I would like to get some feedback on something that I’m thinking of doing. I’m wanting to find out if it will be worth the time and money I’ll have to invest. I’m also looking for people who can invest towards it.
I’m sure you’ve all heard of the Window Medics and Glass Guru franchises. They’re the folks who teach you how to drill holes in, and then apply vents to, double paned windows that have lost their integrity and gotten foggy looking. The holes allow air flow so that the moisture can get out and the windows can clear up. They also rinse out the window with vinegar or soapy water, and then rinse with pure water before installing the vents. They say it takes about 15-20 minutes per window and they charge $100-$125 per window. They want tens of thousands of dollars to buy your own territory. The thing is, the only part of their process that is patented is the vents themselves. The process isn’t patented.
What I want to do is to manufacture my own vent design and offer them to anyone who wants to add that service to their business. I already have the design, and it’s superior to the vents that these companies use. My vent will allow moisture out, but not back in. Their design allows moisture out and back in. I won’t be asking for any kind of fees, I’ll just be selling the vents.
I’ve found a good plastic mold injection machine that would work to start with that costs $7,500, and I’ve found a designer who will make the mold for me for $500.
If any of you would be interested in buying these vents if I made them, please let me know. You can email me at [email protected]
I worked for a glass shop. trust me it’s easier and far better to replace the glass instead. windows are filled with argon gas not regular air. by letting regular air in the window you are decreasing it’s R value.
Hey thats sounds like a good idea. Will there be any instructional videos? or are we supposed to wing it or how is it gona work? and how much are you selling the vents for?
I tried to defog my own windows at home, and I am now convinced that these window clearing services are a rip-off.
Drilling the holes requires a diamond drill bit and patience. However, even after a couple of weeks it didn’t change the appearance of the fog, in either the badly fogged or the minimally fogged test window I chose.
Tried filling windows with vinegar and soaking overnight before draining. Didn’t work, so I tried Calcium Lime Rust remover the same way. Didn’t work.
Tried taking glass out and cutting the seal. The minerals inside were rock-hard. Using a razor scraper and CLR, I was able to clear about 10" by 10" of window pane in about half an hour. Mind you, that is on only one of the two panes of the 17" byt 22" double paned window. Quick arithmetic told me that the value of my time was worth much more than the $60 per window I had been quoted to replace the glass.
I am now enjoying my newly-installed clear windows!
I’ve had an interest in this process for a couple years now. There’s another member of the forum here, [MENTION=3241]dexter445[/MENTION], that was going to do something very similar to your project. I remember the startup costs with manufacturing hung him up a bit. Not sure where he stands with it now. If you made a product that was really marketable, and for a reasonable cost, I’d definitely be interested.
Id love to get into this as I see it as a cost effective option that can be performed at the time of the orginial service, but have not heard of anyone being able to tell me that it actually works well.
By the time the windows have become foggy with moisture all the argon gas has already leaked out over time as the expansion and contraction day after day with a broken seal has traded out the Argon for air. Argon gas does have a better R value, but if the seal is broken and has been for some time, you are already dealing with an argon free window.
I’m interested if the system works. I have seen so many windows lately with broken seals. I’m skeptical about cleaning the calcium stains but I would be very interested in checking out what you come up with.
Hello Peri,
I have done this type of work before. Not every window is a good candidate to try with this process. I had found that where I live (Sunnyvale Ca) that a window that had been fogging up for two years or more was not a good candidate for defogging. A window with two years or more of wet glass would always have permanent damage that could not be cured. Silica Haze is the most common. This is where the glass has started to degrade from the interior outward towards the wet interior air space of the window. It will not come out. There are also other types of windows that just don’t respond well to the process.
Letting your solution remain inside the window overnight is also not a good idea. It will cause the already blown seal to open up more and could cause the window to break or crack from the increased pressure.
