Helpful Hints from joeeze: Cleaning your screens

If you're like most people including me, you've never ever cleaned your screens and never gave it a thought until this annoying post appeared.

Sorry not sorry.

Reese*, this one's for you.

But I digress.

From Country Living:

When your screens have stubborn caked-on grime, it's best to give them a bath.

This is best done on a sunny day when screens can be left outside to dry.

• Remove your screens from the windows and put them outside. If you have a large number of screens, it may be a good idea to label them with masking tape and a marker to make reinstallation easier later on. Note upper edges and inner sides.

• Mix 1/4 cup of all-purpose dish soap with 1/2 gallon of water, the hotter the better. You can also do this with 1/4 cup of household vinegar instead of dish soap if you prefer.

• Lift each screen into an upright position and gently wash soapy water over the screen with a sponge or dishcloth.

• Before the screen dries, hose down both sides on the lowest possible pressure setting to rinse off any residual soap or vinegar. If your hose does not have an option for a light spray, rinsing the screens in the shower is a great substitute.

• Put the screens out to dry, preferably in the sun, for a few hours. Once they are fully dry, you can vacuum them with a soft bristle attachment to make sure any loose dirt is removed before you put them back into place.

Fair warning: it's a lot of work.

All I can say in this regard is that my 55-year-old screens — which the original owner put in place when he built the house in 1967 — didn't seem all that bad for the 39 years I've looked through them since moving in in 1983 until after I washed them and put them back up.

WOW — almost like glass, they're so unobtrusive now: huge difference.

*Any boj reader named Reese hereby becomes my Crack Reese Correspondent©® — let me know where to send your signing bonus