How to Clean Unremovable Window Screens

It is not difficult to clean unremovable screens.

Window screens collect dust and other pollutants from the environment all year. It's easy to forget to clean these when cleaning windows. When screens are removable, you might clean them by placing them in a tub of soapy water and then rinsing them off with a garden hose. You can achieve the same cleaning results even if your window screens aren't removable.

Things You'll Need

• Towels
• Dish detergent (or cheap shampoo)
• Spray bottle
• Bucket
• Sponges
• Fine-bristled brush
• Ladder

Instructions

1. Place towels over the window sill indoors and other nearby areas you'd like to protect from soapy water. Mix 1 tbsp. liquid dish detergent or cheap shampoo with warm water in a spray bottle.

2. Fill a small bucket with rinse water. Place a few sponges in this bucket and bring it over to the windows.

3. Shake up the spray bottle of your shampoo or detergent cleaning solution. Open the window as far as it will go and spray the screen well with the cleaning solution. Hold the bottle just a few inches from the screen--this will force some of the grime out of the screen while at the same time coating it with the cleaner.

4. Dampen a fine-bristled brush in the rinse bucket. Start scrubbing the top of the screen. Be gentle so you do not accidentally bend the screen or, in the case of vinyl mesh screens, poke holes in it.

5. Close the window in preparation for spraying the exterior side of the screen, or cover any objects you haven't already covered (such as nearby furniture or any parts of the the floor that could be hit by the spray from outside) with extra towels. Move your supplies outdoors so you can spray the exterior side and brush it, just as you did the interior. When you are done scrubbing the exterior with the brush, wipe it with one of the sponges in your rinse bucket. If these are second-story windows, you will have to use a ladder or skip the exterior altogether.

6. Go back inside. Wipe the interior side of the screen with another damp sponge from your rinse bucket. Keep the window open until the screen is thoroughly dry.

Tips & Warnings

• Instead of dish detergent or shampoo, you can use laundry detergent--but use only 1/2 tbsp. because laundry detergent is usually very concentrated.

References

• Home Addition Plus: Cleaning Window Screens