Mirrors: Special Considerations in the Cold Flathead Valley

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February 11, 2025

Mirrors: Special Considerations in the Cold Flathead Valley

Mirror Fun Facts:

1. Antique Mirrors are intentionally desilvered with special chemicals

2. Mirrors can be resilvered but it’s typically cheaper to buy new mirrors due to the chemicals involved in the process

3. Mirrors don’t like the cold, just like you!

Mirrors, just like other materials, don’t really like to get cold! The mirror above is a standard mirror with a clear reflection surface but the cold Kalispell weather during transport gave it the above foggy mirror appearance until it was cleaned and warmed up.

It’s kind of like your glasses! When you’re outside enjoying the Flathead Valley winter activities, your glasses get cold. Then you step inside to get warmed up and sip some hot chocolate and they instantly fog over!

Before installation mirrors need to be properly cleaned and dried. This is why we at Precision Glass like to bring them into your home right away. This gives the mirror more time to warm up, makes it easier for our mirror installers to clean them, and also very importantly, dry the mirror backing so you don’t have any unintentional mirror antiquing!

When mirrors are wet for too long they will start to discolor or, in glass industry terms, start desilvering. Mirror desilvering is caused by high humidity or exposure to water over time. It’s that brown or black mirror edge look that you often see with old mirrors.

Modern mirrors have a mirror backing material that is designed to withstand bathroom environments and good practices such as keeping your bathroom fan running while showering & preventing excessive water hitting the mirror will help it’s longevity.

FAQ

Custom Glass Blog

What's possible with glass?

When a lot of folks think of glass windows and custom glass shower enclosures come to mind right away. Other lesser know glass products are glass partition walls (mainly in office buildings), glass ceilings or floors, glass store fronts, glass accent walls (can be made to look like stone and backlit, a really nice look), and glass art (many times found in hotels and airports). There’s some interesting glass projects here in the Flathead Valley: some highlights include a glass breezeway and an infinity end hot tub made out of glass!

What's the best way to clean my custom glass shower?

Custom glass showers look great and clean easily when properly installed and cared for! Glass manufacturers often apply a protective coating to the glass which helps with ease of cleaning as well. Water and a squeegee work the best for a weekly cleaning. If the glass needs a bit more help, then a mild eco friendly soap like Dawn, Windex, or SprayWay and a microfiber rag will do the trick. For hard water situations, use CLR. Remember to rinse and squeegee after using a cleaning product though!

How is the glass that Precision Glass install protected? Does it have a coating?

Precision Glass installs custom glass that is protected by EnduroShield. The coating helps the glass repel water and dirt. Incredibly the coating is only 2 molecules thick! This is vital as it could start to change the clear quality of the glass if it was too thick.

How thick is the custom glass that Precision Glass installs?

We offer glass in various thicknesses ranging from 1/8 inch to 1 inch depending on the type of glass and application. The most common custom glass project is a custom glass shower and we typically install 3/8 inch or 1/2 inch tempered glass for these projects!

Does Precision Glass replace windows?

Precision Glass is definitely able to help folks within the Flathead Valley window replacement projects! Has one of your windows been damaged? Give us a call and we can schedule a consultation!

Does Precision Glass offer custom tempered glass for tabletops?

Yup! Precision Glass offers tempered glass for tabletops which is much stronger and more resistant to shattering than regular glass.

What is tempered glass?

Tempered glass, often referred to as “toughened” or “fully tempered” glass, is heat-treated safety glass that is approximately four times stronger than the surface of regular annealed (non-safety) glass of the same thickness.

When tempered glass is broken it shatters into small, relatively harmless pieces. This characteristic “dice” break pattern minimizes the risk of serious injury.

What about mirrors? Can Precision Glass help?

The team at Precision Glass can help bring your custom mirror ideas into reality!

Does Precision Glass install glass for commercial buildings?

Yes, Precision Glass offers glass installation services for commercial buildings including storefronts, office buildings, and more. Feel free to connect with us to discuss your project in detail.

What other learning resources does Precision Glass have?

We love to dive deep with glass learning at Precision Glass but most kind of glaze over after a bit :-). Click here for more glass learning and glass terminology.

(406) 471-9644

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