All double pane windows eventually fail; the best day a thermal pane window ever had was the day it was made. Poor caulking, rotting frames, house settling, improper installation...there are many reasons why windows fail, but the main cause of window seal failure is a process known as “solar pumping"
Most people don’t realize that insulating glass units (IGUs) are not completely airtight—if they were, they’d explode! When sunshine hits a double pane window the air inside heats up significantly, (think of a car on a hot day!) causing the sealed window unit to expand and pushing air out through the semi-permeable seals. In the evening, the window cools and contracts, drawing air—and humidity—with it. Day after day, year after year, this cyclical expansion and contraction occurs, stressing the window seals.
Manufacturers
expect and plan for solar pumping. Built into every
thermal pane window frame is
silica desiccant to absorb the
small amounts of moisture inevitably drawn into the
window. The desiccant, however, has a limited lifespan.
At some point it has absorbed all the moisture it can
hold and that is the day a hazy, misty fog clouds your
glass window pane. From this point on the window begins
deteriorating rapidly. If left untreated, the trapped,
silica-laden moisture quickly corrodes the inner window glass
surfaces, eventually leaving mineral deposits and a
permanent white silica haze. Once this has occurred the
sealed window unit is no longer repairable.
So don’t delay! The moment you see haze, fog or condensation inside your thermal pane windows, contact us for a free estimate. The longer you wait, the less chance we have for a successful repair! In fact, if you've already had a number of your windows fail we suggest you consider our Preventative Program We can re-engineer your windows to be sure they never fail at a much lower cost than repairing them and save you even more money.
