New Pella Storm Door Glass Haze

16 years ago

We recently had Pella install a new fiberglass entry door and storm door. Shortly after installation we started to get hazing on the inside glass of the storm door. It is not condensation. We have cleaned the glass at least 3-4 times being very careful with the products we are using, but the haze returns within days no matter what type of weather (cool or hot).

The storm door is full view single pane. The fiberglass interior door is a full panel with no glass. It was painted by Pella to match the color of the storm door. The door does get full afternoon sun, but as mentioned above the weather/temperature does not seem to be the issue. We do not think the installation is the problem either.

We are thinking it may be some sort of vapor being given off from the paint on the interior door. Our previous door was painted steel which got quite hot and we never had this issue with the old storm door.

Does anyone have thoughts or ideas on what the problem may be? We will be contacting customer service at Pella soon and don't know what to expect them to say. This just seems so odd.

Thank you in advance and sorry for the long post.

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prelude
Original Author

16 years ago

Michael (brushworks)

We quit smoking a little over 3 years ago. We have had no visitors over since the installation who are smokers. None of our other glass (and we got plenty of it, 19 Anderson Windows and 2 sets of Therma Tru french doors)have this problem. The new pella storm door is not double paned, so moisture infiltration was not an issue. The pella rep used some kind of cleaner my husband thought was called sparkle. It has a creamy slightly gritty consistency. When I get sometime I am going to track him down and ask what exactly the product was. Would like to buy some for my other glass.

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Comments (8)

Michael
16 years ago
The hazing may go away soon. It may be the fiberglass door panels "gassing off", or off gassing. That trapped gas will cloud the glass panels.

What is Offgassing?
Offgassing is the evaporation of volatile chemicals in non-metallic materials at normal atmospheric pressure. This means that building materials can release chemicals into the air through evaporation. This evaporation can continue for years after the products are initially installed which means you continue to breathe these chemicals as you work, sleep and relax in your home or office.

Can You Give Me an Example?
Everyone knows how bad most paints stains and varnishes smell; your instincts probably tell you the fumes are bad for you. Much of those fumes are from VOCs. But there are VOCs in less obvious products. For example, that film that accumulates on the windows on a new car. This film is the result of chemicals offgassing into the air and then condensing onto the windows to form the film. This same process is very likely going on in your home and workplace right now, and the chemicals are not only in the air and on the windows, they are in your lungs. Have you ever noticed how hard you have to rub to get that film off your windows?

Michael

Here is a link that might be useful: Offgassing
prelude
Original Author
16 years ago
Michael
Thank you so much! After what we spent on this purchase I wanted to cry when the haze developed. No sense having a full view storm door if it looks cloudy like ours. I have never heard of anyone having this problem with a new door install. There is quite a vacuum between the doors so I am sure this is the issue. The door was just painted about a week before the install, in fact the installers were getting paint on their fingers. Do you think keeping the storm door open will allow the door paint to "cure" and eliminate the gassing?
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ron6519
16 years ago
When you're home, leave the entry door open a little so it has air circulation. See if that helps speed up the curing of the door.
Ron.
idetect
16 years ago
We had 25 Pella windows installed earlier this year and 5 of the windows developed the "haze". We called Pella and they had to come out and replace all 5 windows. The haze on our windows looked like yellow dust. Our haze had nothing to do with paint.
prelude
Original Author
16 years ago
We have a solution!! When we call CS at Pella they said, "How strange, we never had a problem like this." However when they sent the rep out he told my husband, he knew exactly what the issue was. The storm door has a bevel cut into the glass. He said before Pella cut the bevel in, they coat the glass with some sort of substance to protect the glass. This substance is very difficult to remove. He used a special cleaner to remove the film. I still feel overgassing off the newly painted door contributed to some of the haze. Prior to his arrival we had kept the storm door open for 4 days and I noticed the haze was diminishing. We are happy to say the least. Thank you to everyone who replied.
Michael
16 years ago
idetect, do you smoke in the house?

Michael
beverlynn
last year
I've been having the same issue with my Pella storm door!!

New Pella Storm Door Glass Haze

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