How long do pool screens last in Florida?

Roughly a decade for the mesh, give or take, depending on how much sun the cage gets, how many storms it takes and whether pets push on it. Heavier pet resistant mesh tends to last longer in the lower panels where dogs and kids lean.

Much longer than the screen, often decades, if it is kept up. The weak points are the screws and fasteners, which corrode, especially near salt air. Loose or rusted screws are worth replacing before a storm finds them.

When the mesh is failing in many places at once. The signs:

• Brittle mesh that tears when you press it.
• Several torn or loose panels at the same time.
• Sagging panels and spline popping out of the frame.
• Faded, chalky mesh that has lost its color.
• A storm that went through several sections.

Repair when it is one or two panels on mesh that is otherwise sound. Rescreen when it is several sections on an aging cage, because chasing individual panels on old mesh turns into a monthly job. Either way, fix small tears fast. In the wind they flap, grow, and start pulling on the panel around them. Both are part of our screen repair.

Yes, and you can burn through one. Screen mesh blocks some of the sun but not all of it, so you tan more slowly under a cage than in the open, not safely. Sunscreen still matters under a screen, and more so in the water, where the light bounces back up at you off the surface and the deck.

Clean them gently and fix damage early.

• Wash at low pressure. A pressure washer tears mesh. See how to clean a screen enclosure.
• Fix small tears right away before the wind makes them big.
• Trim branches that touch or hang over the cage.
• Check screws and spline before hurricane season. See the hurricane pool checklist.

A lot. It keeps out leaves, bugs, frogs and lizards, so the water has less debris eating chlorine, the filter stays cleaner and the pool stays clear more easily. A torn panel lets all of that back in.