Episode Transcript
Speaker 0 00:00:05 Welcome to the Clear Impact podcast brought to you by PGTI University. Thanks for joining us today. My name is Sherri Connor and I am your host.
Speaker 1 00:00:21 Another thing that they can do is ensure they never use a pressure washer on the windows or doors .
Speaker 0 00:00:24 On today's episode of the Clear Impact Podcast. We continue with Windows and Doors 1 0 1, and we actually discuss a little known fact - care and maintenance of windows and doors. What, what does that mean? Don't I have enough to maintain? Patrick Jameson tells us some simple things that we can do to help our windows and doors function properly and last a long time.
Good morning. We are here on the Clear Impact Podcast today with Patrick Jameson. Thank you. Hey Patrick, I'm glad you could join us. We had a conversation not too long ago about windows and doors. We're in the series, Windows and Doors 1 0 1 where we're just providing some very basic information to our audience and we kind of talked about maintenance. And so we want to revisit that and I think we can actually spend a good bit talking about that topic. So I know that I have to maintain things, but it never occurs to me that I have to maintain my windows and doors in my house. I know I have to clean them, but what do you mean by that? Like what kind of maintenance? Is there somebody that can do that for me? Like, do I hire somebody or is this something I can do myself? What, tell me more about maintenance.
Speaker 1 00:01:30 Yep, and you're right. A lot of people have these brand new windows in their house. They love them. They open, they work and they're exactly what they hope for. And the problem is people start looking through windows and don't actually look at the windows and the care maintenance kind of fades away in the beginning. Yes, you are cleaning them almost every day. You're really admiring them. People, family, friends are coming over. You're showing them off. And then that, you know that it just kind of fades away. Well, windows and doors are an investment. Yeah. Anybody will tell you they are not cheap. And it's kind of like a car you want to maintain it. You want to change the oil. You want to rotate the tires. You want to do different things to keep that car running smoothly. Windows and doors are the same way. A lot of our dealers and distributors will pass out the care and maintenance instructions when they have new windows and doors put into somebody's home. If you don't have the care and maintenance go to our website, or you can even type in Google, PGT care and maintenance and you can download the PDF.
Speaker 0 00:02:21 So what about some of the other brands that we carry are those also products that need to be maintained? And we have information around those as well. Absolutely.
Speaker 1 00:02:29 Yep. Our care maintenance guide will cover all the PGT brands. So from PGT to CGI, WinDoor, the same instructions apply to all.
Speaker 0 00:02:37 Okay, cool. So it doesn't matter if it's final or aluminum or an impact or non-impact um, you still got to take care of them. That is very correct. Yes. That's awesome. What are some of the things that people will find when they go to that? Can you give us a quick little summary? Like I'm not in front of my computer right now, I'm driving. And I am curious about what I need to do to maintain my windows and doors.
Speaker 1 00:02:57 Well, one of the first main important things is you need to operate your windows. If you have single hungs, if you have horizontal rollers, windows that operate, you need to open them once a year, you need to make sure that they are still functioning. If you live by the coast, it's going to be recommended that you open them once a month. I know in the summertime, it's like, what do you mean? I'm going to open my windows? Why would I do that? But to keep the parts, moving, to keep them lubricated, some of our rollers have grease inside the ball-bearings that, you know, you're going to relubricate those ball-bearings when you open and close your windows, the balance rods, a spiral balances, same way. You're gonna open and close them to lubricate those cylinders, those balance rods. And again, you're looking through windows over a period of time and you kind of forget about, oh yeah, I need to open my windows. I need to just make sure that they're clean. Make sure that, you know, they are,
Speaker 0 00:03:45 If it's not a self-lubricating product, do they use like WD 40? Or what can I use if it's sticky or something isn't moving quite as smoothly as it should.
Speaker 1 00:03:54 Yep. So first thing is WD 40 makes a lot of different types of lubricants. You need to stay away from the yellow blue can that's oil base because you're just going to run into more issues down the road. You want to get yourself a can of silicone-based lubricant. That's going to be one of the best lubricants you can use. On our care and maintenance guide, we talk about different oils, like mineral oil that you can use. Hemp oil works really well on hinges, the locks, the plungers that go into the door.
Speaker 0 00:04:22 So if the door is squeaky, it's probably a hinge and I don't want to use WD 40 on that.
