Get the Fog Out. . .Thermopane Window Repair
Ray Sands Glass is an established dealer in
the Rochester and surrounding areas for thermopane window repair. Have your insulated glass windows developed foggy areas due to moisture between the window panes?
Ray Sands Glass can help. We are now an authorized dealer for Crystal Clear Window Works. Using this patented restorative window repair technology we can "Get the Fog Out" of your thermopane windows in your home.
Why Windows Fail
There is much more to insulated glass unit (IGU) failure than common window legend tells. The fabled 'ruptured' seal that brings moisture into the sealed unit is, in most cases, a small breach that is easy to manage and control with the Crystal Clear Moisture and Damage Control service.
Over the life of a sealed unit, a litany of loads acts upon it. And while manufacturing, transport, installation, exposure and building pressure can all compromise an IGU's seal integrity, it is the day-to-day atmospheric pressures acting on the unit, like temperature, that take the biggest toll. Among these stresses, radiant heat from the sun is by far, the most destructive.
The great majority of failed IGUs are found on the sunny side of the property. Why? This is a factor of temperature pressures and time. When the sun's direct energy hits a window, the associated rise in temperature between the panes of glass makes the air molecules more active, increasing pressure in the chamber, on the glass and on the seals. Conversely, as the temperature drops, a negative pressure is exerted on the glass and seals.
'Solar pumping' serves to exploit or create the tiny breaches inside the unit that serve as channels for the diffusion of air into the chamber. As air travels into the chamber day in and day out, it naturally brings moisture with it.
The Damaging Cycle of Moisture
From the moment an IGU leaves the shop floor, it is a candidate for failure. Moisture diffusion into a sealed unit is unavoidable and continuous. Manufacturers deal with this reality by loading adsorption material, or 'dessicant', in the spacer bar construction of every unit. This material has one job - to bond with water molecules. The material comes in the form of beads, similar to those you find accompanying new leather and electronic products, or as a blended compound, often a black butyl or cork-like wafer.
Every IGU has a finite capacity of how much water it can hold ('hide'). Over time, as moisture accumulates, the unit finally reaches a threshold saturation point, it becomes visible as condensation between the lites of glass (this is directly associated to the falling dew point between the panes of glass!)
In the early stages of visible failure, a mist may appear and disappear through the natural cycle of evaporation. As the saturation point is further exceeded though, the dangers begin, as moisture becomes permanent, progressively leaving deposits, stripping the insulating properties of the unit, and scarring the glass. Once scarred, the unit may not be salvageable.
How we cure a Window
With the Crystal Clear restoration, this cycle of net accumulation of moisture is reversed. Using proprietary, precision tools, our technicians effectively re-engineer a window, introducing breathing holes so the unit can expel moisture on its own.
The secret to the Crystal Clear process involves the installation of the 'micro' DefoggerTM valve and seal. When radiant energy such as sunlight heats and pressurizes a curing window, the valve is activated, allowing vaporized moisture in the chamber to vent to the outside. In a very short period, all moisture is expelled from the environment. The sealed unit no longer accumulates moisture and has recovered its 'dry air' insulating properties.
No mess from tearing out the sash. No inconvenience with work often performed from the exterior or discreetly from the interior. No manufacturing with finite raw materials. No burning of fossil fuels to manufacture and transport windows. No waste of glass (estimated at 1 cu. ton every year in America).
An eco-friendly restoration at a fraction of the cost of replacing the unit.
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