Aluplex, as a glass specialist company, has decided to take on some of the most frequent concerns about skylights. In our first article, we covered temperature changes and safety. Today, we have a couple more concerns that need to be addressed.
Will skylights ever leak?
Good quality skylights do not leak unless they’ve sustained some kind of damage. If you’re having skylights installed by a reputable company, it will take pretty significant impact – like from a tree branch falling – to damage your skylight. If your skylight is leaking, it needs to be serviced.
Aluplex offers skylight maintenance and repairs in the GTA. If you find your skylight leaking at all, give us a call and we’ll come out and see if we can find the source of the problem. From there, we’ll fix your skylight, because having a leaky, damaged skylight is both inconvenient and a safety risk.
What happens if leaves or other debris land on my skylight?
Because skylights face upward on a house, they will be rained on and have leaves fall on them. That’s just in the nature of being on the roof. Leaves may end up being washed away by further raining, but some may seem to stick. It’s unavoidable that your skylight will get some natural debris on it.
However, your skylight doesn’t have to stay dirty forever. If you or someone else in your family gets up on the roof each winter or fall to put up holiday lights or clean out gutters, this is a great time to wipe down skylights. Like any other window, skylights benefit from being cleaned once in a while. Plus, if you’re doing this cleaning near the end of fall or in the beginning of winter, all of the leaves should be finished falling. You’ll be free to wipe up any dirt or debris and your skylight should stay fairly clean until the following fall. You can even hire a professional to do this for you if you’re not comfortable or able to get up on the roof.
Do skylights have a problem with becoming moldy?
Skylights come in all shapes, sizes, and qualities. Some skylights, especially clusters of domes or pyramids, have framework between each dome. These types of skylights do have the potential to gather debris and, consequently, grow some mold. That’s why they need to be cleaned somewhat annually. Fortunately, these skylights are typically only used on large, commercial buildings.
For single-window skylights that are usually used on houses, you’re unlikely to have a problem with mold in the short-term. Potential debris will usually get washed away before it has a chance to cause any problems. Over the course of many years, however, you may see your skylight getting dingy from pollen, algae, etc. There’s no real way to prevent that from happening if you’re leaving your skylight to its own devices for a number of years. Therefore, we recommend having your skylights cleaned at least every five years. If you’re able to get on the roof, you can complete this task yourself. If you’re not comfortable or able to get on the roof, there are professionals who can clean your skylights for you. As mentioned above, an annual wipe-down of your skylights is even better and will keep them looking great no matter how long you have them.
If our articles on frequent concerns about skylights didn’t answer your question, give us a call.