Speaker 1 00:04:27 Not WD 40 oil base. No, you can get yourself a can of WD 40 that's silicone base. And it looks nothing like the blue and yellow can.
Speaker 0 00:04:36 Okay. That's a good thing to know. Uh, what are some other things that people can do to preserve the life of their doors and windows?
Speaker 1 00:04:44 Another thing can do is ensure they never use a pressure washer on the windows or doors. Oh, how come? Because some folks have called me up and they've said about how they have moisture now in between the glass.
Speaker 0 00:04:58 Be sure to tune in for upcoming episodes to help you understand the fenestration industry, what you need to know when buying windows and doors and other related topics, you can find out more about us pgtiuniversity.com. You can also find us on Facebook and LinkedIn.
Speaker 1 00:05:18 And it's like moisture between the panes of glass. That sounds like a seal failure and they would respond. Yeah, and every window did it. Yesterday, I washed all the windows with a pressure washer and all of a sudden, the next day I've got this moisture between the glass. You have just broke the seal of all of your windows and doors and the glass needs to be replaced now.
Speaker 0 00:05:35 Oh, is that covered under warranty?
Speaker 1 00:05:37 It is not covered under warranty. And that's one of the biggest things that's out there is you have companies that will offer you a service by cleaning your windows. And they wash them with a pressure washer. They are shooting this water jet 2000, 3000. PSI's out of this hose and they are breaking the seals of your windows when they were not designed for that kind of pressure.
Speaker 0 00:05:56 Right. Because a pressure washer is actually more powerful than a hurricane.
Speaker 1 00:06:00 Yeah, exactly. And some people have argued with me that it's not, and it is, it is much, much greater than a hurricane
Speaker 0 00:06:06 Note. Do not pressure wash your windows and sliding glass doors. Right.
Speaker 1 00:06:10 Hopefully that gets screamed from the top of the mountain.
Speaker 0 00:06:14 Don't use pressure washers. We should send notes to all the pressure washing companies and tell them, stop doing that.
Speaker 1 00:06:20 Yep, exactly. But yeah, that's one of the biggest things I remember seeing in the past.
Speaker 0 00:06:23 Anything else?
Speaker 1 00:06:26 Probably another good one is when you're cleaning your windows, the glass, make sure you're using like a mild dish soap, something that you're going to be able to take your cloth, saturate it, get a wet and go ahead and clean your windows. Don't use any metal objects. Don't use razorblades to try to clean your glass. If you're using paper towels and the paper tells drop on your floor, I will throw those paper towels away and get yourself some new ones. In the past, we've seen over and over cleaning crews that would come out to these new homes to clean the windows before the homeowners moved in, they would use these rags. And sometimes a rag would hit the ground, pick up sand pickup, these little tiny pebbles or rocks. And they would just keep cleaning the glass. All of a sudden, you start seeing these circles, scratch marks right in the glass. And then all of a sudden it's top and bottom, the next window, top and bottom of all these circle scratch marks. And they are just causing more damage than, you know, doing good to it. So if your paper towels, if your rags hit the ground, it's best just to go ahead and set them off to the side, throw them away and get yourself a new rag or new paper towel.
Speaker 0 00:07:28 I would never have thought of that. Uh, what about like just good old Windex? Is that okay?
Speaker 1 00:07:32 Yeah. Windex, you can use, you just want to make sure that you again apply a soft water saturated cloth to the Windex and clean your glass, make sure that the Windex doesn't drain or drip on the bottom of your sill, where your frame adheres to the glass. I remember many years ago somebody was cleaning their windows and they would always let the Windex sit. And I don't know if it was a different glass chemical, but at the bottom they would just let it sit there. And over time the glass cleaner started actually eating away the silicone from the frame and the glass. So like I told them, I said, when you clean your windows, you've got to make sure you get all the chemicals off, go ahead and clean it off really well. Make sure it's dry to ensure that those chemicals like Windex doesn't continue to sit on top of the glazing bed where the silicone adheres in the frame and the glass.
Speaker 0 00:08:19 I think I remember when we were kids, my mom using just like vinegar and water, just something really natural. Yep. And that's another option
Speaker 1 00:08:26 Again, just make sure that, you know, you clean it and dry it for best practice.
Speaker 0 00:08:30 Anything else that we need to talk about around maintenance? Because this is a whole new topic for me. So I'm relying on your expertise today.
