How Desert Dust Can Affect Your Windows Over Time

Deserts are known for their heat, but the one thing people don’t really think about when they’re living in one is dust. Dust can affect your house, maybe it gets through vents and makes your filters degrade quicker, or just maybe they can affect your windows. Dust doesn’t settle on outdoor surfaces, it can accumulate around your windows, tracks, screens, and frames. Over a long period of time and exposure to this dust, your windows can deteriorate quicker than other areas.

Why Do Las Vegas Homes Deal With So Much Dust?

One of the most obvious reasons is that Vegas is in a desert. Deserts carry a significant amount of sand simply because there’s not much there to interrupt it. This also allows wind to carry this dust great distances. Strong winds can lift the loose sand and then eventually these can land at your window. This starts a cycle of sand building up on your windows. Every time you open your window it can slightly cause more damage. With this in mind, its good to make sure you clean your windows before it gets to a point where you can’t open your windows without being scared that you’re causing damage. Now, not every dust storm causes damage. All I’m saying is that cleaning your windows regularly can keep them in tip top shape. (Clark County)

Sand in Your Window Tracks

As stated previously, sand can get into your home via dust storms. With this much dust possibly entering your home, it may get onto your tracks. If dust is in any part of your home that moves often, like windows, it can accumulate in the tracks or other nicks and crannies. Make sure to periodically clean the tracks of your windows. The sand at the bottom of the tracks acts like sandpaper, with more opening and closing of your windows with sand at the bottom of the tracks, the rougher, and harder it becomes to open and close. Buildup of sand can easily be maintenance related, but if it persists it could be a bigger issue. (EPA)

Dust Entering From Gaps and Cracks

Dust doesn’t always stay outside your home. Not only dust, but really anything you want to keep outside can get in from gaps, cracks, and other small openings to the outside in your home. Specifically your window seals, so make sure to inspect the condition of your window seals often or else you may eventually notice major drafts, and a lot of dust getting in from them. Sealing any unwanted openings can help reduce the outdoor air getting into your home. (EPA)

How to Keep Desert Dust From Taking Over Your Windows

After all of this, you’re probably wondering how you can keep the desert dust out of your home. The first thing you should do is create a list of places to check and clean. Clean the part of your glass that faces outside often, this makes it easier for any dust to stick to the window, and you want this because then the dust doesn’t fall down in the tracks at all. Clean your window screens, remove any visible debris from your tracks, inspect all your windows’s seals and weatherstripping. Check for visible gaps around your window frames. And of course, don’t use any type of abrasive material to clean your windows, so the back side of a sponge, sandpaper, just anything that can scrape shouldn't be used on windows. (EPA)

Signs Dust Problems May Point to a Bigger Window Issue

Now, if you've been cleaning up dust over and over again, it may be better to start considering if there’s an issue with the seals around your windows rather than dust just getting in on its own. To figure this out, walk around your window, inspect the weatherstripping and seals, take notice of any drafts or gaps around the frame too. If anything appears damaged at all, this may be a much more concerning sign of window damage. Sometimes, this is repairable, but other times you’ll have to get an entire window replacement.

Desert dust is an unavoidable part of living in a desert like Nevada. Keeping up with your regular window cleaning and maintenance keeps the desert environment from getting into your home. Your responsibilities as a homeowner is to pay attention to the little details, so make sure to regularly check your windows track, frame, seals, and gaps to ensure they’re all up to date. If something does turn out to be wrong, you can always call Window World Las Vegas, as we always want to help.