Many homeowners experience water leakage around their window frames, primarily because installers used low-quality window sealants during installation. Builders and contractors apply window sealants to seal the joints between the window glass and the frame, as well as between the frame and the exterior wall, ensuring both airtightness and watertightness. However, since the market offers countless brands and types of window sealant caulk, quality varies significantly. How can customers select the right product?

Principles for Selecting Silicone Sealant for Doors and Windows

1. Choose High-Quality Sealants from Reputable Brands

   It’s advisable to select silicone sealants from established brands that can provide legitimate third-party testing reports. The quality of door and window sealants depends on factors such as raw material quality, formulation, production processes, and quality control systems. On the market, there are many cheap options—some costing only half, or even less, than well-known brands. These low-cost, low-quality sealants have poor physical and aging resistance properties, making them unsuitable for long-term use in doors and windows. Quality accidents caused by these low-priced sealants could result in customers having to pay several times, or even tens of times, more than the original cost.

2. Avoid “Oil-Filled” Sealants

   In the domestic market, most door and window sealants are made from silicone. However, a large number of low-cost, inferior silicone sealants contain various alkane plasticizers (such as white oil or liquid paraffin, collectively known as mineral oils) to replace the expensive silicone polymer base in order to reduce costs. These are commonly known as “oil-filled” sealants. They may initially attract customers with low prices and appear functional at first, but after a few months, problems such as cracking, chalking, hardening, and oil leakage will become evident, causing significant inconvenience and damage to customers.

Issues Associated with Low-Quality Sealants:

• Oil leakage in insulated glass

• Condensation on insulated glass

• Cracking in outdoor window edge sealants

How to Quickly Identify an “Oil-Filled” Sealant?

Here’s a simple and quick way to identify if a door or window silicone sealant contains mineral oil. Apply the sealant to a plastic film and allow it to cure. If the sealant is oil-filled, the plastic film will shrink due to the mineral oil content. The higher the amount of mineral oil, the faster the shrinkage will occur and the more noticeable the effect will be.