How to Clean a Screen Door: A Step by Step Guide

Many homeowners protect their entry doors from rain, snow and hail with a storm door. With a pane of glass that can be replaced with a screen, they’re perfect for anytime of the year. However, you probably don’t know how to clean a screen door properly.

We’re sure the first thing you thought was, “Of course I know how to clean my storm door’s screen, it’s not rocket science.” While we agree it’s rather easy, there’s still a process you need to take that will ensure that it looks its best.

Have no fear, Feldco is here to help. We’ll teach you how to clean a screen door the right way. Your storm doors will never look better!

Tools Needed for the Job

Just like any other job, you’ll need the right tools before you start cleaning. We have a list below so you can make sure you have everything before moving on to step 1.

• A vacuum cleaner: remove any loose dirt and dust that may be more difficult to remove once you add water
• Garden hose: you’ll need to rinse your screen a couple of times
• A bucket of hot water: water is the base for all of the cleaning solutions we’re going to go over
• Rubber gloves: you don’t want to burn yourself on the water, do you?
• Vinegar (optional): used in natural cleaning solutions
• Dish washer cleaner (optional): cheaper, easy to find option for your solution
• Sponge: Used to apply the solution to your screen door.
• Brush with fine bristles: for accessing hard to reach areas

Step 1: Remove the Screen From the Door Frame

Now that you have all of your tools, we may begin. The first step is to remove the screen from your storm door. Many times they’re held in with tabs which are very easy to use.

All you’ll need to do is turn all of the tabs 90° so they’re parallel to the sides of your door. These tabs hold the frame in place and, when they’re turned, allow you to pull the screen right out of the door.

Step 2: Vacuum the Loose Dirty and Lint From the Screen

With the screen out of the door, you can finally start cleaning. You may notice loose dust and dirt caught in the screen. It’s important to get rid of it before you introduce water because that might make it more difficult to remove.

Using the hose of the vacuum, lightly go over the surface of your screen and suck up and dust or dirt. You don’t want to use the bottom part of the vacuum like you would on your floors because that could rip and tear the screen.

Once all of the loose dust and dirt has been vacuumed, you can move on to step 3.

Step 3: Rinse Down the Screen

Next, you’ll want to rinse down your screen before you apply any solution. Think about it like washing your hair – do you apply the shampoo when your head is dry? No, you get it wet first to get out any stuck on gunk or oil. The same needs to be done for your screens.

Take your garden hose and put it on a setting with more pressure. This will loosen some caked on grime so it’s easier for your solution to cut through it. Make sure you spray the entire screen a couple times before moving on.

Step 4: Create Your Cleaning Solution

It’s time to create your solution. There are a couple of different routes you can go when making your mixture. Both start with a bucket of hot water which will be the base for both solutions. The first will have you add vinegar to the solution. How much vinegar? There should be a 75/25 split between water and vinegar.

Vinegar is a natural product that cuts through tough stains and grime similar to bleach. Despite it smelling awful like bleach, there’s no harm in breathing in vinegar.

Another solution you could make would use dish soap rather than vinegar While dish soap doesn’t have the same power as vinegar, it leaves a pleasant smell and is easier to come by in most homes.

There’s no right or wrong answer when making your solution. The only things that matter are how dirty your screen is, how much scrubbing you want to do and your own personal preference.

Step 5: Apply the Solution to the Screen and Scrub

Finally, it’s time to learn how to clean a screen door – everything was preparation up until this point. Start by standing your screen upright and applying the solution using a sponge from the top down. That way, if it drips dirty water, it will slide off of your screen.

Next, take your fine bristled brush and scrub your screen. This will remove even the most stuck on stains. You’ll even be able to get in between the weaving of the screen to get it extra clean.

Step 6: Wash Off the Solution

Once the screen has been thoroughly scrubbed, you can wash off the solution using your garden hose. Rather than using a high pressure setting, you’ll want something a little more gentle to just remove the solution from your screen.

Step 7: Allow the Screen to Air Dry

Now’s the easiest part – do nothing. Seriously, you shouldn’t use a cloth to dry off your screen because lint can get stick in it, defeating all of the work you just did.

Instead, leave you wet screen outside and allow it to dry off naturally. Unlike cleaning vinyl siding, it’s best to wash your screen on a sunnier day because it’ll dry off quickly. Just make sure to move quickly with the solution so it doesn’t dry up while you’re still cleaning.

How to Clean a Screen Door –  It’s Easy

Hopefully, after reading this article, you learned how to clean a storm door the right way. Many homeowners think it’s a simple job that requires you to rinse it with water and that’s it. There’s so much more than that.

How do we know so much about storm door screens? Because we’re Green Bay’s leading storm door provider. Feldco has been serving the Midwest for over 40 years with our premium products and expert installation.

Get a free quote now and see why over 350,000 homeowners have trusted us with their home improvement project.