Soon spring will be in the air. That means lots of pollen. If the sight of your screen porch, lanai, entry or pool enclosure developing an ugly yellowish-green tinge or the screen or aluminum has mold or mildew developing which is making you search “how to clean my screen patio enclosure” in Google, then you’ve landed in the right place.
Read on for some tips on
screen enclosure cleaning:
While screen enclosures do an excellent job of keeping bugs, critters and yard debris out of your outdoor living spaces, their exteriors don’t repel pollen. Over time, pollen can accumulate on the structure’s surfaces, forming a film that makes your enclosure look worn or dirty. There is a way to fix this with a little elbow greese.
When cleaning a screened lanai or pool enclosures, you can:
Do it by hand
To clean a screen enclosure and frame by hand, you’ll just need a bucket, some dish soap, a brush with soft bristles, your garden hose, and a little elbow grease. Use the brush to gently scrub the screens and frame with warm, sudsy water. Then, rinse them with your garden hose and allow them to air dry. If the patio enclosure is really grimy, you might need to repeat the process.
Use a power washer
If you are cleaning a pool enclosure, especially those hard to reach areas, use a power washer. Or, if you prefer to put a little more power in your porch, lanai or pool enclosure cleaning, you can bring in a power washer. The hot, pressurized water used in power washing is a great way to blast away grime, but you have to be careful about just how much power you use. Too much can damage the screens. Always start out on the lowest possible setting and proceed with caution.
Remove Mold, Stains, Algae or mildew
Various substances can stain your screen enclosure, and moisture, pollen and spores will sometimes team up to form areas of mold or algae. If these stubborn spots resist your initial screen enclosure cleaning efforts, don’t give up. Add some vinegar to your arsenal. Use a 50-50 mix of hot water and vinegar and your brush or a sponge to scrub the problem spots. Then, follow it up with a thorough rinsing with your garden hose. Be sure to give any plants in the area a deep soaking to counteract any contact from the vinegar. Does the smell of vinegar make your nose wrinkle? Don’t worry. It will fade away as the area that you cleaned dries.
If you find that the cleaning solution with vinegar doesn’t quite work or you prefer to go straight to the hard stuff, bring out the bleach.
Bleach can sometimes discolor aluminum, and it’s also hard on skin, surrounding plants and patio furniture that might come in contact with some of the solution so take a cautious approach here. Mix 3 parts water with 1 part bleach and wear gloves to protect your hands as you gently scrub the stained areas with the mixture. If problems persist, then you may want to seek out a professional company that offers screen cleaning services.
CRA has been building custom screened pool, lanai, patio and entry enclosures for over 25 years. We have patented beam technology that allows us to build a stronger structure using less material for an overall better looking product with less material to get in the way of your view. Contact Commercial Residential Aluminum today at (941) 486-9104 to discuss your project or request a hassle free quote using our online Quick Quote Form.
