How to Clean and Replace Window Screens

Seems like when you do one project, another needed project is revealed! That happened when Steph had the glass in her windows replaced recently. They are insulated glass that had become cloudy inside that no amount of cleaning would ever help. She bit the bullet and hired a local glass company to complete the project.

Replacing the windows necessitated removing the screens which turned out to be really, really dirty. Cleaning was in order, but some of them also had holes (squirrels like to hang on them), so repair was needed for those.

Materials:

• Bucket
  
• Dishwashing liquid (we used Dawn)
  
• Hot water 
  
• Scrub Brushes
  
• Hose/water

​We decided to try cleaning with simple dishwashing liquid in hot water scrubbing with a hand brush. We figured if there were stubborn stains we could use something harsher like Krud Kutter. The hot soapy water proved effective enough to remove dirt and algae growth so nothing harsher was needed. 

We worked outside on the driveway so the screens could be scrubbed flat. 

We first removed the spline and screen for those that needed to be repaired before we cleaned them.

To remove the damaged screen pry out the old spline. You many need a small flat head screw driver or pick to get it started.

​Tip: handle the frame gently so that you don’t accidentally pull it out of shape.

Once the spline is removed, pull out the screen and wash as instructed below. 

1. Make up the soapy water—no measurements, we just used a generous squeeze of Dawn
2. Wet down the screen
3. Lay flat, scrub one side, turn over and clean the other. We used two sizes of brushes—one for the screen and the smaller one to get into the smaller areas on the screen frames
4. Stand to dry
5. Once dry put back into place.

Replacing Screen- Materials:

• Screen—ours is leftover from our porch screening project (Home Depot)
• Spline to fit the screen grooves. Tip: take a piece of old spline to the hardware store to get exactly what you need. 
• Spline mouse or traditional spline tool (Home Depot)
• Scissors
• Utility Knife—we are liking our new Husky one—it’s well designed, easy to open, and the blade retracts for safety (Home Depot)

Need help finding the perfect screen for your porch? 
Check out this quiz we found on phifer.com to help you find the screen for you!

1. Lay the screen frame on the ground, cover this with screen and cut to size. Leave a generous amount, 2-3 inches, all around.
2. Thread the spline through the spline mouse and roll spline into the groove. This takes a little practice. Go slowly. You will not be able to get the spline into the corners squarely, but press it into the groove as close to the corner as possible. 
3. Sides one and two can be done by yourself, but is helpful to have someone provide tension on sides three and four to be sure the screen is kept taut. Don’t pull too tight as you may distort the screen frame and it won’t fit squarely back into the window frame. 
4. Continue all around, cut off excess spline
5. Go back over all the spline to be sure it is seated deep enough

This turned out to be a quick project that can be done in less than an hour, depending on how many screens need to be replaced. It's a good idea to clean the screens at least once a year- probably more here in Florida with all the pollen!

Please note: We are not sponsored by any of the companies/products that we used. These products were picked and bought by us.

FYI: We are not professionals, and we don’t claim to be. This is what we found worked for our project. Yours may need a little different approach. Safety first!

FYI: Affiliate links are being used on this page. Purchasing via these links help support MDP!

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