Preventing Winter Water Damage with Your Windows

Water likes to make its way through any surface and hole it can find to get into your home.  Just when a homeowner thinks that they have gotten the upper hand in the battle, water finds new ways to get in.

Most homeowners don’t realize that their windows can become an easy access point for water to get in and do damage if they don’t keep their windows maintained.

Winter Window Caulking

Ideally, every spring and fall you need to check your windows for damage and apply caulking in spaces that could allow water to get in. Spring checking allows you to fix the damage done during the winter, and the fall check allows you to fix windows that need attention before the cold weather gets here.

During the winter months, applying caulking to fix damage is not impossible, but it is a little more difficult.

Do not use a latex caulk in the winter as it will freeze before it sets; instead you want to find a silicon or rubber caulk that can withstand sub-zero temperatures. Also, wait until you have a sunny, afternoon before you make the repair. The sun will warm up the outside of the house; which will allow for better caulking placement than when the outside has shrunk slightly because of the cold.

Use a hair dryer to make sure that the area you are applying the caulk to is dry and free of ice, or your repair will be worthless. If you are using more than one tube of caulking, keep the ones you are not using yet inside your home to keep them from getting too cold to use.

Add Storm Windows

Storm windows aren’t only good to keep the heat in your home when it’s cold, but they add another barrier against water trying to get inside. They are also helpful in helping to keep the frost off the inside window when it gets very cold.  When frost develops on the inside of the window in the winter, it can cause water damage to the window sill and the wall below it when the frost melts.

Keep Frost off Your Windows

Don’t allow water to take on the sneaky form of frost as a way to get into your home to do damage.  We have already talked above about the damage frost on the inside of your windows can do to your home.  So the objective is to keep frost off the window, and you can do so by keeping the condensation in your home low enough that it does not form and freeze on your window, or by rubbing a salt solution on your windows to prevent the frost from developing at all.