It’s not an easy business and the return rate per phone call was horrible because of the limitations on which windows could be saved. I spent 90% of the time telling people their windows were to far gone and only 10% doing the actual work. My window cleaning and gutter cleaning business has the exact opposite ratio (90% close ratio) so I opted to abandon the “Get The Fog Out Business”
Thanks Randy…that’s good info.
Hello Ryan,
Happy to answer any questions you have concerning this type of work. I was the first Crystal Clear Window Works dealer in California in 2006 and have treated hundreds of windows with the process.
Heres the low down on window defogging. It works. But its not as easy and profitable as many might think. I have defogged over 100 windows and have had my success and failures. The problem I have found has come down to the valves. I am in arizona and have tried sevral difernt valves they dont hold up to the arizona weather. The glue dries out becomes brittle turns brown, the valve dries up cracks turns brown and know your back for another vist to replace the valve. now with that trip you have broken even on the money you originaly made. third trip losing money. some moisture is in the window its a little foggy come back out. I think theres a problem come back out. Its works but all the additional trips will eat up any profits you make. plus once you have the vlaves it requires a special hole saw and sprayt tip and set up with spray tanks . Its just not worth the time. Bottom line get into window replacements. the profit is disgusting and it is so freaking wasy. i bought a trailer and glass rack just to accomodate the picture windows Im getting. On average a dual pane window clear annealed window runs me $6.71 a sq foot. I charge $20 a sq foot with a $50 install. Window comes with a 3 year warrenty through manufactuer. Glass company delivers my glass for FREE. it doesnt get any easier. I had a 70" x 70" replacement window. took 30 minutes from start to finish. so window cost about $225 for me I cahrged $730 I made $505 in thirty minutes. If anyone wants more info on the defogging process email me im more than happy to share my insight
Dexter445:
What type of license do you need for window install?
Need any license for defogging? Not that I want to do that…
No license for window replacementsis need here as long as the total bill remains under I belive $1400 as far as defogging goes no license is needed because its a service and it would fall under cleaning i belive
I’m also interested.
You should put together a crowd funding campaign like kickstarter and then share it on here. also consider a 3d printer to produce a prototype. they’re fairly cheap and work with autocad or google sketchup.
Last week, I met with a gentleman who owns an INST-I-GLASS franchise. They will come out to your house and take care of the windows whose seals are broken. They will make the sealed glass on site. It takes about an hour on the average residential windows. They take the window out, take the glass out of the window frame and replace with sealed glass that they make on site. The charge is a little more that these companies charge to drill hole and place vents. My company is recommending them to our customers.
I tried to defog my own windows at home, and I am now convinced that these window clearing services are a rip-off.
Drilling the holes requires a diamond drill bit and patience. However, even after a couple of weeks it didn’t change the appearance of the fog, in either the badly fogged or the minimally fogged test window I chose.
Tried filling windows with vinegar and soaking overnight before draining. Didn’t work, so I tried Calcium Lime Rust remover the same way. Didn’t work.
Tried taking glass out and cutting the seal. The minerals inside were rock-hard. Using a razor scraper and CLR, I was able to clear about 10" by 10" of window pane in about half an hour. Mind you, that is on only one of the two panes of the 17" byt 22" double paned window. Quick arithmetic told me that the value of my time was worth much more than the $60 per window I had been quoted to replace the glass.
I am now enjoying my newly-installed clear windows!
I remember a window once that had been shot with a pellet gun. Perfect hole! No legs. It was on the outside plate of the IG unit. So the unit obviously had lost its seal. No chance to fog up since there was a hole. No fog ever formed. I cleaned it for years. No dirt ever developed between the plates. It stayed crystal clear. Now on the other hand I have cleaned windows that had been shot from the inside. They did collect fog at times. And did develop a film between the two plates. I suppose if you seen a window just starting to fog up in between because the integrity of the seal had just failed, you could pop it from the outside with a pellet gun straight on in a microsecond. First checking to make sure it was not tempered. Then charge them fifty bux and walk away.
Please don’t get mad at me guys. This is just my lame attempt at humor.
Henry
