Sliding glass door help

April 13, 2010 8:39 AM

Sliding glass door owners-- Is there any way to keep outside dirt/sand from entering the inside track/runner?

I live in a desert environment that's in a windy city. The sliding glass doors are new so the felt that is supposedly supposed to keep the dirt and sand out is not worn out, but still, the felt seems to not do its job--at least where I live.
Here is the inside view of my sliding glass door track--2 weeks after I've cleaned it.

I don't know how useful the outside view will be, but nevertheless here it is.

I'm sick of cleaing the track and can't afford to replace the doors with something better. Is there a handyman fix?
Thanks!

posted by luvmywife to Home & Garden (4 answers total)

Is there any way to keep outside dirt/sand from entering the inside track/runner?

Nope.

Sorry. That's just they way it is with sliders. I have two sliders on my home, one with a track like yours, and a Pella model that mounts the sliding part on the outside. The Pella, oddly, is a lot easier to keep clean because you can just brush junk out to the outside. The other one collects junk just like yours and requires regular vacuumings.

You have a real problem in that you have to deal with a lot of sand. That will really gunk up the works. Sorry I don't have a cure or fix. There just isn't one that I am aware of (beyond keeping the door closed, of course. But that's no fun.)
posted by Thorzdad at 10:00 AM on April 13, 2010

Landscaping. Plant some low water use shrubs appropriate for your climate in areas that will decrease the wind around the outside of the door. If you have bare dirt in your yard, cover it up with something.

You can also cover up the outside track, but this will probably look worse than the inside track being dirty and make it hard to open the door.
posted by yohko at 10:56 AM on April 13, 2010

Honestly? Get a dustbuster and keep it plugged in adjacent to the door. Every morning, vacuum the track. Once a week, wipe a moist sponge in there. Since there's no mechanical solution, and you hate cleaning, doing an extremely quick cleaning every single day will move the chore into the realm of habit, and hopefully make it bearable.
posted by davejay at 11:09 AM on April 13, 2010

Seconding landscaping; your best bet is just to keep sand and dust away from the door by having a clear area outside. You may already have this, in which case, maybe look for improvements to that, or a mat or grate to reduce tracking on shoes (though I doubt tracking is your problem), or shelter to reduce the wind.

Good luck.
posted by amtho at 11:21 AM on April 13, 2010