Let me tell you two short stories. When I ordered my manufactured home I instructed the manufacturer that I absolutely did NOT want them to use IG units in the windows. Simply because I knew they would cloud up in a short time. I also knew that the typical warranty for new windows is only a single year. I told them to install the old fashion double hungs with outer storm windows that could be removed and put back for cleaning. They put in the IG units anyhow, told me they were sorry for the mistake, but that they would not charge me the extra six hundred dollars. I should have demanded that they change them out. Because within a year half of all the windows had "lost their seals" and fogged up.
Unfortunately this is a very common occurrence! Almost every house has IG units that have lost their seals, and many more will lose them. Over the years manufacturers have been increasing the space between the two plates of IG units. The results have been that more units are failing quicker. I can show you windows from the 1970s that have perfect IG units with a very small separation . No fogging at all. Better technology is not always better. Despite what the manufacturers and window sales companies tell you! What is also interesting about this problem is when a unit first loses its seal it cannot be detected without special testing equipment. Likewise when it begins to become visible it still cannot be seen if the window is dirty. Then when it starts to show in a dirty window the haze is made up of pure water vapor. Which over more time will begin to etch the inside surface of the IG unit. Showing a white haze whereas the water vapor (no etch) appears clear.
The picture below is an example of a window with a failed IG unit. The inside of the two plates has been etched. But the surface that has been etched by water vapor has a low e coating. This is why it is not white but a slight yellow. I have seen pink and other colors too. It depends on the chemistry of the factory applied low e coating. This damage also looks like many small spots. Whereas a simple glass surface would be a more even white haze. This example here is long past any "repair"!
A second story. I remember a large window I came across that had a BB hole in the outside plate of the IG unit. So obviously the seal had failed. Water vapor could easily get in between. But it never showed up. The window stayed crystal clear for many years until it was replaced with all the other windows that were also replaced. The reason is easy to understand. Any water vapor that got in could easily get out. The window was not tempered. If it were then it would have diced out into hundreds of glass shards when it was shot. There actually exists a "repair" service that involves drilling a hole in the outside plate, cleaning in between with an antifog solution, then sealing the hole or holes with a small breathable rain repellant plastic disk. Whoever drills a hole in a window would absolutely need to know that it is annealed glass and not tempered. To prevent it from breaking into hundreds of pieces.
Written by Henry Grover Jr.
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