Screened Lanai Cleaning
San Marino at Miromar Lakes

San Marino is a gated coach-home neighborhood by Bateman Communities in the southwest corner of Miromar Lakes Beach & Golf Club, near I-75 and Ben Hill Griffin Parkway. Its two-story buildings went up around 2005 to 2007, with tile roofs, two-car garages and a screened lanai for every home. That lanai is usually the owner’s to maintain, while the association looks after roofs and walls.

Lanais facing the preserve collect pollen every spring and stay shaded and damp through the wet season. Screens turn yellow-green, and the aluminum frame grows algae on its shaded members.

Miromar Lakes is inland and freshwater, so salt is not the problem here; shade and humidity are. After a summer storm, preserve-facing lanais can stay damp for days. The ceiling picks up gray mildew spots, the screen door track turns black, and the lower panels grow a green film that shows first in the shaded corners.

Lake-side lanais catch morning mist; golf-side lanais catch irrigation spray and clippings. Either way, the floor ends up with a thin, slippery film in the corners.

Golf-side lanais get a particular mix on the lower screens: grass clippings, fertilizer dust and the residue from sprinkler spray. It builds a dull gray band along the kick plate and bottom rail. We loosen it with a mild cleaner before rinsing, so it washes out of the mesh instead of being pushed further in.

Second-floor lanais in the coach buildings sit above the first-floor unit, so rinse water has to be controlled. We clear drains first and keep water off the lanai below.

First-floor lanais deal with the drip from above after every rain, plus mulch and soil splashing up from the planting beds. Their floors tend to get the slickest. We work those with a surface cleaner and spend extra time near the door and the drain, where people step most and where the film is hardest to see.

Units here run roughly 2,100 to 2,700 square feet in recent sales, with two or three bedrooms, and the lanais are sized to match: most come in under 800 square feet. A small lanai starts at $249, and the full package covering screens, frame and floor starts at $299. Heavier algae on the floor, the kind that makes it slippery, is a deeper clean from $399.

After close to twenty years, some aluminum frames at San Marino have started to chalk, leaving a white film on your hand when you touch them. A brightener during the visit evens out the color. It adds $75 to $150 depending on the size, and we try it on a small section first so you can see the difference before deciding.

Twenty-year-old screens can also be fragile. Fiberglass mesh dries out in the sun and can split if it is pushed. That is why we never aim a pressure washer at it, and why we tell you about any panel that looks close to failing before we start. Torn screens, loose spline and sticking doors are noted in your written record.

Lake-view lanais have one more issue: the glass. Morning mist and sprinkler spray leave white spots on the sliding doors and the windows that open onto the lanai, and those spots bake on in the afternoon sun. We rinse and squeegee the lanai side of the glass as part of the visit, and full window cleaning can be added if you want the outside done as well.

A once-a-year cleaning keeps most lanais fresh; preserve-side units may want it every 8 to 10 months.

Owners who spend summers elsewhere often come back to a lanai that has been closed up through the wet season. Booking a cleaning for the week before you return means the screens, ceiling, floor and furniture are ready when you arrive. If you are away, leave the screen door unlocked or a key with the manager, and we send photos when we finish.

Miromar Lakes is a busy place in season, with boating and waterskiing on the lake, golf, tennis and the beach. Most residents would rather spend their time there than cleaning a lanai. We handle the gate, work within the association’s hours, and leave the lanai rinsed and dry enough to use the same afternoon.

If the board is already booking a building wash, adding your lanai to that day is the simplest option. Every unit in the building ends up clean at the same time, neighbors get one set of notices instead of two, and the building rinse does not splash onto a lanai you have just had cleaned. Ask the manager for the date, or ask us and we will check. We can also add your windows or driveway to that same visit.