Yeah, weatherstripping's decent for drafts, but moisture's a whole different beast. Had foam tape around mine for years thinking it was fine... until I peeled it back and found mold underneath. Ended up redoing the flashing—lesson learned the hard way, I guess.
"Had foam tape around mine for years thinking it was fine... until I peeled it back and found mold underneath."
Yeah, foam tape can be sneaky like that—seems like it's doing the job until you find out the hard way. Flashing definitely helps, but I've also found that proper caulking around the frames makes a huge difference. Did you check if your window sill had any slope to it? I've seen flat sills pooling water, and that's a recipe for mold no matter how well you seal things up.
Ugh, been there myself. Thought I was being clever with foam tape until one rainy season turned my window frame into a moldy science experiment. Ended up ripping everything out and redoing it properly—caulk, flashing, the whole nine yards. And yeah, sloped sills are a lifesaver. Once you get that angle right, water just slides away instead of camping out like an unwanted guest. Glad you finally got yours sorted... feels good to win one against the house for once, doesn't it?