Finicky Window Cleaning, Inc.
All About Window Screens:
In the days before air conditioning, screens were an absolute necessity? they were the only practical way to let ventilation in during the searing summer months and keep pesky mosquitoes from ruining a good night's sleep. But with the invention of air conditioning and the increases of troublesome allergies, the disadvantages of window screens start to outweigh the advantages, especially for the few nights each year we open the windows.
Screens are dust, paint and dirt traps. As someone who cleans screens regularly I'm amazed at the amount of dust and pollen that can be trapped in a single window screen. This dirt and dust settles out on window sills, coating them with an unsightly covering that literally turns to mud in damp weather. Modern vinyl-clad sills often become stained under such conditions. Trapped dust that settles on the glass or screens sets up the potential for a chemical reaction: dust and dirt mixed with moisture forms a weak corrosive that over years can etch or stain the glass.
Screens cut the amount of light entering through the window by as much as 25%. Think about how a screen is made. If you took all the fibers that make up a screen and jammed them together tightly, they would make a light -blocking fabric that would easily cover a fourth of the window?s surface area. Folks who have had window screens installed for years often comment about how much more open their rooms appear when screens are removed. More light makes for brighter, bigger-feeling rooms. (This is especially important when selling a home.)
Screening as a source of security is a myth. Aside from "special security" screens that are hardwired in to an electronic security system, regular window screens provide only the flimsies of barriers between the inside and out side of your home.
Obviously if you depend upon outside ventilation for a good part of the year then window screens still provide good function and the benefits offset the costs. But if you are like many homeowners, only a few of your home's many windows are ever used for ventilation and even those only two or three times during the year.
Why not give some though to storing those screens that aren't used? If and when you should ever decide to sell your home it's only necessary to demonstrate to potential buyers that you have screens for every window - it isn't required that they be installed. (In fact, stored screens will be in much better shape than if they remain exposed to the sun and weather).
In the mean time your home will definitely be brighter and more spacious-feeling.