Short answer: deionised water and a soft brush, never pressure and never detergent. Jacksonville arrays typically recover a meaningful share of lost output after cleaning. Cost runs $12–$25 per panel with a minimum charge.
Solar arrays get sold as maintenance-free, and mostly they are. The exception is what settles on the glass.
Northeast Florida is a difficult environment for this. Oak and pine pollen in spring produces a fine yellow film that bonds when it gets damp and then bakes on. Summer brings dust, lovebug residue and bird droppings. Salt loads the arrays nearer the coast. Rain helps, but it does not clear a bonded pollen film — it often just redistributes it and leaves tide marks along the lower edge of each panel.
Soiling losses vary widely by site and season, and honest operators quote ranges rather than a single figure. What is consistent is that the bottom edge of the panel matters more than the middle. Because cells within a string are wired in series, a band of dirt shading the bottom row can pull down output across the whole string — which is why a panel that looks only slightly dirty can be underperforming noticeably.
Not sure what your property needs?
Send photos. We will tell you what we would do and roughly what it costs — even if the answer is that it can wait.
How solar panels are cleaned
Three rules, and they are non-negotiable.
- No pressure. High-pressure water can breach the perimeter seal around the laminate and force moisture into the cell layer. That failure is progressive, expensive, and usually excluded from the warranty.
- No detergent. Soap leaves a residue film that attracts dust faster than the original soiling did, and some formulations degrade the anti-reflective coating on the glass.
- Deionised water only. Ordinary water leaves mineral spots as it dries — which is the same hard-water problem that ruins windows, on a surface where clarity is the entire point. Deionised water dries spot-free with no wiping.
In practice: a soft-bristle brush on a water-fed pole, deionised water, worked panel by panel, with frames and gaps cleared of debris. Work happens early morning or on an overcast day, because panels get hot enough by midday that water flashes off before it can do anything — and thermal shock on hot glass is its own risk.
Will cleaning void my solar warranty?
Cleaning them correctly, no. Cleaning them with a pressure washer, quite possibly — most panel warranties exclude damage from improper maintenance, and seal breach from high-pressure water is a textbook example.
Most manufacturers specify soft brushes and clean water. If yours is still in warranty, it is worth asking any contractor to confirm in writing which method they use, and to name it. "We're gentle" is not a method.
What cleaning actually recovers
| What is on the panels | Typical effect on output | Recovered by cleaning |
|---|---|---|
| Light dust only | Minimal | Little — probably not worth booking yet |
| Bonded spring pollen film | Noticeable, especially April–May | Most of it |
| Bird droppings | Disproportionate — hard shading on a cell | Nearly all |
| Salt film (coastal) | Moderate, and progressive | Most of it |
| Lovebug residue | Moderate in season | Most of it, though it needs dwell time |
| Lichen or moss at the frame edge | Growing problem if ignored | Yes, and worth catching early |
| Permanent etching or delamination | Ongoing loss | None — this is panel damage |
The honest guidance: check your monitoring app before booking. Almost every modern inverter reports production, and comparing this month against the same month last year tells you far more than looking at the roof does. If output has drifted down and the weather has not, soiling is the likely cause. If it has not drifted, the panels can wait.
What solar panel cleaning costs
Typical Jacksonville range
$12–$25
Deionized water and a soft brush only. Minimum charge applies because the setup takes longer than the cleaning.
| Job size | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Small array (10–16 panels) | $175–$300 |
| Standard residential array (20–30 panels) | $275–$550 |
| Large array (40+ panels) | $500–$950 |
| What changes the price | Effect |
|---|---|
| Steep or tile roof access | +15% to 25% |
| Bird droppings / nesting debris | +$50 to $150 |
| Booked with a roof wash | −$50 to $125 |
Ranges reflect typical Jacksonville-area jobs in 2026. They are planning estimates, not quotes — the real number depends on access, buildup severity, and what the surface is actually made of. See how Jacksonville pricing works across every service →
How often, and when
Once a year suits most Jacksonville arrays. Twice if you are under trees, near the coast, or have a bird problem.
The best single timing is late April to early May, immediately after oak pollen season finishes. Cleaning in March means doing it again in May.
Two sequencing notes if you are booking other work. If the roof is being soft washed, panels are cleaned after the roof, not before — roof runoff carries dead algae and grit straight across them. And if birds are nesting under the array, that gets cleared first; droppings on glass are the single most damaging form of soiling because they create hard shading on individual cells rather than an even film.
Areas where we do this most
Answers
Solar panel cleaning questions
Can you pressure wash solar panels?
Does cleaning solar panels really improve output?
How much does solar panel cleaning cost in Jacksonville?
Why deionised water?
When is the best time of year to clean solar panels here?
Should the roof be cleaned before or after the panels?
Related
What people usually book alongside this
Get a real number, not a range
Send a few wide shots plus close-ups of the worst areas and we will price it properly.
Or email hello@jaxpropressurewash.com
What helps us quote fast
- One wide shot of each side that needs cleaning
- Close-ups of the worst staining
- Your address, so we can check the property size
- Roughly when it was last cleaned