Fly Screen Cleaning Guide

Fly screens are a great way to keep unwanted visitors out of your home. This is especially beneficial during the summer; nothing spoils a relaxing cocktail in the conservatory quite like the arrival of a large, angry hornet. At Appeal Home Shading, we manufacture our screens from PVC. The ClearVu micromesh is almost unnoticeable, and they do a terrific job at stopping insects from getting in. But they do require cleaning. Left unchecked, they can become full of dead flies and other pollutants. Here are a few tips on how to keep them tidy.

When To Clean A Fly Screen

The first thing to consider is how often you need to clean them. There is no hard and fast answer to this; it depends on where you live. If you have a house in a city, you may find your screen gets dirtier quicker than if you lived in a rural area. Urban regions tend to have more air pollution than the countryside, so they pick up dirt quickly. 

Insects breed in bodies of water, so if you live near a lake or river, you’ll need to clean the screen more regularly. The same goes for coastal homes or those in windy areas. The cleaning schedule depends on environmental factors, but generally speaking, once every three months is a good target.

How To Clean A Fly Screen

Fly screens can be cleaned using the basic products under your sink. A bucket of warm, soapy water, a hose and a pair of rubber gloves are all you need. Simply scrub them clean, rinse all the soap off and leave them to dry. All our insect screens are retractable, so check they’re completely dry before putting them away. Make sure you wipe down the magnetic sealing strips as well. 

Alternatively, you might want to use a lint roller if you’re in a rush. These are reusable plastic rollers fitted with adhesive tape that you can run over the surface of a fly screen to pick up dirt. They’re an efficient ‘quick fix’ when you don’t have time to do a thorough clean and can be found in most home improvement shops.

Why You Should Clean The Fly Screen

Fly screens might not be the first household fixture you think of when organising a cleaning routine, but the grime, debris and dead insects that get clogged in the mesh can pose a health risk. Most of the air coming into your home passes through these screens, so reducing the bacteria on them is essential. That aside, there’s also an aesthetic reason. If you’re entertaining guests, you don’t want a collection of dead bugs stuck in the window. 

A well-maintained fly screen is a valuable addition to any home. If you’ve had enough of wasps flying into the kitchen or your sleep being disturbed by moths, why not get in touch? You can request a free design consultation or simply use a free brochure to get a closer look at our products.