How to Fix Foggy House Windows

Foggy windows? Let`s see them through……
Foggy windows are a reality. Harsh, ungainly and cruel. Destroying your peace of mind, giving the house an unclean, unkempt feeling and causing havoc to your system.

Let us first explore how the fog walks in and then figure out ways to remove the fog, or if you have to, replace the entire unit. Double pane or triple pane, whichever you have. The fogginess comes if the window sealing is damaged and the space between the panes lets out air or gas which has been filled in there and water vapour and maybe dusty air has gone in. Condensed moisture creates the fog effect. Also, the inert argon or krypton which you might have got filled in there has also escaped. Hence you lose out on insulation and so it would disturb the temperature of your home and lead to higher energy bills.

When the spacers in between are filled with Argon or Krypton the molecules move very slowly as these are much denser than normal air, under the impact of thermal energy. Thus creating a better barrier against thermal energy, causing less heat loss. Creating a kind of insulation.

When the sealing of the window frame is faulty the colder outer air and the warm air inside make the water vapour inside condense causing fogginess..

In the summers this fogginess might be less because the outer air is also warm. When you see these transitions happen, know that you are in trouble and your windows need repair.

Many factors such as temperature and atmospheric pressure fluctuations, wind loads, working loads,?(Check) sunlight, water and water vapour seriously affect your IGUs. (Insulated Glass Units).

After 15-20 years of service IGU windows lose their effectiveness. There is 1% loss of gas every year naturally. If this leakage starts happening and the fog appears within your warranty period with the contractor who you bought the units from, he has to fix for free.

Suggested Read: Does Triple Glazing Help in Thermal Insulation?

Solutions for foggy glass:

This can be an entire replacement of the window unit. Including the fiberglass or wooden frame around the glass. This should be the best thing to do but it’s a costly affair and should be avoided if the damage is not too much. But it’s a permanent sort of treatment. So…

You could otherwise go in for a change of the IGU leaving the frame intact. There is another new procedure. This is an antifogging procedure. Cosmetic results are obtained. But this will not fill in more gas, only make sure no more goes out and no more air also comes in, so the fog might disappear, but your energy bills might still hike, but maybe lesser. Though it’s temporary relief. It is also a lot cheaper. It improves visibility.

The essence of this procedure is to expel the water vapour inside the window, and quickly seal it up again before more moisture-filled air can come into the IGU. But you may have prevented more air from coming in, but not replaced the air that has already come in and not got back the gases that have escaped..

Suggested Read: What are different types of Glazing and its advantages?

The defogging procedure follows:

1. Small holes, very tiny, are drilled into the glass to throw out the moisture from between the glass panes.
2. An anti-fog solution is applied to the inside of the IGU.
3. A liquid sealant is added to the bottom of the glass.
4. A seal is put over the drilled holes.

The cost is half of what a replaced window would cost. Neither does this replace the gas nor does it improve the thermal efficiency. Might prevent it from getting worse.

So this was a run-through on fog in your windows, its dangers and some quick tried and tested solutions. Humidity would come in with fog and inside humidity in your house can fuel this problem so you could besides other things work on reducing the humidity within your home. This will help. Otherwise, you have rotting wood, peeling paint, and broken seals.

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