or sections of sides were having to be redone over and over again, so obviously they were losing their adhesiveness. I tried to mend by pulling off those sides and re-taping but again, it only lasted a matter of time. I swear, this was such an annoying experience. As if putting this on your window isn't bad enough. I feel like this company really takes advantage of people who cannot afford or are unwilling to replace whole windows and insulation. They prey on people who actually need a quick fix. We were still dreadfully cold in our basement area with so many windows leaking heat. It was ridiculous. By the end of the season, removing the film from the windows was just upsetting because every single window had it coming off - not just a little. It was bad! I'm experienced in using these. I've had them since I can remember. I've never had this bad an experience. Never again. If you are smart, you'll shop around for a different brand. PS when I did my review search on this product, I had already heard that their tape sucked. I tried it on one window and it was true. I got the DUCT brand and the tape was better. Perhaps their film is better, too? Who's to say but what I can tell you is that either they make cheap tape AND film or people thought that the tape was the problem but it was the actual film. It also means that there are bigger and better products out there. This year, I'm back on the market. I hope no one from 3M calls me to offer me free film or some other product perk based on this review because I'll will decline with confidence.

Lo compré porque decia que el paquete llevababa con dos rollos de cinta. Mi paquete solo tiene una. Era la razon que habia comprado el kit... No podia encontrar solo la cinta. Y ahora, no tengo suficiente para hacer la faena.

I cannot compare to any other year, as only been in this property this winter. I'd heard previous people had had high heating bills, so used this to add to my being efficient. I plan to leave it on all year, for as long as possible. I can comment on application. Yes, a bit of a fiddle, but, do the cutting as best you can,. I laid mine out on clean table, measured, dabbed blacker pen dots to guide my cut. When applying to window, I also carefully cut sticky tape to shape to pass by the window handle section. It worked. The film still adhered tightly. The hairdryer works brilliantly, I scoped the hotair to and fro over the film and stopped when it was taut, not over-taut. After a few weeks, the film attracts a very fine deposit from the atmosphere. Wipe with dry cloth. You really only see this if sun shines directly on it. I watch birds thru this filmed-over window, and it is nearly 100%clarity to look through with binoculars. 1.5 year later update: took it all off, it started to attract tiny black harvest flies behind it. I am impressed it did the job for far longer than I thought it would. A side bit of fun was - when a fly tries to get to the window glass it poings off the plastic like it is bouncing off a trampoline. My old stone house has been insulated now so I may not use this again.

The film is very thin and can easily get pierced by sharp object if not careful. Has to be installed at least an inch away from glass pane to be effective.

This really works! I have an old 1940s home in Victoria with the old sash windows. You could feel the chill coming through them and our heater would run constantly throughout the day, never reaching 20 degrees. If I didn't put a timer on it, it would never turn off! I read a casestudy on this film via the Victoria Sustainability website and it said it does help reduce chill and retain some heat so I thought I'd give it a go. I'm glad I did. Installation is relatively easy. The tape is forgiving so you can pull off the film to restart as you install. I have shutters on the sash windows so the film is completely hidden on the inside, meaning I didn't have to be perfect when sticking the film down. From the outside, you can't even tell it's installed. note: the film doesn't go onto the window glass, it's supposed to stick on a frame, so there is a gap between it and the window glass, essentially acting like double glazing. You can immediately feel the difference. The chill from the windows are gone and my heater is actually stopping now because it reaches the thermostat temperature! I'm already saving money. I expected some effect, but it's surpassed my expectations. Highly recommended!

Follow the instructions and sealed up my window, perfect solution to keep the heat out of the window.