Repair tears and holes in screens before they get larger.
Even one or two small holes in your screens allow flying and crawling pests like flies and mosquitoes into your home, exposing you to a variety of illnesses, including West Nile virus. Closing your windows means losing that beautiful breeze, so repair them right away to maintain adequate cross-ventilation in your home. Replacement screens are expensive, but a few simple techniques allow you to repair a hole in minutes with little cost. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
Polyester Mesh Screens
1. Dab clear nail polish where pet claws break a single screen strand. This prevents the hole from getting larger, while remaining nearly invisible.
2. Use clear silicone adhesive for holes that are only two to three strands long or wide. Lay the screen on a flat surface and slide a disposable polyester cutting sheet under the area where the hole is. Squeeze a dot of adhesive over the tear and spread it flat with a cotton swab, keeping the diameter of the adhesive within two squares of the outer edge of the hole. Peel away the cutting sheet after the adhesive cures overnight.
3. Use a hot-melt glue gun and clear glue sticks to repair finger-diameter holes. Lay the screen on a flat surface. Slide the cutting sheet into place and apply a bead of glue two strands wider in diameter than the hole, all the way around. Carefully peel away the cutting sheet when the glue cools.
4. Stitch long, single-strand cuts back together using a needle and thread or clear fishing line. Find thread with the closest match to your screen color and use a small-eye needle. Use a needle-threading tool if the size of the eye makes it difficult for you to thread. Begin three intact holes lower than the beginning of a vertical tear or three holes to the left of a horizontal tear. Stitch back and forth through the closest intact holes holes and end three holes above the end of the vertical tear or three holes to the right of a horizontal tear. Avoid pulling the thread tight to keep the screen from buckling.
5. Patch holes that are larger than finger diameter. Cut around the frayed portion of the hole to make clean edges. Cut a patch four to six holes larger than the length and width of the hole. Glue the patch in place using clear silicone adhesive or a hot-melt glue gun with clear glue sticks. Turn the screen over when the patch dries and apply clear silicon adhesive or clear hot-melt glue from the edges of the original hole to the edges of the patch to ensure that it does not fray or come loose if someone brushes a hand across it.
Metal Mesh Screens
6. Use a ready-made, snap-on square patch ½-inch to 1 inch larger than the size of the hole for anything bigger than a single broken screen strand. Slide the bent strands of the snap-on patch through your screen and bend the strands flat to keep it in place.
7. Lay the screen on a flat surface with the patch on the underside and the bent ends on top. Slide a disposable polyester cutting sheet under the screen, where the patch is.
8. Apply silicone adhesive or clear hot-melt glue all over the ends of the bent strands of the patch with a cotton swab and allow it to cure overnight.
9. Apply additional layers, curing overnight between each, until you can run your hand across the patch without pricking your fingers.
Tags: cutting sheet, hot-melt glue, flat surface, larger than, screen flat