The summer brings the dreaded mosquito season to Mallorca. We have previously slept under a mosquito net over the bed that is not only a hassle to get into in the dark but it also waits until the precise moment you fall asleep to come lose from the wall and tangle you. Since all the windows in the bedroom have a mosquito net we decided the best option was to seal the room completely and keep the mosquitos gathered in the living room waiting to strike the first to step out. We thought about a regular curtain style mosquito net (loose-hanging), but it would also stop the air flow necessary to keep the room cool in the summer. So we decided to create a taught mosquito net that would cover the door and mimic the ones over the windows.
After much thought we realized closing a tight fitting net every night with clips would soon become tiresome, not to mention impractical with the mosquito net on the outside of the door. The solution? Magnets! Not only would they be invisible but the mosquito net would fall into place like magic. Not knowing anything about magnet strengths we choose some practical working size from a decent looking German website. We got the pot magnet CSN-16 (I have no idea what their true purpose is) and then matching square ones (15-15-03) for the net as they would be easier to sew in place.
After some light drilling we had the holes and the first magnets inside the wall.
Then we made little packets for the square magnets and sewed those on to the net to match the ones in the wall. Only once did I stitch the magnet in to realize I was holding the net backwards and the magnet polarity was now flipped. After that was rectified it worked like a charm and the net held while the magnets were exposed. We hoped it would be the same once they were covered in plaster.
Not to break the fragile mosquito net we needed extra padding around the borders. It would also make it look more professional.
Then it was time for the serious work of sewing all that border, so the person in charge of the household took care of it.
Small Paw said she would help, but apparently doing so would require taking her hands out of her jeans pockets and that wouldn’t be cool looking, so she just watched and gave instructions on stitching.
Luckily, the plaster to cover the magnets was the same color as the wall, so we actually needed no painting. The final version holds perfectly and simply snaps into place once you place the net near the wall. (Important when going to the bathroom at night.) We could have done the ones at the top slightly closer to the surface, to make them hold the weight better when all the magnets are not in. But it was only afterwards that we realized we could place them quite close to the surface and still cover them in plaster properly. Two more magnets on the sides to decrease the spacing might have been a good idea too, especially now that after repeated use the net is slightly looser.
We have tested it for a couple of weeks now and so far we have only had a single mosquito in the bedroom and I think she sneaked in during the day when we had the net open. The guys from the magnet shop also sent us some tiny square magnets for free, that will go great with our metal key holder board once we get that out of storage. (Don’t ask me when exactly that will be…)
PS: All the nails in our toolbox are magnetized now after spending a few weeks with the left-over magnets. Somewhat useful although a pain when trying to separate one from the others.
Clever shit!