Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Rob.Hall on June 26, 2008, 03:03:27 pm
-
Now I know we have had debates about this but can we blow one of these windows.
What does it take and what causes it?
Can a pressure washer do it?
Can it be done by cleaning from an outside tap through a water fed pole at high pressure?
Can it be repaired without replacing the actual pain.
-
What does it take and what causes it?
A blown window is when the inert gas that fills the void between the 2 panes gets out and air gets in. The air will cause condensation between the 2 panes.
It can be caused by either the glass cracking and letting the gas escape and the air in or the seal (silverfoil along the edge) being damaged or decaying.
In order for the window to be "blown" by a jet wash or WFP pole it would have to be in such a bad condition to start with that I would say it would be impossable for it to be done either of them.
Can a pressure washer do it? No
Can it be done by cleaning from an outside tap through a water fed pole at high pressure? No
Can it be repaired without replacing the actual pain. No
Its only the glass unit that would need to be replaced. It can't be done on site as the air thats there during manufacture needs to be removed and the inert gas put in and sealed.
A rough idea of price would be a 3ft x 3ft glass unit would cost about £60+ vat fitted. Fitting it would take about 10mins.
Hope that helps....
Regards
Mr H
-
it can be dun thay seal it on the eadge & drill hole blow hot air in , but i dont think ital last
-
W?C often get the blame, its usually down to a poor manuf system with a narrow gap between the glass that cannot take heat the expansion and blows. It maybe 2 years before they fog and the custy blames you. The answer to your Q is NO, but a hot wash on a cold day could also cause rapid expansion ?
-
iv bin blamed for one & just in gaente & thay blamed me puting to much presher on window 1 1/2 m window , so thay sad we kowe of a man thatl do( the abth post) & he have to sort it out with me , so when i went to wash out he jumped bla bla bla , after sum dish cushon i sad whos to blame for bath window top opner 6" 1ft 6" & thats wher it wos left 4 munths a go
-
This thread belongs here:
www.cleanitup.co.uk/smf/index.php?topic=57440.0
-
Thanks guys and in particular Mr H.
-
They can be fixed without replacing he pain. They drill a small hole in the glass and fill it with some gas and seal it not sure on the pice but they say (the company that do it, and I cannot remember who it was ) it is cheaper than replacing the glass but then I guess it would have to be.
-
Had a guy do my windows with water fed pole, first time he did it the seals went in two of my double glazed units so i would definitely say yes. Got a guy doing it traditional way now and now more problems.
-
Had a guy do my windows with water fed pole, first time he did it the seals went in two of my double glazed units so i would definitely say yes. Got a guy doing it traditional way now and now more problems.
Very very unlikely that wfp was to blame. How do you know your seals weren't bad before it was cleaned with wfp. Seals are not the sort of thing you go roind and check regularly are they? Suggest you are just starting a WFP v Trad debate again ::)
-
No not trying to start a debate, as im not a window cleaner, it just seems very strange that two different window went, after this guy had cleaned them.
-
How do you know they weren't gone before hand? The temp. difference of the cold water on the outside and the warm air on the inside will cause any moisture inside the gap to condense onto the glass. That doesn't mean the window cleaner put it there, just that the tools he is using is highlighting a symptom of an already existing problem.
-
the seal that cownts youd have take it out of fram as its not the you see rownd the fram
-
Tommy is right. The seal that goes is the INTERNAL seal. It looks like silver foil and goes round the edge of the glass inside the frame and so it is faceing the house walls. WFP water, wind, rain, snow, etc can not get to it unless the actual frame is damaged and even then it would only be able to drip or run on to in with the power of gravity.
A sudden change in temperature such as a warm room with cold water or a frost outside would quickly produce condensation in the gap of a blown window.
If it was possable for WFP to damage windows in that way then we would all be out of business and the insurance companies would not cover us for it.
Windows take a bigger battering during a storm than they ever could from WFP.
Regards
Mr H
-
No not trying to start a debate, as im not a window cleaner, it just seems very strange that two different window went, after this guy had cleaned them.
You should thank this guy for pointing out a problem that you have with your seals.
pop out the plasic edges and look take out the glass you will see that wfp cant damage them as it cant touch them, more than likely there is no tab under glass (packer) this will damage the seal on the glass. If I have to take out out tomorrow I will take some pics so you can see what I mean.
Ian
-
In support of Davids and Mr H, I have a couple of windows on my round that mist up terribly when I WFP them on a sunny day but don't mist up at all when I do them on a cloudy day. They always mist up around the spots of water where the suns rays are focused the most.
-
A quick bit of research and I found this from a Canadian firm that does restore units in situ.... This link gives some of the reasons for window failure.
www.ccwwi.com/Technology.html?keywords=failed+thermal+pane+windows
Regards
Mr H