How to Clean Porch Screens

Porch screens can quickly become filled with dust and pollen. These two things can cause allergy problems for anyone living in the home that likes to sit out on the porch. Some regular cleanings will keep the dust and pollen off of your screens so that you can continue to enjoy the space.

Things You'll Need

• Hose
• Vacuum with a hose
• Bucket
• Dish soap
• Water
• Scrub brush
• Pump sprayer
• Bleach
• Power washer

Instructions

1. Vacuum the dust and pollen off of the screens the best you can. This will make the scrubbing part much easier. You will want to use the hose attachment on your vacuum.

2. Fill a bucket with warm water that has a teaspoon of dish soap in it. Grab a scrub brush and dip it in to the bucket. Lightly scrub the screens with the scrub brush.

3. Rinse by squirting water through the screen. You can use a garden hose and spray from the inside out, or you can use a squirt bottle.

4. Use a pump sprayer if mold is a problem at your house. Fill the pump with 1 cup of bleach and the rest water. Spray from inside out so that you don't soak your porch. You can get these pumps at stores like Home Depot or Lowe's. Wash with the dish washing solution above.

5. Use a power washer instead of a pump sprayer if you have one. Just make sure that you aim from inside the porch to the outside so that you don't soak your porch.

Tips & Warnings

• Wear clothes you don't care about when working with bleach. Bleach will stain clothing. If you scrub too hard you may stretch your screen so make sure that you scrub lightly.