Everyone loves a rainy day occasionally — it gives us the chance to stay inside, cozy up with a book or our favorite television show, and provides a gentle, relaxing sound to fall asleep to. If you’ve got leaky windows, however, a rainy day may instead be a point of stress. Nobody wants to spend their rainy day running around their house with buckets and towels, mopping up the mess, so here are some tools to get you to stop a window from leaking.
Summer or winter, leaking windows pose major issues. This includes structural and aesthetic damage as well as increased heating and cooling bills. It’s important to address water leaks when you first notice an issue. By taking the time to investigate the situation now, you’ll reduce the risk of costly repairs later.
Why is My Window Leaking?
In order to address fixing a leaky window, we need to find out why it’s leaking the first place. Window leaks can occur for a number of reasons. Most of the time, they occur in homes that are quite old, which is just a sign that your home may need a little TLC.
Over the years, your home is exposed to differing temperatures, especially if you live in an area that experiences all four seasons to an extreme degree. Because of this, windows slowly start to deteriorate, their frames wear, seals break, and they no longer become tight enough to seal off water. New windows are also at risk, though generally less so. With poor installation, maintenance and design of the house, leaky windows can occur at any time. If your house or windows are relatively new, you’ll want to take a look at the overhangs that drain water from your roof, that the window was properly installed, and that there is no missing caulk or cracked putty along the seal.
How to Stop Window Leaks
Once you’ve figured out why your window is leaking, you can address the problem. Depending on what the problem is, here are some ways to fix a leak:
- Replace your weatherstripping
- Recaulk damaged caulking by first removing the old, cleaning the window, and reapplying with new caulk.
- Reseal the glass to the gasket between the frame and glass.
- Make sure windows are clean from a build-up of debris, dirt, and insects.
- Replace the frame on old windows.
- Make sure the wood attached to the window isn’t rotting.
Each leaking window situation is unique and could be caused by a number of problems. If you’re having a hard time diagnosing the issue, don’t hesitate to call a professional to take a closer look. Window installers not only install the window properly, they will also handle any damaged wood/wall structure surrounding the area if applicable.
How To Prevent Window Leaks
Window leaks are not uncommon, but it’s best to keep up on maintenance to prevent them from happening altogether. Be sure to check the caulking around the outside of the window to make sure it’s properly sealed. Over time, extreme weather conditions can deteriorate the caulking causing the seal to break and thus leak water in through the window.
In addition, making sure you’re keeping up on cleaning maintenance will also help prevent leaks from occurring. Leaves, dirt, and insects are all debris that can fall into the window channel and thus block the flow of water from being able to exit the window properly. The water then pools up in the window and start to leak.
Making sure your roof maintenance is up to date can also prevent leaks from happening. Loose-fitted siding can cause rainwater to leak through and run down a window frame.
No matter the cause, making sure your windows are properly sealed, maintained, and installed is the best way to ensure no water enters your home through your windows. If it’s a sealing issue, Real Seal has you covered.