Speaker 1 00:08:38 Another good tip is when you're cleaning glass, clean your glass during cooler temperatures, without direct sunlight, you know, some people just figure, well, I'm just going to do it during lunch or, you know, during the hottest part of the day. And that's not always the best case. So do it during cooler temperatures. Wash your glass frequently to remove surface and prevent stains. Some of our glass that we offer has a hard coating on the outside. If you have sprinkler system and that sprinklers always hitting the windows, you know, every day for weeks, months, you know, up to a year, you could have hard water. The hard water could actually pit the hard coat in the glass. Oh. So you want to make sure that you're using the right mild dish soap, you know, cleaner for those types of windows, making sure you're not damaging the hard coating, but you're preventing the hard water from pitting that hard coat.
Speaker 0 00:09:22 Mm. And the sprinklers really don't need to be watering your windows anyway,
Speaker 1 00:09:26 Watering in your windows. That's like almost like going back to the pressure washer, hitting the windows. Right. So yeah, that's a double, no.
Speaker 0 00:09:32 Fix your sprinklers. Okay. Do you have any interesting stories around maintenance?
Speaker 1 00:09:38 I worked In consumer affairs for a short period. And I remember this lady called me and she says, I have your brand new windows and doors in my house. But the sliding glass door panel is just really hard to slide back and forth. I was like, okay, first thing is maybe it's installation. Maybe it's just the weight of the panel and she doesn't have the strength to move it. And I asked her, I said, do me a favor, take a couple of pictures of your door. I want to see the bottom of your track. I want to see your panels. I want to see if I can spot anything from my end and try to help troubleshoot it. She took several pictures, emailed to me and you wouldn't believe it, but there was sand caked inside the track I zoomed in on the picture. I seen hair, dirt, all kinds of hair.
Speaker 1 00:10:13 It could have been dog hair could have been human hair. And I even seen dead bugs in the track. And you know, I called her up and I said, thank you for all the pictures. I said, the first thing that I'm noticing is your tracks are filthy. They are dirty. I'm not trying to be the mean guy here, but you really need to get the shop vac out. You really need to clean, wipe down your tracks. If you need to use some of that mineral oil use some of that. Silicone-based lubricant, not the spray, the rollers, but the spray, the track, move your panels back and forth and call me if there's any issues. And I haven't heard from her since, but, and it wasn't yesterday. But again, it's something that you have to do. You have to maintain it. You have to clean it and move your panels, move your sashes.
Speaker 0 00:10:51 So even if it's a door that you don't go in and out of all the time, you should still open it every now and then
Speaker 1 00:10:57 Open it every now and then, because some people are like, well, I never used that panel. It's like, yeah, you don't use it, but they're still rollers on it. If you ordered what we call an an X configuration and X just means that you're sliding glass door panels will travel left or right, or right to left, I would still unlock and open them because they have rollers. Galvanic corrosion could occur because you might have stainless steel rollers on top of aluminum track. And over time, the salt in the air, you know, we get water, we get rain, we have the humidity. All of these elements create this perfect storm and galvanic corrosion could start occurring. We've got pictures where these panels were never opened for 10, 11, 12 years. And the galvanic corrosion actually ate away the aluminum track at the bottom. Oh, it wasn't any PGT products. But again, it's something that a PGT product could see. And that's why we encourage people to open and close them, wipe down your tracks, clean them, maintain them like you would with a car.
Speaker 0 00:11:50 That is some great, great advice. I think our homeowners will be very happy to hear about this and it'll probably save our dealers a little aggravation as well. You're right. Yep. Absolutely. Thank you so much for bringing your time and your expertise to us today. Patrick, I look forward to having you again. Next time. Anytime
Speaker 2 00:12:08 I always have a blast Sherri, thanks.
Speaker 0 00:12:10 PGTI University is the customer education team for an entire family of brands. We began with the original, Eze-Breeze porch enclosure line then became PGT, America's leading brand of impact resistant windows and doors. We then added CGI, CGIC, WinDoor, Western Windows, New South Windows and Eco Windows and Doors. We create products built to withstand major storms, keeping people safe, secure, and prepared. Our exceptional brands give you the protection you need without compromising design or functionality. PGTI University is here to educate you, our listener, so that you can be a more informed consumer of window and door products.
