How to Clean Your Porch Screens in 5 Easy Steps

Get your porch ready for summer and enjoy endless days of relaxing time with the family.

This easy method shows how to clean porch screens, ensuring your porch’s cleanliness lasts throughout the season, remaining in tip-top condition.

A porch is such a wonderful asset to the home.

We love ours for the simplicity of relaxing after a long day at work or spending time with the family. 

The bird song and sounds of nature fill our hearts as we sleep away the moments.

But with this comes the need to keep our porch somewhat clean. And don’t even get me started on porch screens! They get so grubby and impossible to see through, you know?

I personally clean my porch often, as I hate having it look so dirty. 

Grime and dust settle on porch screens like nothing else. In summer, it’s impossible to see out. They get so dirty!

Our porch is a key part of our home, so we want to look after it as we do the other rooms in the house. 

This is why I devised an excellent method for how to clean porch screens. It’s the most straightforward and efficient method I found and works on every type of porch screen. 

Follow along with me, and you’ll have a wonderfully refreshed porch to enjoy.

how to clean screened-in porch

Now, this post is talking about cleaning screens on your porch, so if your porch doesn’t have screens, this post probably won’t interest you.

In which case, do check out some of my other posts, such as cleaning the upholstery on your outdoor couches or dusting down furniture with this dusting spray!

But I do know the pain of having dirty screens and also not being sure how to clean porch screens, whether there’s a specific type of cleaner needed or what. 

So simply follow my guidance in this post. I’ll explain everything and take you through my cleaning method step by step. 

why clean patio (porch) screens

Cleaning porch screens may not be that high on your priority list. 

But when the weather turns a touch warmer and you get the call to sit outside and soak up some heat, you’ll surely regret having pollen and grime blocking your view!

Because that’s exactly what happens when your porch screens get dirty, you can’t see through them; they get so bad!

It’s also a good idea to clean patio screens to keep them solid so they don’t wear out too soon. 

As you know, porch screens are a little fragile in places, so it’s worthwhile cleaning them every so often to keep the performance and appearance as good as you can.  

Nothing shouts at a home not being looked after like dirty screens!

This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. Get my full disclosure HERE.

how to clean porch screens

Tools:

• Vacuum with attachments
• A mop pail
• Washcloths or microfiber cloths
• Warm soapy water

Cleaning method:

1. Begin by vacuuming your porch screen clean of any debris or pollen. An upholstery attachment works best for this, which has a soft bristle brush on the end. 

2. If you have access to the outside of the screen, start there and vacuum the outside first, then move to the inside and finish vacuuming the screen.

Two out of the three sides of our porch are accessible only by ladder, so I generally save that step for my husband.

3. Fill a pail with warm water and a few spurts of dish soap. I don’t usually measure, as just a little soap is necessary. Otherwise, you’ll be wiping soap suds away for the next hour (not fun!)

4. Dip a clean washcloth into the soapy water and gently wash the screens. Be careful not to push too hard on the screen to avoid damaging or stretching the screen out.

5. Finally, using a fresh bucket of warm water and a clean rag, wipe the screens clean. 

Cleaning Tips

• You may worry that you’ll cause damage to your porch screens if you clean them, and of course, there is a risk of that if you press too hard or are overly rough with your cleaning arm! (So go gently. That’s my best advice.)
• I prefer to use microfiber cloths to clean porch screens as they are far softer and help lift off dirt and pollen. 
• Sometimes mold spots develop on porch screens, so to remove this, I recommend trying my mold remover recipe first before cleaning the screens.
• You can use a hose and spray nozzle to clean porch screens from the inside out, but be careful to avoid spraying your furniture! 
• Any dish soap will do for this cleaning method. Here is the link to my own homemade liquid dish soap, which I use to clean my own porch screens. 
• It’s best to clean porch screens at the beginning of Spring. This is when it’s not freezing cold outside (yay!) and where you’ve got the highest chance of sunshine before the summer comes to help your screens dry out naturally. 

how to clean door screens

The process for cleaning the door screen is the exact same. Just be careful not to get any wood bits too wet, as that can cause watermarks that are hard to shift. 

But otherwise, follow the method exactly, and you’ll have pristine clean porch screens and doors in just one afternoon!

I hope you enjoy this cleaning porch screens method. And the best bit, indeed, is when you can sit and relax on your porch and actually see the nature or life around you because your screens are that clean. 

There’s nothing better!

If you enjoyed this post, I think you’ll find these other posts really fun. So why not grab a warm drink and cozy up on your newly cleaned porch for some quiet reading time?

• How to quickly clean your wood stove glass
• How to clean and disinfect all the electronic screens in your home
• How to clean car seats like a pro
• Homemade window cleaner for a streak-free finish