Do I need to remove window screens before power washing a house?
Leaving screens in risks damaging old aluminum frames and seals, but removing them can be nearly impossible when stubborn tabs and tight tracks require taking extra parts apart. This leaves homeowners stuck between risking water damage or breaking fragile, decades-old hardware.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Taking the screens off and cleaning them separately with normal hose water pressure.
- 2Pulling the screen frame up to clear the window edge, pushing it to the side to release the bottom and one side, and then bending the frame slightly to pull it out.
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I have an old aluminum screen probably from the 1980s. There’s only one tab on the bottom and I’ve managed to pulled it upwards with a lot of effort. There doesn’t seem like there’s any room for it to be removed without possible taking more parts out which I don’t know how to do either.”source ↗
“Should I remove the window screens or is it ok to leave them in?”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 4How to clean the mold and gunk left under a removed shower door
- 2Is the black residue on PVC window frames toxic mold?
- 3How to clean thick dust off a screened patio
- 3How to get dried paint off plastic pipes
- 5How to clean a really mouldy rental shower and fix the caulk
- 2Shower finish peeling off when cleaning