Pool Cage Softwashing That Does Not Shred the Screen
Pool cages in Northeast Florida take a beating. The aluminum frames collect pollen, oak tannin, and hurricane mist. The screens grow black mildew at every seam where moisture lingers. The horizontal rails become landing strips for tree debris, lovebugs, and whatever the last storm blew in. And because the cage surrounds the most-photographed part of the home, every bit of that buildup is visible from the kitchen, the lanai, the primary bedroom, and every showing the owner ever hosts.
Most homeowners get two bad options: pay someone with a pressure washer who blasts mildew off along with the screen fibers, or let the cage turn green until it has to be re-screened entirely. There is a third option — a proper soft-wash treatment with hypochlorite-and-surfactant chemistry that kills the mold at the root, rinses clean, and leaves the aluminum and the screens exactly the way the builder delivered them. That is what FCPE does on every pool cage in St. Johns, Duval, and Nassau counties.
Why Softwashing — Not Pressure Washing — On a Pool Cage
The screen mesh on a standard Florida pool cage is 18×14 fiberglass coated with PVC. It is designed to stop insects, not to take 3,000 PSI at close range. Pressure-washing a cage does three things, and none of them are good:
- Tears pinholes in the screen at every weak seam. Once one pinhole opens, bugs find it, and the owner pays a re-screen contractor $800 to $2,400 to replace the panel.
- Drives mildew deeper into the aluminum frame’s oxidized pockmarks instead of killing it — so the cage looks clean for six weeks, then grows back darker than before.
- Weakens the bronze kick-plate splines that hold the screen tight, so panels start to sag and pop loose at the corners.
Soft-washing uses low-pressure application of a hypochlorite-plus-surfactant solution (the same chemistry recommended by the Pool and Hot Tub Alliance and the major aluminum-frame manufacturers for long-term cage maintenance). The solution sits on the surface, kills the mildew at the organic level, and rinses clean with a garden-hose-pressure rinse. No pinholes. No re-growth. No damaged splines.
What It Costs
Starting at $295 — free assessment for exact pricing
| Cage Size | Starting Price |
|---|---|
| Small (up to 400 sqft screened area) | Starting at $295 |
| Medium (400–800 sqft) | Starting at $395 |
| Large (800+ sqft, typical Nocatee or Ponte Vedra estate cage) | Starting at $495 |
| Multi-level / two-story lanai enclosure | Custom quote |
| Add-on with pool deck cleaning same visit | Save $50 |
Every pool cage softwash includes:
- Pre-rinse of cage frame and screens
- Hypochlorite-and-surfactant application, ground level through ridge
- Dwell time (the chemistry has to work — we do not rush this)
- Thorough fresh-water rinse from top down
- Frame wipe at the kick-plate and door hardware
- Touch-up on exterior-facing cage screens
- Full work guarantee
Where Pool Cage Softwashing Pairs Naturally
If we are already on the property for a pool deck cleaning, paver sealing, or a house soft-wash, adding the cage saves you a trip fee and coordinates the drying time so the cage, the deck, and the furniture are all ready together. The most common bundles in our NE Florida service area:
- House soft-wash + pool cage + pool deck — complete exterior reset
- Paver sealing + pool cage softwash — cage done while sealer cures
- Annual exterior plan + quarterly cage touch-up — routine maintenance
Three Reasons It Lasts
Frequently Asked Questions
- How often should a pool cage be cleaned?
- In Northeast Florida, most cages benefit from a full softwash annually, with a lighter maintenance rinse every six months if the cage sits under heavy oak canopy or near marsh. Clients on our Exterior Annual Plan get this scheduled automatically.
- Will the chemistry hurt my pool water?
- No. We tarp the pool and surrounding landscaping before application, and the dilution we use dissipates to safe levels within the chemistry’s dwell window. Pool-safe application is a non-negotiable for us — we treat every cage as a pool-adjacent job from the first step.
- Can you clean the cage if I have solar panels on the screen frame?
- Yes. We work around solar installations and will not wash directly over the panels. We note solar layout during the assessment and plan the application accordingly.
- What about cages with shade cloth or privacy screens?
- Shade cloth and privacy panels need a lower-dilution approach and extra dwell time. Let us know at the assessment and we will include them in the scope with the appropriate product choice.
- Do you re-screen damaged panels?
- No. FCPE is not a re-screen contractor. If we spot damage during the assessment we will flag it in the quote and recommend a trusted local re-screen company we have worked with — then come back and softwash the fresh panels once they are installed.