There is a technique for repairing & cleaning these units. It involves
drilling a small hole at the top, and another at the bottom. The space is
filled with a cleaning fluid. (Effectiveness is dependant on how bad the
filming is, & how long it has been there). The fluid is drained & rinsed.
The holes are plugged with "one-way" valves, that allow dry air movement
(thermal expansion) but do not allow for moisture. If anyone is interested,
I will try to find the vendor's (franchise seller) web site.

In the particular example of which I wrote, we would not replace the windows
because of the leak, but because the wooden window frames are badly rotted.
The contractors we have discussed this with are not convinced that the
windows could be saved and cleaned well enough for reinstallation (extra
labour costs) to be cost effective in new frames. I personally have
little confidence in the quality of the work to be expected with the lowest
price (rebuild frames) received. Then there is still the maintenance issue.
With the owner's past history of poor exterior maintenance, I am afraid that
rebuilding rotting wood frames is asking for continuing trouble.

Bruce
wrote in message ...
How will you clean the film of shmutz that is all over the inner area?
I tried to open one up some years ago to clean and reseal it. Seemed
a shame to have to chuck it out. While the sealant was not
particularly tough to get to, it was quite a thin layer. Everything I
tried, knife - got stuck, windshield sealant cutting wire - just
resealed after about a foot away, and lastly cutting and prying -
broke the glass. I looked at the milky film on the inside and some
came off OK and some looked like it was baked on or etched.

Interesting to hear from others on this.

Pete




Has anybody ever fixed one of those supposedly sealed windows?