Hurricane shutters are an important feature of your house, especially true if you live in Florida or any other coastal area affected by hurricanes. But in order for your storm shutters to protect your family and home they need to work properly. And an important part of annual hurricane shutter maintenance is cleaning them. A little cleaning can go a long way to keep your shutters working properly and looking beautiful for many years to come. This guide will provide you with a process for how to properly clean your hurricane shutters without damaging them.
How to clean hurricane shutters
Below you will find a step by step process for doing a good annual cleaning of your permanent hurricane shutters. This process is what is simple, and it will ensure that your storm shutters last and function properly.
This process is important for shutters that move along tracks, such as accordions or roll down shutters. But it is important for keeping all kinds of hurricane shutters working correctly and looking good.
Having trouble with accordions that will not open or close? Learn how to close stubborn accordion shutters.
Step 1: Vacuum completely
The first step is to use a vacuum to remove any loose or stuck-on dirt and debris from your shutters. This also makes it easier to clean them in the next steps.
It is important to use a vacuum with good suction so that you can effectively remove the dirt. It is also very important to use a vacuum with a soft bristle attachment. Fight the urge to use a hard vacuum tip as you may scratch your shutters’ finish. The soft bristle attachment will prevent scratching. it also helps to loosen up the dirt, making it easier to vacuum.
You will want to vacuum every part of your shutters, including the panels as well as any tracks or housing boxes if your shutters have them. If your shutters move along a track, such as accordion shutters, it is a good idea to clean them both in the open and closed position. This will help ensure any dirt in the tracks is exposed.
Step 2: Rinse and clean with a water and mild soap mixture
Next you will want to clean your shutters completely to get all the dirt off that the vacuum didn’t remove. Soap and water are the best way to clean them thoroughly. See the step-by-step cleaning steps below.
- Make sure all your windows are securely closed before starting.
- This will prevent water intrusion in your home, which will save a lot of headaches.
- Make a mixture of warm water and mild dish soap. Before starting grab a clean mop bucket, clean 5 gallon paint bucket or similar. Make sure it is clean without debris, sand, etc. Add warm water. Add an appropriate number of drops of mild dish soap until there are sufficient suds.
- We recommend mild dish soap and warm water. This is the easiest and safest product to use. Cleaners may cause damage to your shutters’ finish, especially solvents, abrasive cleaners, etc. Using cleaners other than mild dish soap has the potential to ruin your shutters’ finish. If you must use them, test them in a small, unnoticeable location and wait to see the result. However, it is safest to use a warm water and mild dish soap mixture.
- Close your shutters. Clean them in the closed position first, then you can clean the exposed parts in the open position.
- Rinse each shutter gently with a hose, not a pressure washer. Using a flat, or soaker type setting on your hose’s spray nozzle is recommended. We do not recommend a jet or harsher hose setting as a harsh stream may potentially damage your shutter finish.
- The goal is to get them wet and remove any remaining large dirt particles from the shutters.
- Pressure washers and harsh spray hose settings are not necessary, and they may cause damage. It is recommended not to use them.
- Use a soft cloth or soft foam sponge to clean the shutters with the soap and water mixture.
- Use a sponge, soft brush, or if necessary a thin, soft bristled cleaning tool, such as a soft bottle straw cleaner to get into tight spaces.
- Do not use any tool or hard bristle cleaning tool that will gouge or damage your shutters
- Clean the shutters in entirety from top to bottom. Start at the top of the shutters so the dirt runs down as you go. Clean them with the soap mixture and soft brush or sponge. Rinse them off. Open the shutters and clean the areas that weren’t exposed when they were closed.
- Rinse the soap off with a hose completely until all soap suds are gone. Use a soaker or gentle setting.
- Wipe your shutters with a soft, clean cloth to dry them.
- Repeat the process for each shutter.
Step 3: Test your hurricane shutters and re-lubricate as necessary
Once you have cleaned you shutters and they have dried you will want to test them. Make sure they open and close easily and work correctly. If your shutters are ones that require lubrication, such as accordion shutters then you will want to take that step to ensure they work correctly. This is especially true because the cleaning step may have washed much of the lubricant off.
Learn how to lubricate your accordion shutters and How to Maintain Accordion Shutters.
