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+-- Thread: Best screen material? (/showthread.php?tid=7363988)
Best screen material? - Gary G™ - 07-18-2021
Our front porch has 8 screens:
4 are roughly 3-1/2’ X 8’
4 are roughly 3-1/2’ X 9’
The screen material itself tends to get moldy rather quickly.
Even the cypress frames I built them from get green moldy.
Lots of trees and shade tend to keep this area wetter than most places.
It’s north central Florida so screening is necessary.
Is there a screen material which does better than others to retard mold and mildew?
RE: Best screen material? - Turner52 - 07-18-2021
i would use plain old fiberglass screening. After new install spray the screen and frames with either wet anf forget or microban. If the screens do not need replacing spray with the wet and forget. You must have patience for this product You will think it is not doing anything, but after a while the mold will die. I doubt it would help with any staining from the mold though.
RE: Best screen material? - Timberwolf - 07-19-2021
(07-18-2021, 08:00 AM)Gary G™ Wrote: Our front porch has 8 screens:..........................
4 are roughly 3-1/2’ X 8’
4 are roughly 3-1/2’ X 9’
The screen material itself tends to get moldy rather quickly.
Even the cypress frames I built them from get green moldy.
Lots of trees and shade tend to keep this area wetter than most places.
It’s north central Florida so screening is necessary.
Is there a screen material which does better than others to retard mold and mildew?
Gary, you might want to go online and see if you can still find copper screen material...Its what we used before fiberglass became available. You might even find it in aluminum, but copper is best.
Edit....Here's a link...............https://www.wholesalescreensandglass.com/Phifer_Bronze_Insect_Screen.html?gclid=Cj0KCQjwxdSHBhCdARIsAG6zhlW28gwiwtNRFRn9e25M4cvicP6DvA5M6v-UgVFXGf1ASKlqhRFlcr8aAnbbEALw_wcB
RE: Best screen material? - joe1086 - 07-19-2021
Can't help with the mold issue....but you might want to check out polyester vs. fiberglass screening. Polyester is supposedly much tougher.
RE: Best screen material? - KC - 07-19-2021
(07-18-2021, 08:00 AM)Gary G™ Wrote: Our front porch has 8 screens:
4 are roughly 3-1/2’ X 8’
4 are roughly 3-1/2’ X 9’
The screen material itself tends to get moldy rather quickly.
Even the cypress frames I built them from get green moldy.
Lots of trees and shade tend to keep this area wetter than most places.
It’s north central Florida so screening is necessary.
Is there a screen material which does better than others to retard mold and mildew?
Couple of screens on the north side of the old house would get green. One right next to another that didn't. No trees, and situated where they didn't get hardly any direct sun. I just cleaned them every year or so.
RE: Best screen material? - FireWood - 07-19-2021
spray them down with vinegar every now and then... should stop the mold.
RE: Best screen material? - Cooler - 07-19-2021
When I lived in Port Washington (NY), my neighbors in Sainds Point where houses were all over $1,000,000.00, the gold standard for screens was bronze screening. It stood up better than aluminum and was more pet-proof too.
The local hardware store stocked it and it only cost a few dollars more than aluminum. I liked it.
If you have no-seeums, then I would get fiberglass fine mesh. Otherwise, the standard fiberglass is easy to work with. The "pet-proof" is much heaver and harder to work into the grooves.
The black fiberglass mesh visually disappears, which I find appealing.
Here is the source for the bronze. It is a classy option. Since it lasts a long time it might not even be a more expensive option. I would prefer it over aluminum. I'm not sure I would prefer it over fiberglass.
The bronze is 90% copper; 10% zinc.
https://www.wholesalescreensandglass.com/Phifer_Bronze_Insect_Screen.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMInILk4sbv8QIVTPvICh3vfg9EEAAYAiAAEgI4g_D_BwE
This company offers just about every grade of wire mesh, including stainless steel. I have no experience with anything other than what I mentioned above. Their "security screen" material is supposed to be "knife proof", though I find that claim to be a hyperbole.
https://www.wirescreen.org/window-screen/copper-wire-screen.html
RE: Best screen material? - Gary G™ - 07-29-2021
Follow-up:
I called the bronze dealer and he couldn’t speak the least bit about mold/algae growing on the screen.
So, I used the poly heavy duty screen material I already had.
Mana’s happy for now.
AWTEW
RE: Best screen material? - Cooler - 07-30-2021
Over the weekend I re-screened my Anderson windows (3). I used a fine mesh polyester screen. For some reason, Anderson uses roll-formed metal splines. You have to pound them in with a hammer. And then a narrow tool to drive it fully in place.
The frame size was 16" x 42". Because the long splines have to fit in between the short ones I installed the short splines first. Then the long splines. The splines draw the screen material tight. So tight that the long sides bowed in.
I had to redo two of the screens. For the second effort, I cut a narrow strip of 1/4" plywood to the opening size. I placed it in the middle of the frame on the table as I was putting in the splines. This kept the frames from bowing in.
I'll bet that professionals have a better method, but this worked. The metal splines are more work, but the finish matches the frame, so that is nice.
RE: Best screen material? - Cooler - 07-30-2021
(07-29-2021, 08:04 PM)Gary G™ Wrote: Follow-up:UV will kill mold and algae. So once a year, take the screens out on a bright sunny (dry) day and leave them out in the sun. After it has baked for several hours, hose it off while lightly brushing.
I called the bronze dealer and he couldn’t speak the least bit about mold/algae growing on the screen.
So, I used the poly heavy duty screen material I already had.
Mana’s happy for now.
AWTEW
Most items that get mold, mildew or algae cannot easily be exposed to sunlight. A screen is an exception.