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Not Sure if It Is Window Problem; Water Leaking

11 years ago

There have been 3 times with water puddle sitting on the windowsill after heavy rainfalls. If somewhere at the window leaks, then it should leak every time when severe/heavy rainfall hits, right? It is strange that every time the water puddle was found at different areas.

Anybody has had this problem?

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Comments (11)

PRO
Windows on Washington Ltd
11 years ago
I am having a tough time visualizing what you are dealing with.

Can you post up a picture or a bit more detailed explanation?
chueh
Original Author
11 years ago
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I thought I'd give an update - we bought a new version of the LG, because we had another one in a different room (a 2014 version) that had been giving us no problems. Installed it, and the window sill has been dry as a bone. However... A few days ago the 2014 one started pouring water into the house. I'm not exactly sure where the water was coming out, but the interlocking weather stripping on the sill was filling up on the inside like a bathtub and water was all over the floor. I pulled off the connector and hose on the outside and saw a bit of pink bacterial film in the hose and at the connection. When we pulled the unit from the window, I cleaned out a bunch of black gunk from the backside lip using a Q-Tip that might have been stopping up the drainage (the drain hole is in the back near the bottom, but not _through_ the bottom). It seemed to work. The next day I turned off the unit and poured a strong mix of bleach and water into the pan and let it sit maybe an hour to try to kill and dissolve the gunk, then flushed it with water. We're thinking maybe we should do this every couple of weeks or so with both units? Not sure if it is a good idea, but the little pan tablets won't fit through the vents. Any other ideas on how to keep the bacterial film and gunk out, without dissasembling the whole unit?
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Karateguy
11 years ago
That window looks to be so poor, I would not be surprised if your issues were due to condensation even in rain-temps.
PRO
Windows on Washington Ltd
11 years ago
How cold is it there right now?

Condensation is certainly an option as is the internal glazing bead and weeping of the IGU set.

Is the drywall going up over the frame?
chueh
Original Author
11 years ago
57 was the high while 43 the low two days ago. indoor temp at night while sleeping was only 60.

Yesterday, high 48, 41 low. 60 at night. I found the water puddle yesterday morning. When windowsonwashington asked me to post a picture, I took the shot while finding the new puddle again about 9 PM. Day through evening time, I kept indoor temp about 68.

This window is about 61" wide by 45" high. It's the middle section of the bay window unit, with 2 windows on both side with a tilt. No water puddle found at any other window, except little condensation found at the overlapping double pane frame in the middle. Yes, the drywall is going up over the frame.
PRO
Windows on Washington Ltd
11 years ago
What is the indoor humidity level?

Those temps seem a bit mild for condensation issues but if the humidity is high in the home, it can raise the dew point temp pretty high.
chueh
Original Author
11 years ago
humidity around 65, up or down a little
PRO
Windows on Washington Ltd
11 years ago
That is pretty high.

At 65%, you can get dew point at 55 degrees. If it is in the 30's outside, you glass is going to be at least that low.

Here is a link that might be useful: Dew Point Calculator
chueh
Original Author
11 years ago
I see. Thank you
littleriverbb
11 years ago
Not an expert here, just a homeowner with a similar experience...water on our windowsill after a heavy rain, but not always... just sometimes. It wasn't a problem with the window, or the flashing, or the roof above the window. From what we could tell, the problem stemmed from an upper roof, that dripped onto a lower roof that was above the window. The heavy rain would come off the upper roof and splash onto the lower roof with such force that it was bouncing back against the house clapboard. We're guessing that the water was somehow getting behind the clapboard and following the easiest path downward, by gravity, until it came out at the trim at the top of our window and dripped onto the sill. It took us quite a while to figure this out (and it is all really just a guess anyway), but the problem was solved when we put a small section of gutter on the upper roof. No more dripping water... no more leaking window.

Water is funny. It may not come from where you think it would. During a renovation a few years ago, we had a heavy rain before a small section of the roof was entirely finished. Third-story roof, but the water leaked through a doorway in the middle of our first floor... nowhere near an outer wall.

I hope this helps!
PRO
Windows on Washington Ltd
11 years ago
Good point littleriverbb!!

Water is a tricky little devil and where the leak shows can be far from where it starts.

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