from Margie in Kohler, WI:
#188
Our house is only 14 years old, most of our windows have mold growing on the wood. We want to replace the windows since they are starting to rot, but do not want to invest the money until we find a solution to this problem.
Mold should not cause windows of this age to need replacement.
You should not be experiencing mold causing 14 year old windows to be in need of replacement. Without seeing the situation, I would make an educated guess that the relative humidity (how moist the air is) in your home is probably too high. There are many causes for elevated relative humidity in homes. Sometimes it is caused by bulk water from outside the building finding its way in as in the case of a leaky roof, poor landscaping around the foundation, poor flashing detail around windows and doors to name but only a few. Other times, elevated relative humidity levels can be caused by internal sources of moisture such as indoor clotheslines, leaky plumbing, humidifiers (portable or whole house types), house plants, bathing, cooking, improperly vented gas appliances (i.e. water heaters), and even indoor storage of firewood. Air temperature settings also play a role in relative humidity. The colder you keep the indoor temperature, the higher the relative humidity. Water in vapor form is invisible and is harmless. It is when that water vapor is allowed to reach the dew point that it changes from a (harmless) vapor state to a liquid state. In a liquid (or frozen) state, that water can and does damage to windows and other structural members of the building.
Because there are endless reasons for elevated moisture levels in homes, the best advice we can offer is for you to engage the services of consultant partnering with Home Performance with ENERGY STAR® to help you determine the actual sources/causes of the excessive moisture and to develop a game plan to solve the problem(s). It may be as simple as installing a quiet, effective exhaust ventilation fan to help you control the relative humidity. In more severe cases, an air-to-air heat exchanger may be necessary.
Published Tuesday, May 19, 2009