Look Your Best: How to Keep a Screened Porch Clean?

Good screened porches add life to any home. It’s a living space that everyone in your family can enjoy, even for your furry friends.

It serves a great function, as you can select whether you’d like it to be a lounge area or a breakfast room. Other popular uses for porches, in general, is for entertaining friends and guests.

Screened porches not only look good to put in front of your house as an outdoor living room.

It can also fit at the back of your house as an entryway for your backyard. Or an extension for your kitchen. How about a bedroom deck for lazy afternoon naps?

No matter how we put it, screened porches can bring delight.

It’s the first thing that visitors can see after all. But it can also be a great deal to maintain. Once it’s become a part of your daily life, you can never neglect your screened porches.

Screened Porches: How Much Cleaning Do You Need To Do?

Debris can build up in your screened porches over time. From spring, summer, fall, and winter, taking care of this room is a must.

So cleaning and maintaining is a must to make sure your screened porches live up to its purpose.

Screened-in porch costs depend on what you have for furniture or fixtures.

Small screened in porch ideas can include basic couches and coffee tables. Some have a lot of lights to keep the porches well-lit at night.

Here is a list of common furniture that will need cleaning in your screened-in porches:

• Couches and sectionals with cushions and pillows
• Coffee tables
• Dining tables and chairs
• Carpets and rugs
• Ceiling or wall lights
• Ceiling fans

Neglect of your screened-in porch can affect the look and feel of the whole house. It’s the first thing that visitors can see after all because it’s more visible from the outside.

If you use your screened-in porches on a daily basis, you will need regular maintenance.

Cleaning Must-Haves

It’s important that you dress for the occasion. It can get sweaty and hot as you clean in the outdoors so comfort should still come first. You can also add music for adding ambiance to your cleaning sessions.

It’s best if your cleaning tools are okay for outdoor use.

The dirt and debris that can get into your screened porches can range from pollen and soil.

Some screened-in porch cleaning essentials include but are not limited to:

1. Sturdy and durable outdoor brooms plus dustpans for sweeping the floor
2. Counter brushes for window sills and screen edges, etc.
3. Sponges and utility brushes for a good scrubbing
4. All-purpose cleaner
5. Handheld vacuum or other vacuums (it helps if it has HEPA filters!) for deep cleaning
6. Hoses or pressure washers for intensive cleaning
7. Protective gloves and goggles (for mildew cleaning)

Clean Floors

A lot of dirt and debris are on your screened-in porch floors. Since this is outdoors, shoe tracks can also get on the floor so it’s best to clean the floor as soon as it’s there. Pet hair can also be all over the place.

Make sure to get yourself a reliable broom and dustpan! This is key for daily, weekly maintenance, and other deep cleanings preparation.

Always keep a functional mop nearby for clean-ups to make sure that your screened-in porch is dry. Weekly scrubbing with a deck brush will also help for deep floor cleaning.

If you have rugs or carpets in your screened porch, vacuuming will be a better option. This can remove even the smallest particles like pollen or pet fur from your rug or carpet.

For wooden-floored porches, maintenance will be easier if you have them painted.

This can be separate from cleaning as painting the wood floor requires that you sand first. It can also help in bettering your floor in any weather and it makes it even more attractive.

There are paints made for porch floors because they are oil-based and self-priming. This makes them perfect for small enclosed porch decorating ideas. You can match your furniture on the floor!

Tiptop Screens

Nobody wants dirty screens. Pressure washers or water hoses can come in handy in cleaning your porch screens.

Start spraying from the top down to the bottom. Don’t start spraying at the middle or at the bottom.

By the time you get to the top, dirt and debris will fall right back to the middle or bottom part. It’s an effective way that also saves you cleaning time.

If you prefer, you can scrub screens with utility brushes. Martha Stewart suggests mixing warm water with an all-purpose cleaner (make sure it has no ammonia!). Use this to clean the frames and mesh of your porch screens.

Remember to wipe down (if wet) or vacuum anything that may have fallen after cleaning your screens. Keep in mind to move the furniture away from the screens too. You don’t want those contaminated or wet especially if you hosed your screens.

Walls and Ceilings

Cobwebs or other insect traces might have accumulated on our walls or ceilings. You can use a long broom for cleaning even hard to reach spots like wall corners.

If you have ceiling lights and other lighting fixtures, it’s a good idea to dust and clean them. You can also include your ceiling fan if you have one. By the time, your lights seem dimmer even though the bulbs are new. Dust and insects might have accumulated so it’s time to get those out!

To avoid unattractive discoloration on screened in porch details such as the walls. You can scrub walls with your trusted all-purpose cleaner and sponges or rags.

Cleaning your own screened-in porch will always pay off. You know it’s every nook and corner. It is also a good excuse to rearrange your furniture to change up its look for different events.

If you desire easier cleaning and maintenance you can contact Big Easy Landscaping. We can work on sealing your screened porch so it doesn’t get dirty often. They can work on porch plans designs you have and trust that experts will handle your porch ideas on a budget.