How and why I made a double sided draft stopper (aka door snake, aka door draft excluder) from linen fabric scraps and a pool noodle

what is a draft stopper or door snake?

What is a door snake or draft stopper? It's simply an object that is placed in front of a gap under a door to prevent the air from leaving or entering a room through that gap.

A draft stopper can be used on both internal and external doors and on any window in the house. there are many styles of draft excluders to choose from. I decided what I wanted based on the location (an interior bedroom door), the style of that room (clean linen and minimalist aesthetic), and how portable I wanted it to be (not at all. I intend to use for only one location.)
Before I get into the details of how I made my draft blocker in about an hour, I want to share some of the reasons I decided to do so in the first place.

What are the benefits of using a draft blocker?

A draft stopper can help

prevent cold air from entering
prevent air conditoned air from escapimg
keep heated air inside the room you are heating
prevent hot air from entering a room you want to keep cool.
A draft blocker can also stop light from the hallway from peeking into the room, keeping the room darker
affording more privacy by stopping the light from your room from showing in the hallway. Others will be unaware that your light is on.

Door snakes also can help muffle noises. Preventing sounds from entering helps make for a quieter sleep environment
blocking sounds from exiting your space will help muffle the sounds of a television or anything else that may disturb housemates. It is also harder for those housemates to eavesdrop with less sound able to escape the room.

Odors travel through the air, so their movement can be impeded by a door blocker. Minimize kitchen or any other odors that can enter your room.
If you are trying to keep secondhand smoke from entering your room, a draft stopper can help towards that goal
if you do not want others to know that you are smoking in your room, putting a snake under the door can help contain the smoke. Less will seep into the hallway

if you live in an area with wildfire smoke or other air pollution, a draft blocker can help you keep the bad air outside. A reduction in pollution entering your home will mean a healthier environment for your lungs as well as less dust accumulating on surfaces inside,

why not?

A door draft blocker is a simple item that could help

keep my room smelling fresh,
decrease dust build up
help me sleep better,
allow me to have more privacy in a house full of people ,
all while saving me money on my power bill
and helping the environment...

I live in a hundred year old wooden apartment building with what I believe to be the original windows and interior doors. There is always air moving around my place. I could probably use a dozen of these, but I decided to start with one minimalist style door air blocker for my master bedroom door to the hallway.

I wanted a twin style draft excluder. I did not want to have to fuss with moving something out of the way and then back into place each time i left and then reentered a room. A double style draft blocker slides under the door one time and then remains in place until you choose to move it.

I definitely wanted the twin style and I wanted it to go with the rest of my decor.
I have a lot of linen fabric that I purchased from fabrics store.com. They have the most amazing quality linen fabric at really reasonable prices. They sell their cutting remnants as what they call "doggie bags". The doggie bag fabric is sold for as much as 75% off. i have bought fabric for as little as 17 cents for a piece 56 by 12 inches. i hesitated to publish this information. these doggie bags are already very difficult to purchase. But, my readership is low enough that I feel I can share this information without making them too much more scarce. I am NOT an affiliate for this store. I am just obsessed with their fabric. I used a heavier linen for this project so that it would hold up to being swept accross the door each time the door was open or closed

There are many inexpensive draft stoppers available to purchase, but I decided to make my own. This was a very simple project. I sewed mine with my sewing machine, but you could achieve almost the same result with no sewing at all. There are so many ways to make a draft stopper. mine is so simple it took only about an hour.

Materials

fabric leftovers (I used linen sewing scraps, but a pair of old jeans woud work great too)

two foam pool noodles (I found one was not quite long enough to make both sides of my draft blocker)

scissors

glue stick

sewing machine or glue gun or strong permanent fabric glue

How to make a pool noodle draft blocker

take your pool noodle and hold it against the bottom of the doorway. Cut your pool noodle to just about an inch shorter than the width of the door
based on the size of your cut noodle, cut your fabric width
for the length, you need enough fabric to wrap around both pool noodles, the front and back. You will also need to add enough fabric to go under the door.

with your glue stick, attach the fabric to the pool noodle, rolling until covered on both sides
once in place, check sizing by placing the draft blocker under door.
adjust by rolling up more or less fabric until it fits snugly under door

once you have everything adjusted, its time to finish the door blocker.
- if sewing: put on your zipper foot and sew the edge of each tube down to the middle as close as you can get to the noodle without sewing into it
  - if gluing , simply take your permanent fabric glue and secure. essentially replacing the glue stick glue with something that will not wash off
- allow the glue to dry according to the manufacturers directions.
- slide under the door and enjoy your newly quieter and more cozy room.