A Dirty Enclosure Ages Faster
Algae and mildew hold moisture against mesh and aluminum year-round in Pinellas County. That constant damp accelerates corrosion on the frame and breaks down mesh fibers — a dirty enclosure genuinely wears out faster than a clean one. And it looks it: green-streaked screens and a gray film over everything.
Safe for Screens
The wrong cleaning destroys screens — a pressure washer on a pinpoint tip will cut right through mesh, and bleach weakens the fibers. We clean enclosures the way screens need: low pressure, wide fan, screen-safe cleaners, top to bottom, with a full rinse. Frame, mesh, and deck around the cage all get done.
What Cleaning Includes
- Mesh wash. Algae, mildew, pollen, and grime off every panel, roof and walls.
- Frame wipe-down. Aluminum members cleaned — chalky oxidation and salt film removed.
- Track and spline channels. Debris cleared from door tracks and drainage paths.
- Inspection. While we are up close, we flag torn panels, bad spline, and hardware issues — with photos, so you can decide what is next.
How Often
Twice a year minimum in this county — spring before storm season, fall after it. Homes under heavy tree cover or near the water do better on a quarterly schedule. Pair it with the annual walkthrough and your enclosure will outlast your neighbors'.
Our Process: Wash, Rinse, Inspect
- Pre-rinse. The whole enclosure gets a gentle rinse top to bottom — roof first — to knock off loose pollen, dust, and debris before any cleaner touches it.
- Clean. Screen-safe cleaner goes on with a soft brush, working in sections. Algae and mildew get dwell time, not pressure — the chemistry does the work, not force.
- Frame detail. Aluminum members get wiped down: oxidation, salt film, and grime off the frame, plus door tracks and drainage channels cleared of debris.
- Rinse. Everything gets thoroughly rinsed — cleaner residue left on screens attracts dirt faster, so the rinse is as important as the wash.
- Inspection report. While every panel is clean and visible, we check mesh, spline, and hardware, and we give you a written note of what we found — torn panels, brittle mesh, bad spline — with photos. No obligation; just information.
What Enclosure Cleaning Costs
Cleaning is priced by enclosure size and condition — a compact lanai cage costs less than a two-story pool enclosure, and a cage with heavy algae buildup takes longer than a maintenance wash. Most residential cleanings fall in the low hundreds. It is the cheapest maintenance a pool enclosure has, and it is the one most homeowners skip until the green takes over. Your written quote is free and fixed before we start.
What We Find While Cleaning
A clean enclosure is an inspected enclosure. The issues we flag most often during cleanings:
- Brittle roof panels. Invisible under grime, obvious once clean. Better to learn it from us than from a storm.
- Dried spline. Cracked and shrinking spline that will start popping panels in the next windy season.
- Corroded fasteners. Screws and hardware going soft, especially on waterfront homes.
- Doors out of adjustment. Latches and closers that have drifted — a five-minute fix during a cleaning visit.
- Vines and roots. Vegetation growing into spline channels — we flag it before the roots do real damage.
We report what we find with photos. What you do about it is your call — the cleaning quote never turns into a surprise upsell.
Between-Visit Care
You can stretch the time between professional cleanings: hose the enclosure down every month or two (plain water, spray nozzle), keep sprinklers from blasting the screens daily (mineral deposits build up), trim vegetation back from the cage, and rinse off sunscreen and pool-chemical splash promptly. None of this replaces the twice-a-year deep clean, but it keeps the algae from getting a head start.
The Twice-a-Year Rhythm
Here is the schedule that keeps a Pinellas County enclosure in shape: a full cleaning in March or April, before hurricane season, and another in October or November, after it. The spring cleaning clears winter pollen and preps the cage for storm season - it is also when we catch the brittle panels that would not survive a hurricane. The fall cleaning clears storm debris, summer algae, and everything the rainy season left behind. Homes under heavy oak canopy or on the water add a midsummer rinse to the rhythm. Put it on the calendar like an oil change and the enclosure stops being a project.