A Guide to Winter Maintenance for San Diego Replacement Window Customers

It’s winter in San Diego, which brings colder temperatures and (usually) increased rainfall. When it comes to your replacement windows, there are a couple of problems that can occur during the cold and rainy season. However, both have simple remedies that any homeowner can do on their own in a matter of minutes, and without any special tools.

Condensation on Your Replacement Windows

When the outside temperature drops, there is often an increase in condensation on the interior glass of replacement windows, which makes windows cloudy. This occurs when there is excess water vapor in the air. When the moist air comes in contact with a cold surface, like window glass, condensation occurs. The humidity inside your home can be caused by a number of everyday activities, including showering, washing clothes or dishes, and cooking.

The presence of condensation does not mean there is a problem with your replacement windows. Nonetheless, it is annoying. It prevents you from having a clear view of the outdoors and reduces the amount of natural light that enters your home.

Sometimes replacement window customers will comment that they never had a problem with condensation with their old windows. This is because their old windows were likely drafty, and the moisture in the air inside the home was allowed to escape through cracks and gaps around the old windows. With new, energy-efficient replacement windows, the gaps and cracks have been eliminated. While this is good for making your home less cold and drafty, it also makes it more difficult for the moisture inside your house to escape, which leads to interior window condensation.

Reducing Condensation on Your Interior Replacement Windows

To prevent or reduce condensation on your interior replacement windows, you need to reduce the amount of humidity in your home. You can achieve this by following a combination of the following suggestions:

• Run any ceiling fans in your home to circulate the air
• Open windows and doors when the weather is pleasant to allow moisture to escape
• Utilize exhaust fans when cooking or showering, and allow them to continue to run for a few minutes after you’re done with these activities
• Open your fireplace damper
• For homes with extremely high humidity, consider purchasing and using a dehumidifier

To learn more about reducing condensation on your interior replacement windows, take a look at this helpful video produced by Anlin Window Systems (one of our preferred manufacturers of replacement window and door products):

Water Entering Your San Diego Home Through Your Replacement Windows and Doors

Another problem that homeowners might face during the winter months in San Diego is excess water entering the home through replacement windows or patio doors during a rainstorm. This is especially problematic when the rain is wind-driven. Thankfully, in San Diego we don’t experience a lot of severe storms, but on the occasion that wind and heavy rains are present at the same time, there is a possibility that you could see an accumulation of water around the bottom of your replacement windows and doors in the track area.

Seeing a small amount of water around the bottom of your windows and doors is not cause for panic. It doesn’t mean that your windows and doors are defective or that they were not installed properly. This is completely normal. Your replacement windows and doors were designed to eliminate any water that comes in through a weep drainage system.

If you are interested in seeing in detail how the weep drainage system works in Anlin windows, take a look at this informative video produced by Anlin Window Systems. It includes an excellent illustration of the weep drainage system, and explains exactly how it works.

All of the replacement windows and doors we sell at BM Windows come equipped with an advanced weep drainage system that keeps water from accumulating inside your home. You may see a small amount water in the track area of your windows on especially windy and rainy days, but if you see an excess amount of water coming in through your replacement windows or patio doors, or if it starts to overflow onto the floor below, it could indicate a problem with your weep drainage system that needs to be taken care of.

Fortunately, this is an easy fix for any homeowner, even for those who don’t consider themselves “handy.”

Keeping the Drainage System on Your Replacement Windows Functioning Properly

In order to work as it should, the weep drainage system in your replacement windows and patio doors needs to be free and clear of any dirt and debris. You should do periodic inspections of the exterior of your replacement windows and doors, especially if you know a storm is on the way. Look for the small openings at the bottom of each replacement window and door. These are called the “weep holes.” They are what allow the water to drain out without allowing air to enter your home.

If your windows’ or doors’ weep holes are visibly blocked, clean them out with a small soft brush or pipe cleaner. You can test if the weep holes are clear by pouring a small amount of water into the interior window track. If the water accumulates, and either does not drain out, or drains out very slowly, the weep holes are blocked and need additional cleaning. If the water quickly drains out, your weep holes are clean, and you should be good to go when the rain comes.

You should also make sure to keep the window track area clear by occasionally wiping it clean with a soft, wet cloth.

An additional note about preventing water from entering your home through your replacement windows and damaging your interior: Make sure that whenever you wash your windows with a hose, you are using a “mist” setting, rather than a “jet” setting, on your hose nozzle. When you use a jet setting, a large amount of water is being allowed to enter the track area of your windows, and your weep drainage system may not be able to keep up.

It only takes a few minutes to keep your replacement windows and doors functioning properly, but neglecting to do so can lead to expensive damage to the interior of your home.

San Diego Replacement Window Specialists

If you haven’t yet replaced your old windows with new, energy-efficient replacement windows, now is a great time to do so! Your home will be more comfortable in the cold and rainy winter months, as well as in the hot summer months to come. Many of our San Diego replacement window customers comment that they can’t believe the difference new windows make in the way their home feels, and that they wish they had replaced their windows years ago!

Contact us at BM Windows to learn more about what replacement windows can do for your home, and have any of your questions answered about the types of windows we sell and the process of having replacement windows installed. When you call, we can set up a free, in-home consultation where one of our friendly, no-pressure sales representatives can take measurements and give you a quote on replacement windows and doors for your San Diego home.