Owner’s Manual & Care Guide

What each product needs, how often, and the rules that keep the warranty valid.
Follow this and you will get years out of them. Ignore it and the manufacturer is entitled to say
no to a claim.

The whole thing at a glance

Product	How often	The one rule never to break
Hurricane screens, both systems	Light every 3–6 months, deep twice a year	Never spray water up into the hood — the motor and electronics are in there
Clear vinyl windows	Every 1–2 months	IMAR Regalite, 303 or MagnaClean only — never ammonia, glass cleaner or Rain-X
Metal shutters — accordion, roll, Bahama, panels	Twice a year, four times within 3 miles of salt water	Dry silicone lubricant only — never WD-40 or anything oil-based, never bleach, never pressure-wash
Motors & electronics	Checked at every visit	Keep water out of the housing — water damage voids the motor and electronics warranty

Close it before the storm, not during it

A hurricane screen is designed to be brought down ahead of the weather and to stay down
through it. It is not designed to be deployed while it is already blowing.

Put it down when the warning goes up, not when the wind arrives. A screen being lowered into
high wind is catching load along an unsupported edge, which is the one condition the system is not
built for — and it is the point at which fabric tears, a track jumps, or somebody gets hurt
holding onto it.

Down early, left alone, back up afterwards. That is the whole operating procedure.

Hurricane screens go DOWN and stay down. That is what they are for.
Solar, insect and clear vinyl screens go UP in winds over about 40 mph. They
are not storm rated, and leaving them down in a blow voids the fabric warranty.
Find your manual override before the season, not during it. Every motorized
system we install has one. Try it once in June while nothing is happening, so you are not learning
where the crank is by torchlight.

Hurricane screens — MagnaTrack Defender (OmegaTex fabric)

How often. Light cleaning every 3–6 months. Deep clean once a year, or
more in coastal and dusty locations.
Steps. Lower the screen fully. Brush or vacuum off dust and debris. Mix a
little mild soap — washing-up liquid is fine — into warm water under 100°F. Wipe
gently with a soft cloth or sponge. Rinse from the top down with a hose or light pressure washer,
and lightly rinse the tracks. Let it air-dry completely before retracting.
Critical. Do not spray water upward into the housing. The motor and electrical
components are inside and water damage is not covered.
Avoid. Bleach, harsh chemicals, abrasive pads. No wax, silicone or fabric
protectants. Spot-clean bird droppings and sap promptly. On the coast, rinse monthly with fresh
water to get the salt off.

Hurricane screens — UltraShield (Twitchell fabric)

How often. Light cleaning every 3–6 months, deep clean once a year or as
needed.
Steps. Lower the screen fully and brush or vacuum off loose debris. Sponge the
fabric with one cup of mild detergent and one cup of household bleach in three gallons of water.
Rinse thoroughly with clean water and air-dry completely before retracting.
Critical. Again — no water sprayed upward into the housing.
Avoid. Abrasive pads, wax, silicone, protectants. On the coast, rinse monthly.

Note the difference: bleach is part of the specified
UltraShield method and is explicitly not to be used on the MagnaTrack fabric. They are
different cloths with different instructions, so use the right one for what you actually have.

Clear vinyl windows

How often. Clean and protect every 1–2 months with MagnaClean, IMAR
Regalite Protective Polish/Cleaner, or 303 Clear Vinyl Protectant.
How. Wash with mild soapy water and a soft mitt, rinse with fresh water, dry
with a chamois, then polish lightly in small circles and buff.
Never. Ammonia, glass cleaner, Rain-X, Pledge, Plexus or wash-and-wax. They
dull the vinyl and cause a permanent orange-peel haze. And never handle vinyl with sunscreen on
your hands — that clouds it permanently.
Tip. Roll curtains down and fasten them at night to keep their shape. New
vinyl seasons over time.

Metal shutters — accordion, roll, Bahama, storm panels

These need documented maintenance to keep the warranty: clean and lubricate
twice a year, or every four months within three miles of salt water. Salt or pollutant buildup left
on the metal voids the paint and component coverage.

The rules. Dry silicone spray only. Never WD-40 or oil-based lubricants —
they contain water. No bleach or harsh chemicals. Never high-pressure wash: it cracks caulk and
strips paint.
Roll shutters. Close the shutter, wash the curtain and tracks with soapy water,
rinse clean, then lubricate inside the side tracks with dry silicone.
Accordions. Close it, wash the curtain and tracks, rinse. Lubricate the rollers
and wheels, the locks and the rods, then slide it open and closed a few times to work it in.
Bahama and colonial. Wash the shutter, arms and tracks with soapy water and
rinse. Lubricate bolts, hinges and fasteners with dry silicone.
Storm panels. Keep tracks clean and clear. Lubricate track fasteners twice a
year and after any deployment. Store panels flat on wood blocks, fully dry.

Motors & electronics

Keep water out of the housing. Never pressure-spray upward into the hood.
Check operation, the limits, the remotes and the obstacle-detection response periodically.
Water exposure voids the motor (5-year) and electronics (2-year) coverage.

If you are within about three miles of salt water

Everything doubles. Metal shutters serviced four times a year rather than twice, and screens and
vinyl rinsed with fresh water monthly to stop salt building up. This is the single biggest
difference between hardware that lasts and hardware that seizes.

Photographing a problem before you call

This is the single thing that decides whether we fix it on the first visit or have to come back.
If your photos show us clearly what has failed, we can order the part before we drive out.
If they do not, we come out, look, order, and come back — and on a fabric replacement that can
be weeks.

Send several, not one

The whole opening, from a few feet back. The entire shutter or screen, top to
bottom, including the housing and both tracks. This tells us the size, the system and which product
it actually is.
The problem itself, close in. Get near enough that the failure fills the frame.
Both ends of the track if it is stuck, jamming or running crooked.

If it is the screen fabric

Get close enough to show the weave. We need to be able to see whether the cloth
itself has gone — a tear, a split along a seam, fraying at the edge retention, or damage in the
body of the fabric.

If it is stuck

Show us clearly whether something is torn or not torn. That one distinction
changes what happens next more than anything else you can tell us.

If the fabric is torn, we order a replacement screen straight away and bring it with us. If it is
not torn and the system is simply jammed, that is usually a track, a wheel or a motor, and
it is a different visit with different parts on the truck.

So do not just photograph the shutter looking stuck — get close enough that we can confirm
the fabric is intact, or confirm it is not.

Video helps for anything that moves

Ten seconds is plenty. Start the video, operate it, and let it run through whatever it does wrong.
Noises matter — a motor straining, a click that repeats, a grinding as it travels. A photo
cannot carry any of that, and on an intermittent fault a video is often the only evidence there is.

Send it all through the service request form or bring it to the
call on (239) 409-0426.

Or let us do it

Our Maintenance Plan performs every item on this page on schedule — two visits a year,
four for coastal homes — and documents each one. That keeps the manufacturer warranties valid
and extends the metal shutter and workmanship coverage from 1 year to 5. See the
warranty page for what that covers, or
ask us about it.

Florida Screen & Shutter, LLC · 883 NE 27th Ln #5, Cape Coral, FL 33909 · (239) 409-0426
License #SCC131152867 · Fully Licensed & Insured Florida Contractor