How to Clean Window Screens and Keep Airflow Moving

Remove Screens

Photo: bildlove / Adobe Stock

The easiest way to clean window screens is to completely remove them from the window and place them outside. This way, you can access all four corners and avoid making a mess inside your home. If you have a removable screen, look for the screen’s retaining fasteners that you can use to pop the screen out. If a screen is fixed, you’ll need a screwdriver to remove the screws or fasteners holding the screen in.

This is also a good time to determine if you want to clean the outside of your windows while your screens are off, which will make reaching all parts of the window much easier.

Evaluate the Grime

If you clean screens regularly, about once per month, this project will be light cleaning. Dusty window screens are easy to clean up with just some water or a vacuum. If you’ve never cleaned the window screens or you just only clean them about once a year, you’ll need to grab a scrub brush and prepare for more work. Check out the steps below to determine the best course of action for your windows. 

Rinse Lightly Dirty Screens

Cleaning window screens is a great task to add to your monthly cleaning routine. If you clean them this often, you’ll need to rinse them with the garden hose and dry them. This will remove any light dust, spider webs, or other debris that can get trapped in the screen.

Vacuum Dusty Screens

If you live in an area with high dust, like in a desert location or near wildfire-prone areas, your screens may get dusty quickly, even with regular cleaning. You can vacuum the screens to remove higher levels of dust. Attach a soft bristle attachment and lightly run it across the screen to clean the screen.

Clean With Soap

Water and dish soap are the only two ingredients you’ll need to clean your window screens. A window cleaner made up of one-fourth of a cup of soap and half-gallon of warm water works great. Take a sponge and gently wash the screens, rinse with a hose, and either lay out to dry or pat dry with a clean towel.

Vinegar is another good option if you don’t have dish soap on hand. Avoid scrubbing the window screen with anything with hard bristles, like steel wool, to avoid damaging the screen.

Scrub Away Stubborn Dirt

Maybe you’re working on a fixer-upper, or you simply never remember to wash the screens, and now they are caked in dirt and dust. Just trying to spray them with water will leave you with a muddy, streaky mess. Instead, grab a cleaning brush to dislodge the dirt.

• Scrub dirt away with a brush. Use light pressure to avoid damaging the screen.

• You can also use a new toothbrush, reserved specifically for cleaning the house, to gently brush away dirt in those tiny screen holes.

• After you’ve scrubbed off most of the dried dirt, you can start doing a deeper clean with soap, water, and a sponge.

Remove Rust

Older screens or screens exposed to extreme weather may get rusty over time, but you don’t have to live with it unless you really love a rustic look.

• With the screen lying flat outside, pour white vinegar over the rusted areas. Let it set into these spots for about one to two hours.

• Use a brush and clean water to gently scrub in the areas where you poured the vinegar. This step should remove most of the rust, so follow up by drying the screen with a clean towel.

• If you still have rust, make a paste with about one-half of a cup of baking soda and 2 or 3 tablespoons of water until it reaches a toothpaste-like consistency.

• Use a brush to scrub the baking soda paste into the rust until it lifts. Rinse with clean water and fully dry the screen with a towel.

Dry and Replace the Screens

Photo: mirsad / Adobe Stock

The key to preventing more rust from happening or trapping more dust and dirt is to fully dry the screens. Use a clean towel to dry them, and let them air dry in the sunshine before replacing the screens. Now, open up your windows and let the fresh air in through those clean, breezy window screens.