keeping children and pets safe around garage doors

3 Tips To Keep Your Hurricane Shutters Hurricane-Ready

If your hometown is at risk of hurricane damage, you might have invested in hurricane shutters to help protect your windows. Hurricane shutters are great because they can prevent your windows from breaking during one of these heavy storms, and they look great to boot. To ensure that your shutters continue looking their best and continue functioning properly to protect your home from heavy storms, however, it's important to take good care of them. Luckily, a few simple maintenance steps can help you keep your hurricane shutters in excellent condition.

1. Clean Your Shutters

First of all, you should clean your hurricane shutters regularly, at least a few times a year. When it rains, acid can accumulate on your shutters and can cause wear and tear, and you also have to worry about things like tree sap and debris getting on them. This can lessen their lifespan and can also make your home look less than its best. Luckily, cleaning your hurricane shutters is easy; just use a mixture of dishwashing liquid and water, and scrub your shutters with a handheld, soft-bristled scrub brush. Take the time to wash them when they are both opened and closed to ensure that you get rid of as much dirt and grime as possible. Be careful about using abrasive cleaners or cleaning brushes that have harsh bristles, however, since they could cause permanent scratches.

You will also need to clean the track of your shutters each time that you perform a routine cleaning. This will help get rid of dirt, leaves, wasp nests and other debris that might otherwise clog the track and make it difficult to open and close your shutters. You don't want to find that they are clogged and dirty when you need to use your shutters the most, such as right before a big storm.

2. Add Lubricant

To help your shutters open and close as they are supposed to, you should ensure that the tracks are properly lubricated. You can use any silicone-based lubricant to do so, but make sure that you pay attention to both the tracks and the thumbscrews when adding lubricant. This also gives you a chance to open and close your shutters all the way, which should be done regularly. This will help everything operate as it is supposed to when you need to open and close your shutters.

3. Take Care of Rust

how If your shutters are properly cared for, you should not have to worry about them becoming rusty. If you miss a few cleanings and notice that rust is developing on the aluminum, however, you should not ignore the issue. Even small amounts of rust can put your shutters at risk of added wear and tear, so you should attack these spots with sandpaper to get rid of them before they get worse.

Your hurricane shutters take care of your home, so you should take care of them. Fortunately, these three maintenance tips should be all that you need to keep your hurricane shutters working well. To find out more, speak with a business like Door Depot Of SW Florida Inc.