Magnetic Fly Screens in Dubai

A magnetic screen is about as simple as a door screen gets. It's a length of soft, flexible mesh that drops over the doorway as two panels, with a row of small magnets running where they meet in the middle. The whole thing is held around the door frame by a soft hook-and-loop strip. To go through, you walk straight at it: the panels open around you, and once you're past, the magnets draw them back together so the doorway is covered again.

There's no frame to swing, no track to slide along and no spring to wind, so there's nothing to learn and nothing to go wrong mechanically. That hands-free closing matters most on a door you leave open for the breeze, because a doorway left open is a standing invitation to mosquitoes, and they can pass on disease, as the World Health Organization's guidance on dengue makes clear. The mesh lets the breeze through while holding the insects back.

The single biggest reason people pick a magnetic screen is that you never have to touch it. On a framed or sliding screen you reach for a handle, but here you simply walk into the screen and it opens around you. That's a small thing until you're carrying a tray of food out to the garden, bringing in shopping, or holding a baby, and a screen you'd otherwise have to pull open becomes a screen you just walk through.

Because the magnets close it for you, the door also ends up shut every single time, which is the part a busy household struggles with. Nobody has to turn round and pull the screen to, so insects don't drift in through a door left open because someone's hands were full. On a kitchen or garden door that sees constant traffic, that automatic closing is worth more than any other feature.

Magnetic screens and pets go together well. A dog or a cat works out within a day that they can push their nose into the centre, walk through, and let the magnets close the screen behind them. After that they come and go on their own, in and out to the garden, without you getting up to open a door, and without the screen being left open for insects. There's no flap to install and nothing for them to break.

Children take to it just as quickly, because there's genuinely nothing to operate, no handle to reach or catch to release. Being soft mesh, it has no hard edges to bump into, and the screen always ends up closed, whichever of them went through it. For a family home with kids and pets sharing a busy garden door, that combination of easy and self-closing is hard to match.

Fitting is quick and clean. One side of a hook-and-loop strip goes around your door frame, and the matching side is sewn to the edge of the screen, so the curtain simply presses on all the way round. There's no drilling, no screws and no glue marks, which means the door and the wall are left exactly as they were. A standard doorway is usually done in minutes once the screen is made.

Just as important, it comes down as easily as it went up. You can peel the screen off the strip to give the mesh a wash, then press it back on, and the strip itself can be removed cleanly if you move home. That removable fitting is why a magnetic screen is such a good choice for a rented apartment or villa, where drilling into the frame isn't an option and you want to take the screen with you when you leave.

A magnetic screen and a framed screen do the same job in different ways, and the right one depends on the door. A magnetic curtain is the simplest, lightest and most affordable option, and it's unbeaten for hands-free use on a busy kitchen, garden or balcony door. It's soft rather than solid, though, so it suits an everyday door more than a formal front entrance.

If you want a more solid, finished look, or you're screening a wide or breezy opening, a framed screen is worth considering instead. A retractable screen rolls away into a slim cassette when you're not using it, and a sliding screen runs on a track beside a patio door. A hinged screen door gives the firmest, most door-like feel of all. We're happy to weigh these up with you and point to whichever genuinely fits your doorway best.

The mesh is what you look through and what the insects meet, so it matters. We use a fine, soft fibreglass or polyester mesh that's tough enough to take daily walking through while staying easy to see and breathe through. A darker shade like grey or charcoal gives the clearest view out and tends to disappear against the doorway, which most people prefer over a paler mesh that stands out.

Two details keep a magnetic screen working well over time. The magnets are spaced and aligned so the two halves always meet from top to bottom, with no gap left part way up, and a weighted, hemmed bottom edge keeps the curtain hanging straight rather than billowing or curling. Get those right and the screen falls shut neatly every time, which is exactly what you want from something you walk through dozens of times a day.

A magnetic screen is made to your doorway, so it covers the opening fully with no gaps at the sides or top. Single doors are the most common, and wider or double doors, including French doors, are straightforward too, with the centre magnets set where the two halves meet. Measuring properly is what makes the difference between a screen that seals all the way round and a loose kit that leaves gaps.

It works best on a sheltered, everyday door rather than a very wide or exposed one. On a broad patio run or a windy, high balcony, a soft curtain can billow, so a pleated screen or a sliding one usually holds up better there. For an ordinary kitchen, garden or balcony door, which is where most people want one, a magnetic screen is hard to beat for ease. We'll tell you honestly if your opening would suit a different type.

There's very little to it. Every so often, peel the curtain off its strip and give the mesh a gentle hand wash or a wipe with a little mild soapy water, let it dry, and press it back on. That keeps the mesh clear and clean, and stepping that up if you're beside a busy road or site work keeps dust from settling in. The hook-and-loop strip can be wiped over at the same time so the screen keeps gripping firmly.

Now and then, just check the magnets still line up down the centre and the two halves are meeting all the way from top to bottom. If the mesh ever tears, or a magnet works loose or weakens, give us a call and we'll re-mesh or repair it under the warranty rather than you replacing the whole screen. Looked after lightly like this, a magnetic screen keeps doing its job season after season.