Give dirty screens a power wash

Published 12:59 pm Wednesday, July 22, 2009

In early spring you probably began opening drapes and windows that stayed closed during most of the winter. And chances are you immediately discovered a litany of dirty screens.

Here are some tips on cleaning and adjusting those screens:

For screens attached to windows, the standard cleaning procedure is to pull out the garden hose, turn the water up full blast and spend a minute or two watching most of the winter debris flow down the wall into the flower bed.

To get all of the gunk, rather than most of it, use a power washer instead. It’s faster and more effective and the screens will actually brighten in color.

When using a power washer, there’s a small chance of leaving streaks on the glass. Adding an anti-water spotting agent to the chemical reservoir of the power washer will help to make the windows sparkle too.

A power washer will clean rust off of steel screens and oxidation off of copper or aluminum screens. A garden hose won’t.

By the way, sliding screens for windows and glass doors will operate more easily when the frame is clean. The reason is simple: Generally, sliding screens have small hidden plastic rollers built into their bottom frame. When the frame is clean and smooth the rollers operate equally smooth. When the base of a window or door frame is dirty the rollers may require force to open the screen, which could damage the screen.

After cleaning the screens, windows and frames, it’s a good idea to spray silicone onto the rollers. Slide the screen open and closed to work the silicone into all of the moving parts. Waterless silicone works best but is not a must. Any silicone spray will do.

Be careful not to use garage door opener grease in lieu of silicon. It will gum up the works and probably would get tracked onto your very best carpet in no time. As a matter of fact don’t use any other kind of lubricant.

From time to time you may find that this process doesn’t do the trick and that sliding screens still stick or grab a bit. If this happens the rollers may need to be adjusted up and away from the track upon which they ride.

A small Phillips-head screwdriver is all that is needed to make the adjustment. Look for a hole at each end of the frame near the lower corner. It’s a small one. A turn of the screw will raise or lower the roller.

Raising the rollers slightly will prevent the screen from dragging on the track. This must be done every several years as the neoprene rollers wear down from use.