Caulk around interior of wood windows?

Question

Ok so its the coldest its been here in 8 years. COld!!! I just bought my house last may so its my first winter here. I had used the foam press on stuff on all my windows in november, which gave the windows a tighter fit when closed. However I have a few windows which have air leaks which are fairly bad around the area where the base of the window sill, and the window itself meets. The two have gotten so cold there was about 2-3 inches high of a thin ice formed on the inside of the window.
I was wondering if I should use some clear caulk to seal up the small cracks where the air is coming in.
Please help, I wanna get this sealed up.
Thanks
RYan

Answer 1

hey ryan, the ice could be caused by the indoor humidity being high, and the windows being cold, then forming on the glass where they meet. when it gets really cold out,the outside humidity is extreamly low and even without a humidifier going inside, the interior humidity will be higher. you didn't say in your ? what type of windows you have, so i'll guess they are wood and have storm windows on them. the outsides of the window trim should be caulked to the siding and the window frames. the storm windows should be caulked to the outer window stops, the small strips of wood on the top and sides that keep the upper sash in. do not seal the bottom of the storm window completely, since rain needs to drain out when the warm weather returns. if you are still getting air leaks, the press on foam seals can be placed on top and under the sashes to seal them where they meet the frame or sill. since the sashes themselves can shrink when the humidity drops, the inner stops can be adjusted, if they are screwed on, to tighten them to the sash. if you have air leaks on the sides of the sashes, there is a clay rope type of caulk (Mortite) that can be applied to the joint where the sash meets the inner stop and parting bead (the small strip of wood between the sashes). it is removeable when spring returns and you can buy it at your local hardware store. if you want the diffinitive book on restoring and keeping wood windows in good working order check out this book; "Working Windows" (Lyons Press, $14.95) at www.lyonspress.com. (800-836-0510) i have it and it contains all the info that our parents and grandparents knew about keeping wood windows working today. hope this helps, good luck, and stay warm!

Answer 2

Sure you can... It's gotta be dry though... get the ice off and run a hair dryer until it's dry... IF the window 'usually' opens there and this is a crack filled on a temporary basis (until the spring) you need to use the peel-away caulking for sealing windows... clear stuff but pulls off later (home depot etc.). If this is a permanent thing, use DAP alex latex caulking... it's paintable and dries in a quickie. If this is permanent, you need to get outside in the spring and caulk the outside of the same crack... you need to keep the cold from getting in between or it will just rot out your window frame and sill due to the moisture... hope this helps. Good Luck!

Answer 3

If your tracks are sticky or stuck, you can buy a "dry lubricant" and spray it. It is silicone based and will not damage anything. This is of course assuming you have cleaned the tracks out.