Service kits for Velux skylights cost £37 each. Is there a cheaper way?

EddyB

Hello. 

The house we bought four years ago has 10 Velux skylights.  We never open them, but in the summer we drop the handle on the odd skylight, to open the narrow flap along the top of the skylight to enable some ventilation.

The problem is that for the past three or four months tiny moths and the odd mosquito have been spotted inside the house when there should not be any - other than the odd quick and crafty one that might dart in while an external door is briefly open. 

We live in an area which still has a considerable insect population, so after being assailed by moths and mosquitoes in bed at night during our first months in this house, we spent quite a bit on insect-proof screens on key windows (ordinary non-Velux windows which we need to open for ventilation).

So there should be no insects anywhere in the house.  Yet some have recently started getting in.  The question is how?

The only thing we can think is that some of the insect filters in the Velux skylights may be letting them in.

The previous owners installed the skylights in 2012 and Velux states on its website that the insect-proof strip and the strip of padded tape (both are along the top of the skylights) need to be replaced every four or five years. 

Did the previous owners ever maintain the skylights in this way?  I very much doubt it.  So the moths and mosquitoes may be getting by way of this route.

Q. 1.  Each Velux maintenance kit costs £37, probably with an extra amount for postage.  Each kit includes a 2.5m strip of insect filter and 2.5 strip of padded tape (presumably to ensure there is no gap between the skylight window and the skylight frame).  So as each window here is 70cms wide, one pack will do 3 windows.  So I will need to buy 4 packs, totalling £148 - which I think is a huge amount of money for 10 metres of insect filter and 10 metres of padded tape about 2 inches wide!  £148 for a total of 20 metres of narrow tape (plus a piece of sandpaper and a tube of grease) is steep.  Can the materials be bought at a lower cost somewhere else?

Q. 2. Why does the insect gauze need to be replaced?  It seems to be made from thin honeycombed plastic, so why can't it just be rinsed under the tap and put back?  Does the plastic deteriorate in some way over time? Has anybody taken it out and found that it's deteriorated?

The Velux service kit is available from Velux at the following link: Service kit (ZZZ 220) for VELUX roof windows produced before 2014  The video on the page is helpful.

I've not owned skylights before, but I think the time has come to get to grips with the ones we now have. 

Thanks for any help with this situation. 

goldfinches

Have you tried opening the windows and spraying the outside of the frame and the surround with insect repellent? I find this tactic quite effective if repeated regularly.

WIAWSNB

Hi Eddy.
I am not familiar with these filters - I do have two small Veluxes, but no such filters fitted afaIk.
But, like you, if there were any, I'd be removing and recleaning, unless there was a very obvious reason why this was not acceptable. Can't think of any!
Are some plastics prone to UV degradation? Absolutely. Does sunlight get to these filters? I assume not.
Even if they did become brittle and risked falling apart, what would be the worst outcome? Would these particles fall into the precision Velux mechanism and caused destruction? I don't think so.
What else? Um, are they, perhaps, impregnated with an insect repellent? No idea, but I doubt it - why would the be? They 'filter', end of.
I can therefore only think, and I know this makes me a bigot, that Velux owners are chust toooo posh to remove flies from wee screens, and would be expected to replace them. 
So I think you've answered you own Q
You presumably know the openers can be fully - I think easily - removed for maintenance? 

Section62

EddyB said:

...

So there should be no insects anywhere in the house.  Yet some have recently started getting in.  The question is how?

The only thing we can think is that some of the insect filters in the Velux skylights may be letting them in.

...

I'd be amazed if age-related deterioration of the seals/screens alone was enough to let adult moths get into the house.

Are you able to identify the species?  For example could they be clothes/carpet moths which are in the house already (as eggs/larvae)?

Albermarle

I am not familiar with these filters - I do have two small Veluxes, but no such filters fitted afaIk.

We have two medium sized ones, and I have just checked them and no filters.
We leave the top flaps open at least one notch most of the year and no insect issues.
They are in a loft room and AIUI, the higher you go up the less issues you get with insects, although I am not sure if that is 100% true or not.

