How do I get rid of the hard particulate matter embedded within my window screen

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.

Tsoi_Zhiv,

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.

tilemover,

Completely agree. Takes about 5 minutes per screen and often you can re-use the bead around the edges.

dingus,

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?

krolden,
@krolden@lemmy.ml avatar

Just get new screen or https://lemmy.ml/pictrs/image/4a69fca8-1fd4-4b58-a1bb-50d3756a1d0e.jpeg

porkins,

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.

carbrewr84,

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.

alerternate,

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.

chaos,

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.

NOT_RICK,
@NOT_RICK@lemmy.world avatar

Something strong like CLR or Citric acid might get rid of it

Psiczar,

Close the window then get a high pressure hose/washer and spray it until it’s clean.

hawkwind,

Trypophobia trigger crowd checking in.

a_large_rock,

My first vote is same as everyone else’s, but…maybe TSP?

Shift_,
Shift_ avatar

Pressure washer? Might be overkill, but if you get one with enough horsepower it could do the trick.

onionbaggage,

Pack your bags and move away.

dingus,

Shall I pack onions as well?

fiat_lux,

Any uniqueness to your climate or location? I see a lot of green in one of your photo backgrounds, could this be built up pollen and dust bound by minerals from the rain? Maybe combined with the residue from other cleaning attempts.

I would try a bristled scrubbing brush with dish soap first. If that didn't work, I'd try the brush with a weak vinegar to see if it's a pH issue.

Another thought: this might be plastic coating on the mesh degrading after extended UV exposure. In which case you probably have to replace it, but might as well try some home chemistry first?

erp,

This is a complaint to a merchant named Ea-nāṣir from a customer named Nanni. Kids these days, selling sub-standard copper!

GlitchSir,

I totally thought this was going to be a bunch of little cans of beans when I zoomed in.

I was going to say replace it but you replied to someone above saying the same thing. I still say just replace it but by buying the material, which can be bought cheaply in rolls, and reuse the frames

QuikxSpec,

I’m still trying to wrap my head around what it actually is. Never seen anything like this but just replace it. Perhaps update with a wider shot of the full screen panel

dingus,

I didn’t bother posting a wide shot because you can’t tell what it is from so far away. It just looks like it’s hazy from dirt. But actually I was able to pick some small hunks off with tweezers and it has an appearance and consistency similar to dried glue. It’s slightly white and semitranslucent. It is also only present on the interior surface of the screen.

But as requested, here is a wider shot comparison of the normal unaffected screens (top) with the affected, coated screens (bottom). imgur.com/vurLJvw

My running theory is that something was glued to the screen at some point, perhaps to deflect sunlight. Or the screen was coated in something, maybe to try to further prevent the intrusion of bugs.

QuikxSpec,

It looks like some sort of padding that weathered into the screen. As many have commented you can easily remove the spline and replace with fresh screen. It’s not expensive and don’t require much too much precision. Following an online guide for measuring will be sufficient. I replace my window screens as needed and a standard house window takes about 15 minutes. The context of the wider shot does help! Thanks.

el_cordoba,

I feel like this is the answer. The amount of work to clean the screening will probably be about the same amount of effort to just replace it. Some local hardware stores will even do it for you (not the Home Despot)

Even if the OP manages to clean it the screen will probably be brittle and may break.

tree_frog_and_rain,

is it from wildfire smoke?

I’ve worked in a lot of kitchens and carbon build up is one of the worst things to remove. Might be best off replacing it as others said.

Hot vinegar will remove sugars. Rubbing alcohol or other solvents will remove oils. For burned carbon we used something called carbon off which is very caustic because we’re also made of carbon.

dingus,

Doesn’t seem likely. This is the only pane affected. And the material seems to be coating the inner part of the screen, not the exterior part.

snorkbubs,
@snorkbubs@fedia.io avatar

Soap and warm water, along with a brush. You'll need to scrub it a bit, and to keep things soapy. Be careful not to push too hard and stretch out the screen. Spray the screen off with a hose when finished scrubbing. Repeat as necessary.

I use a window fan at home, and the screen gets gunked up. Just takes some soap and a little elbow grease to get it clean.

Slowy,
@Slowy@lemmy.world avatar

This may be a bad suggestion, but if the screen itself is made of metal, maybe you could burn off the film

dingus,

😈😈😈🔥🔥🔥

corncob,

Seriously just replace it. It's so easy to do. Get a kit like this (check measurements) and forget about it! It comes with everything you need to replace it. Watch a YouTube video and you're golden.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Phifer-36-in-x-84-in-Black-Pet-Screen-Kit-with-Spline-and-Roller-3025886/205001783

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