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A broken window seal is not hard to spot whatsoever.

It’s pretty obvious to those who know the signs (or those who don’t.) A seal failure is usually apparent by these few, yet distinct, features.

  1. There is fog or condensation between the glass.
  2. The panes of glass look distorted.
  3. You cannot clean the glass from the outside.
  4. A crack is going through the glass.
  5. You feel breezes coming in your home with the windows closed.

All of these characteristics are tell-tale signs that your window seal is broken and is failing you already. This can happen to single pane windows or double or triple pane as well. Time is not kind to most objects, but it is even worse to windows which are exposed to the elements every day of the week. If your windows are 15 years or older it would be no surprise to us if your window seal has failed.

Glass seals of the past were not meant to stand the test of time, but luckily for you new windows and glass units are. New windows were built for durability/longevity. High quality vinyl combined with Low-E glass gives your home optimal energy efficiency.  

Let’s go over the first problem broken window seals present, which is condensation between the glass. If this is already happening in your home there can be obstructed views all over the place. For example, take a look at my old windows in the picture below. This is no joke. These were my real windows up until about 4 months ago. They were disgusting and dirty–no amount of Windex was helping the problem because the water was between the panes (#3 on the list of ways to spot a broken window seal). After the water dried up between the glass, it caused a huge eyesore in the form of mineral deposits and streaks from water. Not to mention the parts on the side of my windows had begun to melt and stick up in all sorts of crazy directions. None it, I repeat, none of it was making me want to keep the blinds open.

Although I did find a bunch of material on how to clean this fog between the glass, it still didn’t solve problem #5 or #4 on the list. Breezes were literally just coming through the windows because the seals were broken. It wasn’t stopping that winter cold. In fact, the windows were so bad that I could literally see the curtains blowing in and feel all that cold air too. Our heater would come on 4-5 times a night. The cracks in the glass were an added eyesore. In one of our windows it was like somebody had hit a golf ball in the glass, it cracked and nobody had enough time or care to fix it.

Now that you know how to spot a broken window seals i.e. fog between the glass, distorted panes, inability to clean, cracks and breezes, it’s now time to discuss solutions to this problem. The most obvious and easy solution is to simply get new windows!

We decided in our house that enough was enough. We decided on new windows for the beautiful clean views and energy saving properties. I didn’t have to lift a finger. They gave me a free quote, measured and installed within a month. Miraculously, the day after our windows were installed a huge storm blew in. The windows worked perfectly at protecting the home from water damage and helped keep the furnace from coming on.  

That’s right, our furnace has only come on a couple times since we got the new windows installed. With insulated glass on my replacement windows I am confident I will stay warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer.

Finally if you have started to notice your windows fail recently or in the past 10 years there’s never a better time to get new windows. At anytime in the year you can be saving money and getting clearer views.

Another huge benefit to window replacement is that new windows are measured to perfection, installed with insulation and prevent air infiltration. At Conservation Construction all our windows have a foam filled side and top as well to act as another barrier of protection against weather. Whichever contractor you choose (please pick us) your windows should be backed by lifetime limited warranties which are transferable. This means that even if for some reason your windows by chance do fail we fix them

In conclusion, it’s easy to spot if your window seal is failing and it’s easy to fix this problem with new replacement windows. We recommend Conservation Windows. You can visit our website here to see our specs and why our windows stand above the competition. We also encourage you to comment on this article and tell us your own struggles with your home windows.