With the hot Kelowna summers, broken seals are quite common, especially on the south and west side of the home where the sun beats down all day. Here’s a picture of a broken seal.
A broken seal generally looks like the window has fogged up and has condensation in between the panes. Sometimes you won’t notice a broken seal until it rains or the window gets wet. The sun evaporates the water and causes the water to condensate in between the panes.
Window panes are usually made up of 2 panes, an internal and an external… in between these panes is a gap that contains a gas (usually argon or kryton). These gases are odorless, colorless, and non-toxic. Besides keeping your windows condensation free, window seals hold this gas in place and prevent it from escaping. The gas keeps your homes heating and cooling efficient, not letting heated or cooled air escape, therefore lowering your energy bill.
So back to fixing a broken seal, what can you do? Can it be fixed?
The answer unfortunately is No. the glass needs to be removed and replaced. This is why choosing a glass company with a minimum 20 year warranty is beneficial. A warranty will cover a broken seal.
Is there anything I can do in the meantime?
Some companies make promises that they can remove the moisture from between the panes by sucking it out. Unfortunately this is a temporary fix as the seal will still let in moisture in the future. The same goes with drilling a small hole into a corner of the window (you may have seen this on older homes). Drilling a small hole in the double paned window will allow the condensation to usually clear out. It’s a good temporary fix but it will also allow the argon gas to escape so the window will not be as efficient and will allow heating and cooling to escape.
Contributed by: Live Next Level Window Cleaning – Foremost Experts in window and gutter cleaning and home maintenance.
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