Are You Wasting Money by Not Using a Pet Window Screen?

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The weather has broken from winter to spring, or perhaps a hot summer has passed and crisper, cooler fall temperatures are now here. Now you can finally fling open your windows to enjoy cool, pleasant breezes after having the house shut up for what seems much longer than a season or two. 

But if you have pets in your home, cracking open your window might pose a unique problem. For pets, window screens can often pose several issues. Cats and dogs can get excited at whatever they see outside an open window and scratch the window screens. Cats especially sometimes forget there’s a barrier between them and their prey, batting at or even launching at windows with claws extended. Enthusiastic pups like to jump and paw at screens as well. 

You may already have damaged screens thanks to your furry friends’ excitement, and due to this, you may be keeping your windows shut to keep out the insects that can fly in or ensure that your weakened window screens don’t accidentally tear and leave your pet a means to escape. Or perhaps in a worst-case scenario, you’ve found yourself replacing your window screens every season due to pet damage or you don’t have window screens at all, forcing you to keep the windows shut. 

Are you wasting money by not using a pet window screen? Ever wondered if it was a worthwhile investment? 

If you’re not sure if it’s better to keep the windows shut or hesitant about whether you’re wasting money by not switching to pet window screens, let’s clarify everything you’ve wanted to know. 

 

What is Pet Window Screen? 

The most common material found in the standard window screen these days is fiberglass. The fiberglass is woven into a mesh that keeps insects, dirt, and debris from flying or being picked up by the wind and carried in through a screenless window. However, fiberglass isn’t made to withstand larger weights pressed against it, nor is it strengthened enough to withstand cats’ or dogs’ claws and paws. Fiberglass screening is excellent for those who have a home without pets or toddlers that like to press against window screens. 

Pet window screen, however, is constructed differently. Pet window screens use a polyester yarn at the core, which is then extruded with vinyl, or PVC. Each strand of yarn is individually extruded then bonded to the polyester core yarn, ensuring that the polyester fiber can never be reached by moisture, protected against wear and tear, from freezing or thawing, and additionally bolsters the pet screen to resist fading due to sun exposure. 

The strength and dimensional stability of a vinyl-coated polyester pet screen are calculated by how thick the polyester yard is. For pet screens, the polyester yard is thicker than any regular yards found in other screen materials. 

Reasons Why Being Able to Open Your Windows Matter

Fresh air from opening your windows can not only benefit your body but your mental health, the atmosphere of your home, and your wallet. 

When you hear the word, ‘pollution,’ it is easy to immediately picture smog-ridden city skies, car exhaust, smokestacks, and so on pouring pollutants into the air. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, there’s a growing body of scientific research and evidence that indicates the air within our home and other buildings may contain more polluted air than even outdoors in large cities and industrialized areas.  That is not great news for those of us that keep our windows closed. One of the reasons for the air in our home being more polluted than the air outside is due to the rate of dilution. Imagine that the air outside your home is the size of an Olympic swimming pool and your home is a thimble of water, if you put the same number of pollutants from the Olympic-sized swimming pool into that thimble of water, you’d have an extremely concentrated amount. Home items like fireplaces, water heaters, gas ovens, and space heaters as an example, can be responsible for pollutants in the air inside your home. 

Additionally, opening your windows can make your home smell better. Airing out your home can be a dramatic difference between a stuffy-smelling one to a fresher, cleaner-smelling home. And just as importantly, open windows can affect your mood. Your mental health could get a boost from the fresh air, as various scientific studies indicate your air quality can have a profound effect on your cognition.  

Am I Wasting Money by Not Using a Pet Window Screen? 

Short answer? Yes. By not using a pet window screen mesh in your home’s windows as a pet parent, you are losing valuable cash. How? 

• Any day in the heat of summer where there is a break in the temperatures and you can open your window to cooler breezes, which in turn means your A/C does not need to run, means a day where you immediately save money in decreased energy bills. If you must keep your windows shut, your A/C will no doubt have to keep running. 
• Having to purchase brand new screens every year, or repair kits every few months costs cash. With pet window screen’s exceptionally powerful weight resistance, tear resistance, moisture resistance, and even fading resistance, you’re guaranteed to have window screens that last years longer than regular fiberglass. Plus, some pet screens can withstand 400 – 800 lbs. of force! 

This season, stop tossing your money out the window and invest in pet window screens, a worthy purchase that will pay itself for years to come.