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Mike Harrison
 
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Default Recovering double glazed unit with broken seal

I have an aluminium double-glazed unit, approx 3x2' in my garage workshop (insulated/heated inside).
A while ago, the ivy growing outside found its way through the seal, and quite a lot of moisture
built up inside - eventually a quarter of an inch of water at the bottom, and condensation on the
inside.

Figuring the seal was already gone so I had nothing to lose, I used a carbide drill to make a 1.5mm
hole in the glass at the bottom corner from the inside, and drained the pool of water out, and used
some thin tubing to syphon below the level of the hole, however the condensation is still there.

As it would be a PITA to replace or dismantle, and expensive as it is laminated glass, I was
wondering how I might be able to get rid of the condensation.
I was thinking maybe making another small hole in an opposite corner and flowing warm, dry air
through over a long period might do the job.

Perhaps another approach would be to put some black card over part of the glass on the outside to
absorb some heat and warm the glass, to encourage it to evaporate, and/or use a pump to reduce the
air pressure inside slightly (but not so much it collapses!) to encourage evaporation.

Anyone successfully done anything like this ? I can live with it as it is, so am not considering
replacing, but it would be nice to be able to improve it, and all the more satisfying if a cunning
scientific method could be utilised...!

The ivy is gone now, so I would think that soaking the remains where it went through the seal with
some sort of runny, flexible sealant would get it pretty close to sealed again.