I moved into a place with one very hazy window screen that is difficult to see through.
I have tried scrubbing it with a brush with soapy water and blasting it with the hose. But I cannot get rid of the hard material buildup. I even tried dipping a brush in CLR and scrubbing the screen.
When I Google how to clean a window screen, I just run across people telling me to do what I already tried. But I think the people touting these methods simply have screens with dirt in them.
This doesn’t seem like simple dirt buildup. I enclosed a close up photo of what it looks like.
I bet if I poked all of the holes individually with a toothpick I could clean it, but that would take eons. Any advice? Thanks.
First off. This picture is vile and while I appreciate your need for assistance, you have ruined my day and I will be busy puking for the rest of the week.
To answer your actual question: I recommend just replacing it. Extra screen and cord is cheap and easy to install.
Completely agree. Takes about 5 minutes per screen and often you can re-use the bead around the edges.
No kidding, I stared at it for a minute going “is this going to set it off?” and when my brain finally decided it couldn’t come up with an explanation it launched hard into the skin crawling, scalp itching and nausea. It’s like visual kryptonite.
It’s an incredibly large screen that goes to my back porch. I’m not sure that the window frame itself is easily removable. Would that make it tricky to install a new screen with something that large and not movable?
Just get new screen or
The screen should come off from the window frame - it is mounted in its own frame made of lightweight metal.
It’s like $20 in tools and new screen to replace. Best to start on a smaller window for practice, but once you’ve done one, they go easy.
The frames to the screens immediately above this are easily removable, but I can’t seem to figure this one out. Is it a bad idea to try to replace a screen without removing the frame?
It’s not exactly a window. It’s a component to a screened in porch.
You probably can, just need to find out how the screen is attached. Usually it’s a rubber “bead’” that has been pressed into a notch to hold the screen. Just make sure to replace the bead too when you replace the screen.
There are a lot of videos on YouTube about how to replace a screen. Most of them that I have seen have a pane that only works once and then when you remove it, you replace it with rubber tubing that they sell from the store. They sell a special tools kit to pry the original pane off and some rollers and clips to get the screen back in nice by pushing the tubing into place without the groove. I recommend cutting a piece of wood to the exact spacing that the screen needs to maintained since making the screen tight can warp its profile and not fit correctly.
Have you tried warm/hot vinegar in a spray bottle? If you have hard water it could be mineral buildup and some warm vinegar would help dissolve it. If it’s not from hard water it may be trickier, but a super soft bristled brush and some simple gree or other cleaner may work as well.
Carefully if it’s a metal screen vinegar could corrode steel screen… Though it’s probably worth a shot it the alternative is replacing it.