Tag Archives: Peak Window Cleaning

What is a Broken Window Seal?

The window cleaner has finished the job and the glass still looks foggy, hazy, has drip marks or even water still on the glass. Terrible work? More likely a broken seal. Most all homes have thermopane windows. Thermopanes have two pieces of glass sandwiched together by a spacer that is usually 1/2” to ¾” thick. This spacer adheres the two pieces together and contains small beads of desiccant. The desiccants job is to prevent the buildup of moisture in between the panes of glass. When the seal “breaks” moisture is allowed to enter the space between the glass and starts to become a visual issue.

Different degrees of failure are easy to spot. A window with a light fog around the edges has just begun to go, but could equally stay the same or get worse. Bad examples can be full blown rain storms in between the panes! If the humidity levels can’t be kept at some sort of equilibrium between the interior and exterior of the home, condensation will form in the thermopane. This is why on a cold wet day things might look worse. The symptoms might not even be apparent on a sunny 70 degree day.

I observe these conditions in about 98% of the homes I do, so you are not alone. I have also noticed that most all window manufacturers have this problem. I strongly suspect that it has to do with our altitude. Windows that are built and sealed together at a much lower altitude have a lot of atmospheric pressure changes to deal with when heading ‘up the hill’. Some are built with small capillary tubes to deal with this. If they are not properly crimped when installed, it is an easy point for air intrusion.

Some windows seem to be more prone to failure than others. Large panes of glass that have site built frames are usually the worst. Add lots of sunlight or exposure to wind and the risk expands significantly. Odd shaped widows are also problematic. However, sliding glass doors seem to be immune to the broken seal. The one thing that will kill a window faster than anything is tint. Window films will not allow heat to pass through the glass. It is like taping a lid on a boiling pot of water, something has to give.

So what are your options?  The problem is visual more than anything. Unless there is a huge amount of water in between, the damage is not bad. It may be ugly to look out but really shouldn’t cause much, if any, harm.  Glass has an insulating value between R-2 and R-6 so no great losses in that area. A few companies offer in place repairs which usually involve drilling a few holes in the glass to “let off some steam”. I’ve seen some improvements with this method. If you have real bad mineral deposits or drips, skip this route. Really all that can be done to fix the problem is replacing the glass. More often than not, just the glass can be replaced. Not having the frame or the whole window assembly can bring the price of replacement back down to earth. The choice is yours, but it is really just visual.

Pine Pollen and Buildup on Windows

This time of year in the mountains, you take a deep breath and the scent of warm pine fills your nose. Springtime in the mountains is a rejuvenating season of new growth and greening. However, mountain residents are familiar with the yellow cloud of dust, PINE POLLEN. Buildup from the pollen gets on everything including your windows!

At Peak Window Cleaning, we have 25 years of experience living with pine pollen. We get all kinds of questions about the pollen, so we are going to answer the most common, like what it is and when does it fly.

Example of male cones that produce the pollen.

What is the yellow dust? In a nutshell, the yellow dust is apart the fertilization process for Conifers. These ancient trees are Gymnosperms and rather than a typical flower, they have cones. So birds and insects are little help to pollinate. The trees depend on the wind. The trees release a large amount of the yellow dust to increase the chance of pollination.

When does the pine pollen season start? Warm temperatures are the trigger for the process. So in Evergreen, Colorado one can expect when temperatures start to reach above 70°F during the day, which is about mid-June, the pollen will start to fly. The trees will release the most pollen on warm, dry, sunny, and windy days.

Example of male and female pine cones.

When does it end? The length of time the pine pollen flies varieties each year. In the mountain communities, the pine pollen typically flies for about two to three weeks. The dust is usually done by the first few weeks of July.

What makes some years worse than others? It actually depends on the previous season. For example, a very dry year followed by a year of good rain fall, the trees will release a very large amount. In a dry year the trees lay more dormant because of the lack of moisture, as if it knows it has a less likely chance to achieve pollination.

Now that we have answered some of the most common questions about the yellow dust, we hope you will be able to plan for the pine pollen.