Winter Awning Maintenance: How to Protect Your Awning Through a Colorado Winter

Winter is when Colorado awnings are won or lost. Wet spring snow is heavy enough to bend arms and tear fabric, freeze-thaw cycles work moisture into seams, and a warm January afternoon can tempt you to extend an awning that a 9 p.m. cold front will punish. Here is the full winterization program we give our customers – fabric and metal, residential and commercial.

When to winterize: the timing rule

Along the Front Range, snow is possible from September until May, and the first damaging storm usually arrives before anyone expects it. Our rule of thumb: winterize when you turn your clocks back. Daylight Savings ending is an easy-to-remember trigger that lands right in the safe window – patio season is realistically over, and the first heavy wet snow is usually still ahead.

The fall checklist (fabric awnings)

• Clean it. Dirt and organic debris left on fabric all winter feed mildew and abrade the coating. Mild soap, soft brush, thorough rinse – full steps in our cleaning guide.
• Dry it completely. This is the step people skip. Fabric rolled up damp in November comes out spotted in April. Give it a full sunny afternoon extended before final retraction.
• Inspect while it’s extended. Look at seams, stitching, arm tension and mounting now – repair lead times are shortest in late fall, and you want it fixed before spring, not during it.
• Retract, and consider a cover. A retracted awning inside a hood or cassette is well protected. For open-roller models, a fitted protective cover adds a layer against blown snow and ice.
• Cut power to motorized units if the manufacturer recommends it, and store remotes somewhere you will find them in April.

Metal awnings in winter

Aluminum and steel awnings stay out all winter – that is their job – but they have their own protocol:

• Watch snow load. Aluminum sheds most snow, but wet spring dumps can exceed design load. Clear heavy accumulation with a soft roof rake from the ground – never metal tools, which gouge the finish.
• Check for ice damming at the wall joint, where refreezing meltwater can pry flashing and fasteners.
• Inspect the finish in fall and touch up chips on painted steel before winter moisture finds bare metal.

The three winter rules for retractables

• Keep it retracted. Default state November through March is closed.
• Never extend under or before snow. No retractable awning is rated for snow load – an inch of wet Colorado snow weighs far more than the arms are designed to carry.
• A warm afternoon is not spring. If you do extend it on a 60-degree January day, retract it before evening. Cold fronts here arrive in minutes, and a frozen-open mechanism is a service call.

If snow lands on the fabric anyway

Do not brush it from underneath with force, and never pull the retraction motor against a loaded awning. Support the fabric from below with a broom, remove snow gently working from the edges, then retract and let the mechanism dry. If the arms bent or the fabric stretched, stop – we can assess whether it is a repair or a fabric replacement.

The spring reopening inspection

Before the first use of the season, extend the awning fully and check: fabric for spotting, mildew or new tears; stitching (thread fails before fabric does); arm springs for even tension; mounting bolts snug; and – for motorized units – a full open-close cycle plus wind-sensor test. Ten minutes in April prevents the classic Memorial Day breakdown. Our maintenance guide has the full season-long schedule.

Winter damage to your awning? Best Awning Company repairs and re-covers awnings all winter – 303‑816‑2303.