5 Things to Know about Your Window Screens

Cleaning residential windows in Raleigh and Apex means we remove a lot of window screens. After all, most of us like to catch the (post-pollen) spring breeze and enjoy the crisper fall air when it finally arrives in North Carolina. While we love screens for keeping out the bugs but letting in the breeze, we don’t love them otherwise.

After cleaning thousands of windows and plenty of screens, we’ve noticed that most homeowners don’t give their screens much thought until we point things out. We get that! But here are five useful things to know about your home’s screens before we clean your windows:

What Your Window Cleaning Team Wants You to Know about Window Screens

1. Many can only be removed from inside of your home. This varies by region across the U.S. But here in the Triangle, we’re seeing most screens with tabs on the inside and no spring-loaded edges for outside removal. That’s why if you ask for an exterior window cleaning, we ask you to remove your screens in advance. We’ll be happy to add that service on, but we’ll need to access your home.
2. They’re not made well. Ok, let’s just say it: they’re cheap. Most screens we’ve encountered are not expensive, which is useful if a homeowner wants to replace them. But it also means they break easily, whether it’s the screen itself or the frame.
   1. Tip: Remove your screens once a year to check them over. OK, that’s a lot of work. We can do it for you if you want, or at least try to look at them once every other year. That way you aren’t surprised when we come by and tell you your screen is broken.
3. The heat-cold cycle makes it worse. Some screens have tiny little plastic pieces that you pull on to remove the screen. This year we’ve seen temperatures hit 100 degrees and as low as 17. All that fluctuation makes the plastic very brittle over the years. So when you try to remove the screen — snap!
   1. Tip: If and when you upgrade your screens, please look for the ones that don’t have the little gray square tabs. Those seem to be the worst. Rubber, metal, or the little screw ones do a bit better.
4. They’re filthy. We clean a window and the view looks clear — until we put the screen back in. We offer a complimentary dry wipe of your screen when cleaning your inside and outside windows. But here in North Carolina, we recommend adding on the full screen bath. Your screen is covered in dirt, pollen, cobwebs, bugs, a bit of grass from your lawn mower, and bird droppings. If you open your windows during the nice weather, that dirt is blowing in. Even if you never open your windows, a dirty screen can impact the view.
   1. Tip: If you’re removing your screens for Squeegee Squad to clean your exterior windows, put a towel down to protect your carpet or rug. (That’s what we do.)
5. They may not be one-size-fits all. Of course you’ll have different screens for your various window sizes. But even if you have a standard window, the screen you take from one may not fit another — due to the warping of it over time. Also, expect it to take at least 20 minutes to wrestle with your screens — but we’ve sometimes spent that much time on just one. If you’re removing them for our team, we recommend you do this the day before.
   1. Tip: When removing your screens, place them by the window it belongs to (on the towel). That way you know exactly where to return it.

Dealing with screens is a hassle. If you want our team to remove yours as part of your window cleaning service, just let us know! Contact us today for your next window (and screen) cleaning.

This post was written by Squeegee Squad Raleigh/Apex owner Jennifer Suarez with no help from AI.