It won’t be long until it’s officially pool weather and we can’t wait! You can understand why if you kept yourself indoors as much as we have this past winter. However, if you spent the past few months indoors more than out, your pool area likely needs more preparation than usual. If you have a mesh pool enclosure, the kids may volunteer to take on the task for you without any prodding or prompting.
Glass enclosures all but require hiring professional window washers—especially if you incorporated a high dive in your pool design. These days, more homeowners than usual may tackle that job themselves due to the need to maintain the household budget. If that is where you find yourself and it means you will be using a ladder, we encourage you to take every safety precaution. Of all reported ladder accidents each year, approximately 97% of them occur in the home.
Cleaning your mesh pool enclosure
Mesh screen enclosures are easy to clean and—if presented correctly—could be a job that your kids clamor to handle for you. However, you ought to keep an eye on the situation because even though it looks like great fun to try out the “brother in a bucket” style of cleaning, soapsuds in the eye could bring family-fun time to a screeching halt.
This first step isn’t crucial, but worth considering. Fill some spray bottles—or water guns maybe—half full of white vinegar and top them off with water. Give the bottles a shake and let them spray down the screens before scrubbing. The vinegar works to loosen any accumulated dirt and grime—on the screens and in the water guns if that’s the weapon of choice. It works on salt accumulation too. Moreover, it’s a preventative against mold and mildew taking hold during the hot, humid days we have coming up shortly.
When that’s completed, it’s time for the hose, a bucket of soapy water, and the scrub brushes. Most kids can’t wait to get started! Have them do the inside of the screens first. Scrubbing them technically loosens the dirt on both sides of the screen, however, working from the inside out means that by the time they are ready to hose off the outside, it’s mostly water that you’re dealing with. It will be a big time saver when you do the floor.
Again, working from a ladder is dangerous. If the kids are going up, make sure you’re standing there at the ready when they do.
Sans kids?
Pressure washers do a marvelous job at blasting away dirt and grime. You could even tackle it from the patio furniture, maybe… Just saying.
Heads up, though. Do a quick inspection around the frame of your screens before you start cleaning. If you hit a loose edge with all that water pressure, it could pull the entire screen loose and send it flying.
Discover mold?
If you find a patch of mold or mildew that has taken hold somewhere within the enclosure, using the white vinegar and water solution mixed 50-50 should resolve the problem. A mixture of 1 quart of household bleach to three quarts of water may be used to destroy the mold cells. as well. However, vinegar works naturally and doesn’t expose your family to the harmful chemicals it contains.
Mold spores become airborne on contact so don’t let the kids clean up any of the black stuff. And, when you do it, it’s a good idea to wear a mask.
Continued exposure to mold causes health issues and symptoms become more severe over time.
They include:
- Sneezing
- Runny or stuffy nose
- Cough
- Postnasal drip
- Itchy eyes, nose, and throat
- Watery eyes
- Dry, scaly skin
More serious symptoms include:
- Coughing
- Wheezing
- Shortness of breath
- Chest tightness
Mold exposure affects pets too. They exhibit many of the same symptoms that we do.
Once it’s done, it’s fun in the sun
Mesh screen enclosures provide you and your family with many benefits you enjoy—except during record-breaking cold temperature years, of course—year-round. They allow air to circulate freely eliminating that “stifling” feeling that comes upon some people who suffer claustrophobia in closed-air spaces, such as a glass pool enclosure.
They provide a degree of sun protection too. That means the kids aren’t having to get out of the pool so you can reapply the sunscreen as often. We know they love that perk! We’re curious to know if that cuts down on the cost of summer sweet treats as well, by the way.
If you haven’t installed a pool enclosure and are considering it now that you’ve read this post, you should know that they provide an added level of privacy to your backyard fun too. In fact, that’s the number one reason that homeowners decide to enclose their outdoor living space.
Using a company, such as ours, for instance, that customizes screens allows you to create a backyard getaway spot that your family and friends will never want to leave! The dyes used to print the images are treated with added UV protection and the colors remain vibrant for years—even here!
Lastly, it wouldn’t hurt to mention that while you’ve got the buckets, water guns, and maybe the power washer handy, it’s a good time to knock out any accumulated salt accumulation around your home and property. Destruction sets in quickly due to its abrasive nature.
You know the kids will be down with the plan. Grab that hose before you call them to action and arm yourself though—most importantly, prepare for fun!