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Double-panes collecting moisture inside

18 years ago

Two double-pane windows are collecting moisture. Do they need to be replaced, or is repair possible?

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Comments (5)

texasredhead
18 years ago
The glass portion of the window must be replaced. Most double pane windows are filled with argon so once the seal is broken you can't refill the window. We have Weld-Jen windows are the glass portion of the window is guaranteed for 20 years.
mike35
18 years ago
What you have is seal failure. It cannot be easily fixed. Depending on what kind of windows they are, if it's no longer under warranty, a local glass shop should be able to replace the glass for less than a new sash would cost. Most companies offer 20 year warranties on glass, especially the big companies like Pella, Marvin, Andersen, Jeld-Wen, etc. Be aware of a couple things, however. Some companies only honor the warranty for the original owner, and will require some proof of purchase. Some are pro-rated. Jeld-Wen windows today were known as different companies just a couple years ago, Caradco, Pozzi, & Norco. Depending on when you bought a Jeld-Wen window, the warranty may be different from todays warranty.
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new double panes fogging outside.
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Comments (30)
I copied this from an old post. It offers some solutions as I think the cause is well chronicled and not any windows "fault". As to warning home owners, it only happens in a very small percentage of replacement situations. I have never witnessed an ongoing situation so it seems as if the "fogging" eventually ceases. Hope this helps: Basically, exterior window condensation is dew. It's no different than the moisture (dew) that you might see on your car windows or on your lawn. Same mechanism at work. Exterior condensation formation on window glass is dependent on a number of different environmental factors such as exterior temperature, overhangs, prevailing winds, plantings, even cloud cover (or lack of), so that it is entirely possible that some of the windows in a home can have condensation and others nothing. In fact it is entirely possible that one window in a mulled set can have exterior condensation while the adjacent window has none. Your old single pane windows didn't have exterior condensation simply because you were heating the glass enough to keep the surface temperature above the dew point, whereas now the combination of dual pane and LowE coating on your new windows is preventing the warmth inside your home from warming the outer glass which results in cooler exterior surface temperatures and condensation when the conditions are right. Since this is a major concern for you, you may be able to eliminate or at least minimize the exterior condensation by heating the windows directly with a space heater. This kind of defeats the purpose of installing more efficient windows, but if you can warm up the interior glass enough then some of that heat will transfer to the outer glass and will hopefully raise the temperature above the dew point eliminating the condensation. Adding ducts below the window probably will have no effect on the exterior condensation because the IG unit will likely be able to block that additional (indirect) heat from passing thru to the outer lite. You might also try cleaning your exterior glass with something like RainX. I don't know if that works or not, but some people have claimed that it helps.
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double-pane window collecting moisture outside
Q
Comments (3)
I had a tripple pane with the same issue , but only in summer time high humidity time of year. The r value is about 15 on the window I had installed . It is a picture window, It bothers my wife but I know it is doing its job.I put RAIN-X on it and use a long soft squeege to clean off moisture. It happens only a half dozen times in summer time. Look for EZ-DRI products on the web about 10 bucks used for cars but just perfect for windows super soft. PS CONSULT YOUR WINDOW INSTALLERS BEFORE YOU PUT ANYTHING ON YOUR WINDOWS....
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Comments (5)
Socks, There really aren't any home-damage consequences in not getting the glazing replaced. This is an primarily an aesthetic issue that does not really affect the window energy performance unless you had a gas-infill - then the gas is gone - or if you happen to have a LowE coating. The coating would eventually corrode due to contact with the moisture between the lites. Curious, how old are the units and who made them?
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How to fix 'fogged' double pane windows?
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Comments (9)
There is a company at windowmedics.com who claim they can fix the problem without replacing the window(s) for about 1/3 to 1/2 the cost of replacing the window. Apparently they have developed a one-way valve that allows the moisture to exit but not return. They apparently drill a very small hole in the exterior pane in an upper or lower corner of the glass and after vacuuming the moisture out they install this valve that keeps the dry air in and the moisture out. They claim that MOST fogging is not due to seal failure. They say that if double paned glass had an impermeable seal that the window would explode when heated by sunlight, expanding the material inside. They say that moisture is actually absorbed by a moisture absorbent material hidden in the frame of the window and when this material becomes saturated after 10-20 years that this is when the fogging occurs. They also mention that they don't replace lost Argon/Krypton gas but that this doesn't lose that much of the insulating factor. They say the majority of the insulating qualities are due to the air/Argon/Krypton being moisture free and moisture is an excellent conductor of heat/cold. That by removing the moisture they restore most of the insulating factor of the windows. I can't vouch for them one way or the other, only mention their existence and what they claim about fogging removal because I face having to do something about to large picture windows myself right now. The one began showing a small amount of fog a couple of years ago but this spring all of a sudden both are virtually completely fogged and have water running down the inside of the panes. So I am looking very skeptically at their ability to fix such massive leakage of moisture into the windows. While they may be 100% correct for minor moisture buildup I have to believe my windows have massive sealant failure.
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pompeii
18 years ago
I had this done in my last home, which actually was my parents' home. They had replaced the windows in the 80's, and the seals had since failed in many of them. I contacted a glass company who came out and measured, then a couple of weeks later they returned and replaced the double pane glass units. It was MUCH more reasonable than new windows would have been, about $60-80 per unit (each window had two units.)

If I had replaced the entire window, the new window frames would not have matched the old, since not all the windows in the home needed to be replaced. Another advantage to replacing just the glass.

However, check on the metal inside edge of the window glass to see the manufacturer and the date. They may still be under warranty. I noticed that my parents had had some of the glass already replaced, because the dates on a couple of the windows were several years later than the rest.
norcalbl
18 years ago
Marvin windows are warrantied to whomever owns them. If you buy a house with Marvin, it doesn't matter who bought them and put them in. Their glass warranty is 20 yrs if it was produced after 2000. Prior to that, it was a 10 yr warranty. There should be a date and some other markings stamped into the metal spacer bar between the glass that indicates if it's Marvin and what year it was made. Good luck
socks
Original Author
18 years ago
Thanks everyone. This helps a lot.

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