Service & Maintenance

Screens that last need a little care

Retractable screens are built to take a beating. Ours run through thousands of cycles, sit out in Florida sun and salt air, and put up with sand, pollen, and the occasional curious lizard. They hold up well. But like anything mechanical, they last longer when somebody pays a little attention to them every now and then.

That somebody can be you, for the easy stuff. For everything else, that is what we are here for.

What you can do yourself

Most of the at-home maintenance for a Phantom Screen comes down to keeping the track and the mesh clean. Salt spray off the Gulf, pollen in spring, and the fine dust that settles on everything during a dry stretch all collect in the bottom track. When that happens, the screen can drag, hesitate, or stop short of fully closing.

A quick wipe with a damp cloth every few weeks handles it. For the mesh, a soft brush or a vacuum attachment with low suction works well. Skip the pressure washer. The water force can damage the mesh weave and push grit deeper into the housing.

One more thing worth doing: retract the screen fully when a thunderstorm rolls through. Florida wind gusts will torque a deployed screen harder than the system was designed to handle, and a screen that lives inside its housing during a storm is a screen that lives a long life.

When to call us instead

Some things are not DIY. If the screen is sticking, retracting unevenly, making a grinding noise, or refusing to close all the way, give us a call before it gets worse. The same goes for any tear in the mesh, a wobbly handle, or a motor that has started behaving differently than it used to.

For motorized systems, watch for slower travel speeds, a dropping or sticking response from the remote, or any unusual sound from the motor housing. Catching these early usually means a small adjustment. Ignoring them usually means a bigger repair.

What our service visit looks like

When you call us out, a real technician from our team shows up. Not a subcontractor. We installed most of the Phantom Screens in Tampa Bay, so chances are we have already worked on a system just like yours, in a house just like yours, somewhere across Hillsborough, Pinellas, or Pasco County.

The visit usually covers a full inspection of the housing, tracks, mesh, and hardware. We clean what needs cleaning, lubricate what needs lubricating, tighten anything that has worked loose, and adjust the tension on the speed reducer if the screen is closing too fast or too slow. If a part needs replacing, we will tell you what it costs before we do anything.

Mesh replacement

Mesh is the one part of a retractable screen that has a real shelf life. Sun, salt, and the occasional run-in with a beach chair will eventually take their toll. The good news is that the mesh is replaceable without swapping out the whole system.

We carry the full range of Phantom mesh options, including standard insect mesh, solar mesh that cuts heat and glare, and pet-resistant mesh for households with dogs or cats that have figured out how to lean on things. If you are not sure which mesh you currently have or which one you should switch to, we can talk it through during the service call.

Warranty work

Phantom Screens come with a limited lifetime warranty on most components, and we handle warranty service directly. No phone trees, no waiting on a corporate office in another state to send someone out. If something covered by the warranty has gone wrong, we file the claim, order the part, and take care of the repair.

Schedule a service visit

Whether your screen needs a tune-up, a mesh swap, or a full diagnostic, we cover the Tampa Bay area from St. Pete and Clearwater through New Tampa, Wesley Chapel, Brandon, and Riverview. Give us a call at 1-727-372-5900 or use the form below and we will get you on the schedule.