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Question from KS936899

Dear Green Living Q & A blog: Does anyone know of a 100% non-toxic glazing compound or similar type of product used specifically to install a new double paned window pane in a window frame that is truly reliable?

Debra’s Answer

First let me explain, for those who don’t know, what a window glazing product is.

When you install window glass in a wood frame, the glass is held in place on the interior side and then on the exterior side, putty is applied to hold the glass in place. This putty is called “glazing” and it has a pretty strong odor. One product I looked up contained phthalates and ethylene glycol, both pretty toxic.

So the process of finding the least toxic window glazing would be to look at the MSDS for different brands and choose the one that is least toxic. I don’t know of one that is nontoxic offhand, so reader, if you have experience with this, please write in.

Years ago, I needed a small window pane in my front door replaced, and the man who installed it did so by nailing in strips of wood instead of using glazing. This was how the pane was installed originally. I don’t know of any reason why you couldn’t use strips of molding or quarter-round in place of the glazing. That would be totally nontoxic. Of course, you would want to paint it to protect the wood from the elements, with a no-VOC paint.

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