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You might be among those who notice one of their double pane windows appears a bit foggy. Despite wiping the window panes from both sides, the haze remains the same. Ultimately, you find out that the cloudiness exists inside the two panes of the double-pane glass window. You also might have noticed that the foggy appearance vanishes after some days but reappears with more intensity later on. This is the critical time to repair if you don’t want to replace it but desire to use it for some more time.
In This Post:
Why Does Insulated Window Glass Get Fog?
The insulated window material should be flexible enough to make the panes expand or contract in summer or winter. Moreover, the window seals get brittle in the cold season but soften in the warm season. Also, the impact of the wind, the rain, destructive UV rays, fluctuations in the atmospheric pressure, and wear-out by seasoning may shorten the life of the window and cause wear and tear. Despite such things, high-quality insulated glass windows, if properly installed, can withstand for a couple of decades. Extremely old windows or improper installations may cause issues. The major causes of the foggy windows are:
- Window seals may break due to exposure to condensation or moisture for a long time. Ignorance in maintenance may lead to cracks forming along the border where seals may lose their strength.
- The majority of the cases when companies have replaced double pane glass windows were found to be damaged due to extreme heat from solar exposure. Due to the expansion and contraction of the panes, the seals lose their strength and result in cracks that allow water and moist air to penetrate between the panes.
- Even if you buy a high-quality insulated glass window, when it becomes too old that has covered its estimated applicable life, condensation or cloudiness appears within the panes. Basically, its seal can’t last for a lifetime.
- Although rarely happened, an impact may also break the seal of the insulated window. The impact may be due to either kids playing football, baseball and frisbee or suicidal bird.
When the fog appears inside the double pane window, the final solution is to go for window replacement because it is quite hard to split the old panes for cleaning and resealing them again. It’s a big challenge to remove original seals that get old. Also, the window repair takes a lot of time and requires good money. And, after all the window repairing efforts, the life of the insulated window becomes too low to make all your efforts in vain. However, if you still want to repair it and make it usable for some more time, continue reading to find out how to remove haze from double pane windows.
How to Repair a Foggy Double Pane Window?
Simply follow the below steps to DIY repair a foggy double pane window:
- Put a dehumidifier on the double pane glass and check if it can eliminate the fog or moisture trapped within the window panes.
- Drill a tiny hole at the top of the window while taking care that the frame should not crack.
- With the help of a drain snake or turkey baster dip in rubbing alcohol, clean the window pane from inside. It will clean the glass and remove water from the inner side of the panes.
Maintenance Tips to Keep the Condensation away from Double Pane Window
The condensation or fog inside the double-pane window signals that the window seal is broken. Below are the tips to clean moisture from the window panes.
- Keep the window frames clean, nice and dry especially in the moist climate.
- Repair the window too early by resealing the window before things get worse and become irreparable.
- Don’t repair a window that has already passed over its estimated life; otherwise, your effort and money might be wasted.
Final Thoughts
If you see cloudiness in your double pane window, it is an alarming sign of cracks within window seals. You can repair the seal after removing the haze inside the double panes. Ultimately, window replacement is the final solution if you want to enjoy energy-efficient and high performance for another decade.
