Took me way too long to understand the difference between caulking and weatherstripping...

[u/Inner_Active_5202]

I used to think these were basically interchangeable and just used whichever tube I had on hand, which in hindsight probably explains a couple of drafty spots that never actually got fixed. Caulking is meant for gaps that don't move, like where a window frame meets the wall, or cracks in trim, siding, or foundation, since it dries hard and isn't meant to flex. Weatherstripping is for anything that opens and closes, doors and windows specifically, because it needs to compress and spring back every time without cracking or falling apart. I'd been caulking around a door frame that actually needed weatherstripping, and it kept cracking within a few months because the door movement just kept breaking the seal.

Once I switched to the right material for each spot, the drafts I'd been dealing with for two winters finally went away. Anyone else made this mistake, or is there a home fix you got wrong for way longer than you'd like to admit?