Pollen and pollution can cause significant damage to your exterior home materials, windows, and your health. During allergy season, you may notice these elements more than normal, as they cling to your windows, car, or float through the air. Significant pollen buildup can cause damage to your window glass and frames, while pollution coming through cracks in your windows can cause illness and poor air quality. Let’s take a closer look at how these airborne pathogens can impact your home.
Permanently Dirty Windows
Pollen, pathogens, dirt, and pollution can cause a film on anything they touch. Pollen and pollution can cause your windows to look dirty and dingy, even if you keep up on cleaning. Cleaning your windows more frequently during the springtime may be necessary to keep pollution from damaging your windows. Neglecting windows can affect their longevity, even if you don’t think the dirt buildup looks heavy. Certain pollutants will discolor the glass, causing a yellow or green film or weakening of the frame.
Damaged Seals And Frames
Pollution particles can be acidic, causing them to eat through different materials like plastic and wood. Pollutants often contain sulfur or nitrogen compounds, which can cause deterioration to your glass, seals, and frames. If these particles are not removed promptly, they can cause damage to even the most durable materials.
When the window sills, insulation, and frames experience damage, it can lead to further issues down the line. Air is more likely to escape from the home, and pests are more likely to enter through the gaps around windows. Air that escapes through these gaps can affect your energy efficiency and the comfort of your home. More pollutants will be able to float into the home and lower your indoor air quality as well.
Lower Indoor Air Quality
Gaps around or in your windows can let pollutants into the home, lowering the quality of the air you breathe. If you or a family member experiences allergies, asthma, or other respiratory issues, having clean air inside the home is crucial. When indoor air quality is lowered, your respiratory system can suffer, resulting in coughs, wheezing, pain while breathing, itchy eyes, watery eyes and nose, and sinus pressure. Indoor air quality can be drastically improved if you repair window damage promptly, ensure proper seals, and clean the inside and outside of the windows regularly.
Lack Of Natural Light
The film that comes with pollution can block the natural sunlight from entering your home. Most people open their blinds or curtains to let in sunlight to warm the space, kill bacteria, or boost their mood. When a film is present on the window glass, it will block some of the sun’s rays, reducing their impact. It may not be as bright or warm when the glass is covered in pollutants.
How To Protect Your Windows From Pollen and Pollution Damage
The best way to protect your windows from the damage of pollen and pollution is to clean them regularly. While it is almost impossible to stop pollen buildup or pollution deterioration from occurring, cleaning your windows will keep the buildup to a minimum. Regular cleaning prevents buildup from eating away at the materials and improves the appearance of the windows for outsiders.
Protective coatings can also be applied to your windows to repel particles from sticking to your glass. Hydrophobic or anti-static window treatments will help protect the windows from excessive buildup that blocks sunlight or causes the windows to look dingy.
Another way to protect your windows is to maintain your trees and other vegetation. Keeping these plants trimmed or planting trees that don’t pollinate will limit the amount of pollutants that stick to your windows. You can also implement air purification or filtration screens around your home to keep pollen from causing your allergy symptoms to worsen.
Window Cleaning From Jacob’s Ladder
Jacob’s Ladder offers comprehensive window cleaning for homes in the Colorado Springs area. If you want to avoid climbing on a ladder to reach your windows, or just don’t have the time to dedicate to this area of your home, we can help! As a family-owned and operated business, we know how important your home is to you. Whether your windows are old or just need some freshening up, we have the skills to provide you with a more appealing home.
Jacob’s Ladder offers window cleaning, gutter cleaning, and holiday lighting services, all aimed at making any home sparkle. Reach out to us to get a quote and start improving your windows today.