Is WD-40 enough?

My window has been hard to open and close for a while and I finally decided to try WD-40. I sprayed it as shown in the second picture. It seems like a good place but I'm not sure.

Is there some adjustment I have to make to prevent the wear in the first picture? Those two parts rub against each other and metal shavings drop to bottom of the window frame. When the super installed Easy Glide balances they worked good but the windows don't glide easily any more even after the WD-40.

 

No...not WD40. It won't last and is not a true lubricant. Maybe a silicone spray or even paraffin wax, but if you are in an apartment, call the darn management.

 

Vinyl windows should NEVER be lubricated with anything that contains oils or solvents, which only attract dirt, and dirt destroys the smooth surface of the vinyl! A layer of wax will only decrease the already tight tolerances. Vinyl, when clean, is self-lubricating. I have in the past used some silicone spray to help slicken those surfaces and then wiped the track clean, but that's about all you should try.

If they don't operate smoothly the problem is probably with the spiral balances on each side (they are likely no longer helping, but instead are hindering the operation of the window).

As mentioned, if this is a rental, call management.

 

The super once told me to use WD-40. He even used it himself. I'll try cleaning it off.

BTW, it's a painted metal frame with double pane glass. But it looks like there's a plastic tube around the balance.

 

I just noticed your "wear" notation on the picture... (guess I should read more closely..duh!) something odd is going on there, if that is the only window with that wear spot... Pull the "top sash" down and tilt it in to clean. Does it look like it is seated in the pivot shoe on the left side, just like the front sash is?

These are aluminum, aren't they. If nothing looks out of place with the pivot shoe I would assume that the meeting rail is somehow bent out of shape on the bottom left corner of that upper sash.

 

Here is another thought. The rubbing doesn't seem to happen along the "entire length" of the sash... it gets worse right at the point where the sash is currently resting on the bottom of the window frame while it's laying open, as if its bent.

Is there any chance that someone has kinked that sash a little bit (who knows how). Maybe the glass was replaced once upon a time and someone bent the frame up getting the old glass out. It's my best guess.

If you have any sort of straightedge... framing square for example... see if it rocks at all when you place it over the rub mark on the window sash.

 

Well, the lock broke a year or two ago and when I used the WD-40 earlier today I found a broken piece of the lock (plastic) in that area I oiled and I removed it. It's late and snowing. I'll investigate more tomorrow.

 

Broken plastic in the area where you oiled is usually a piece of the pivot shoe itself. I've replaced more of them than I can remember, they get kind of brittle with age. The pivot shoe is the part that the spiral balances are hooked to. The pivot shoe is supposed to slide free when the window sash is vertical, but it brakes (locks in place) when the window is tilted down to clean. Anything caught behind the pivot shoe on either of the 3 sides would cause it to act as if it were braking when it's supposed to be freely gliding. Or if it's blown up and is braking even when the sash is vertical... it would need to be replaced.

This would be really easy to figure out in person, but kinda hard over the internet. LOL

 

I see 2 problem areas. The top sash meeting rail may not be screwed in correctly into the side rail or may be twisted or bent causing the bottom sash side rail to rub against it. The green bearing on the balance is broken and the spring seems to be hanging past the aluminum balance tube. As Gunguy said, management should correct the problem.

 

Just to summarize:
1. Call the building management, this is not your problem.
2. WD40 is a useful product but it is not nor was it ever intended to be a lubricant. While it does have some lubricating qualities, they are short lived.

 

The building charges me for certain parts like window locks even if the super installs them. The lock is broken. The pivot shoes look good. I'll go to the management office to order the lock and see if they tell me I have to let the super install it. The top left corner of the window wasn't staying on track because of the broken lock.

Unfortunately, management told me about a year ago me that the cheap semi-ridged plastic "bumper" that the lock bumps into isn't available. I'll have to rig up something cushiony on top of the windows so the lock doesn't break again. I'm always opening the windows all the way and hitting those cheap bumpers and they're cracked.

 

Tilt latch. The lock prevents the window from being lifted. :-)

 

Yeah. I think I called it a lock in the office and nobody corrected me.

I'm afraid of silicone spray because it dries and there would probably be build-up every time I use it. I'll just clean it better for now and replace the latch.