Slinky

We had a problem with small moths for a while. They kept appearing in the lounge in the evenings. After a lot of messing about I finally discovered there were moths coming out of a packet of dried porcini mushrooms we bought in a small shop in Italy. They were getting out of a cupboard, across the kitchen and coming through to the lounge via a small gap in the wall where the central heating pipe goes through.  Where we were seeing them was nowhere near the source of the problem.

EddyB

goldfinches said:

Have you tried opening the windows and spraying the outside of the frame and the surround with insect repellent? I find this tactic quite effective if repeated regularly.

@goldfinches, if I spray the outside of the frame (exposed to the sky) won't the rain wash the insect repellent off?

Do you spray the filter gauze (perhaps to be certain that no insects can get through it)?  

EddyB

WIAWSNB said:

I am not familiar with these filters - I do have two small Veluxes, but no such filters fitted afaIk.

But, like you, if there were any, I'd be removing and recleaning, unless there was a very obvious reason why this was not acceptable. Can't think of any!

Are some plastics prone to UV degradation? Absolutely.

@WIAWSNB thanks very much for your analytical thoughts!

Are you sure there is no filter tape along the tops of your two Veluxes?  I'd be surprised if there isn't.  Have you watched the video at the page I gave a link to, because it suggests that the strip of filter is not immediately visible?

Thanks for advising that the gauze will degrade.  Looking again at the image of the tapes on the Velux page (same page as the video) I see that the gauze is actually really flimsy, and not likely to withstand the cold of winter and the heat of the sun in summer - particularly in the case of Veluxes on the south-facing side of the roof.  So I can imagine now that it is quite possible that the gauze in one or more of my veluxes may have curled up or contracted, thus letting in insects.

The time has come to open all our Veluxes and examine the state of the gauzes!

Yes, I've learnt the trick of opening the window wide, for cleaning.  Thanks for asking.

EddyB

Section62 said:

Are you able to identify the species?  For example could they be clothes/carpet moths which are in the house already (as eggs/larvae)?

The smallest kind of moth I've ever seen (in 70 years) is all I can say.  I've thought of photographing one and feeding it to Google, but haven't done so yet.  It's no more than 1cm wide.  There are none to be seen downstairs - they've only appeared upstairs, where the veluxes are.  We've been here four years and these moths have only appeared this summer. 

WIAWSNB

EddyB said:

WIAWSNB said:

I am not familiar with these filters - I do have two small Veluxes, but no such filters fitted afaIk.

But, like you, if there were any, I'd be removing and recleaning, unless there was a very obvious reason why this was not acceptable. Can't think of any!

Are some plastics prone to UV degradation? Absolutely.

@WIAWSNB thanks very much for your analytical thoughts!

Are you sure there is no filter tape along the tops of your two Veluxes?  I'd be surprised if there isn't.  Have you watched the video at the page I gave a link to, because it suggests that the strip of filter is not immediately visible?

Thanks for advising that the gauze will degrade.  Looking again at the image of the tapes on the Velux page (same page as the video) I see that the gauze is actually really flimsy, and not likely to withstand the cold of winter and the heat of the sun in summer - particularly in the case of Veluxes on the south-facing side of the roof.  So I can imagine now that it is quite possible that the gauze in one or more of my veluxes may have curled up or contracted, thus letting in insects.

The time has come to open all our Veluxes and examine the state of the gauzes!

Yes, I've learnt the trick of opening the window wide, for cleaning.  Thanks for asking.

Oops, you misunderstood my misunderstanding.
Tbh, I haven't even looked at mine. And I don't check your video either :-(
I'd assumed we were talking about a proper 'plastic' grill, but it might just be the thin, flimsy 'foam' strip I do recall seeing on mine.
Must check it out tomoz.
But, like someone else, being in t'loft (conversion), I've never been aware of bugs coming through.

EddyB

Albermarle said:

I am not familiar with these filters - I do have two small Veluxes, but no such filters fitted afaIk.

We have two medium sized ones, and I have just checked them and no filters.

@Albermarle, have you watched the video on the Velux web-page which I linked to?  It shows exactly where the insect "screen" or tape of gauze is located.  I've done a brief search to see if any Velux skylights come without insect screens and have found no evidence that they do.  One Velux page seems to imply that all of their skylights have such screens.  They say,"Let the insect screens thoroughly dry before replacing them into the skylights".

https://www.veluxsolutions.com/solutions_website/maintenance.html