Friday

tip-o-day

Time to put your screens back up.
At least here in the North it is. Do you even need screens way down south? Aren’t they overkill for your mammoth sized insects. If a bug flies into the house don’t you just catch it in a net and release it back into the wild? Or perhaps name it and adopt it? (and I suppose in Maine screens are simply pointless. Just keep the windows closed and cover yourself in netting.)

Anyway… In the late fall you should take your screens down for a multitude of good reasons.

a. You will be surprised at how much your house brightens up when you take them down. This is very beneficial in the low light of the winter.
b. When it snows, snow will stick to the screens reducing visibility as well as ambient light.
c. It gives you an opportunity to wash the windows and inspect the caulking etc twice a year (when you take them down and put them back)
d. Over the years leaving screens in place will start to permanently dull and stain your windows.
e. It allows you to give the screens a good washing before putting them back up in the spring which really helps alleviate the problem mentioned above.

So … now is the time to put your screens back in. The bugs are waking up and its warm enough to take the screens outside to hose them off and wipe them down with a mild solution of soap and water. Give the windows a wash inside and out, wash out the sill area (filthy window sills…ick). Make sure any exterior caulking is in good shape. Also be sure the window operates smoothly and stays up when opened. If not…fix it!
If you have window treatments it’s also a good time to clean them. Altho I find, with mini blinds or roman shades, if you vacuum them quickly once a month or so – they stay much nicer and you are not burdened with a big mess to clean up annually.