Do I Need to Take My Screens Out First?

Why homeowners break screens

Older aluminium frames go brittle, and the plastic corner keys holding them square become fragile with UV exposure. Flexing a frame to pop it out of a channel is exactly what snaps a corner. Once a corner key fails the frame goes out of square and will not sit properly again, which turns a cleaning into a rescreening.

Which windows are worse than others

Sliding and single-hung windows usually release easily from inside. Casement screens sit on the interior and are straightforward. The awkward ones are older double-hung units where the screen is held by spring-loaded pins that have corroded, and second-storey screens that can only be reached from outside.

What happens to them during the job

Screens come out, get cleaned if screen cleaning is part of the service, and go back in the same opening they came from. Screens are not interchangeable even when they look identical, so they are tracked by window. A crew that puts them back in the wrong openings leaves you with screens that no longer sit flush.

Whether to add screen cleaning at all

Cleaning glass and putting a loaded screen back in front of it is why some window cleans seem not to last. Screens hold cottonwood, pollen and dust and keep shedding it onto the pane. Screen cleaning is $50 on top of a window service, and free annually on any membership.