Short answer: ordinary window cleaning removes dirt. It does not remove the calcium and silica your sprinklers bake onto the glass — that needs a separate mineral treatment. Exterior-only on a single-storey home runs $125–$225.
Two things about window cleaning in Florida that nobody mentions until after you have paid.
The first is order of operations. Windows are cleaned after the house is washed, never before. A house wash rinses years of algae, pollen and grit down the walls, and every bit of it runs across the glass on the way. Clean the windows first and you will be looking at streaks the same afternoon.
The second is hard water. If a sprinkler head has been hitting a window for a few seasons, what you are seeing is not dirt at all — it is calcium, magnesium and silica left behind as the droplets evaporated in the sun. It bonds to the glass surface. Standard cleaning skates over the top of it, which is why some windows look no better afterwards.
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.
Hard water spots and why normal cleaning fails
Jacksonville's water carries a meaningful mineral load, and irrigation water more so — particularly on well systems out in Clay and Nassau counties.
When a droplet lands on hot glass and evaporates, the water leaves and the minerals stay. Repeat that a few thousand times over two summers and you have a bonded mineral layer with a slightly etched surface underneath. Squeegee and soap slide right over it.
Removing it takes a mild acidic compound and physical agitation, worked in sections and neutralised afterwards. It is slower than normal cleaning and priced accordingly — $8 to $20 per pane on top of the standard rate.
The important caveat: this works while the deposit sits on the glass. Once it has etched into it, no cleaning restores it. Etched glass is a replacement job. The practical takeaway is to move the sprinkler head, because every season you leave it is a season closer to permanent.
How do I know if my glass is etched or just spotted?
Run a fingernail lightly across a spotted area. If you can feel texture, there is still deposit on the surface and it can very likely be removed. If the glass feels smooth but still looks cloudy or rainbow-sheened at an angle, the surface itself has been eaten into.
We check this before quoting rather than after, because charging for a treatment that cannot work is not a service.
What a window clean actually covers
| Included | Exterior only | Interior + exterior |
|---|---|---|
| Glass, both faces where booked | Outside | Both |
| Frames and sills wiped down | Yes | Yes |
| Tracks vacuumed and cleaned | No | Yes |
| Screens removed, washed, refitted | Add $3–$6 each | Add $3–$6 each |
| Hard water treatment | Add $8–$20 per pane | Add $8–$20 per pane |
| Cobwebs cleared from frames and corners | Yes | Yes |
Screens are worth a mention. Florida screens collect a fine grey film of pollen and dust that you stop noticing until they come off — most people are surprised how much light they were losing. They are washed flat rather than sprayed in place, because spraying a fitted screen just pushes the dirt onto the glass you have paid to clean.
What window cleaning costs
Typical Jacksonville range
$6–$14 per pane
Most people add this to a house wash — washing the house first and the glass second is the only order that makes sense.
| Job size | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Exterior only, single story (15–20 windows) | $125–$225 |
| Exterior only, two story (20–30 windows) | $200–$375 |
| Interior + exterior, tracks and sills | $300–$600 |
| What changes the price | Effect |
|---|---|
| Hard-water / sprinkler spotting removal | +$8 to $20 per pane |
| Screens cleaned separately | +$3 to $6 each |
| Added to a house wash | −10% to 15% |
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 →
When to book it
Three timings make sense, and one does not.
- Straight after a house wash — the standard, and it saves 10–15% because we are already there and set up.
- After pollen season — late April in Jacksonville. Doing it in March means doing it twice.
- Before listing photos — clean glass photographs dramatically better than most sellers expect, particularly on interior shots looking outward.
- Not on a blazing afternoon in July — cleaning solution flashes off hot glass before it can be squeegeed, and that is what causes streaks. We work these in the morning or on overcast days.
What window cleaning will not fix
- Etched glass. Once minerals have eaten into the surface, it is permanent.
- Failed double-glazing seals. Fogging between the panes is a broken seal. No exterior cleaning reaches it.
- Scratches. Including the fine ones a previous cleaner may have left by dragging grit across the glass.
- Damaged screen mesh. We will flag tears; we do not rescreen.
- Tint failure. Bubbling or purpling film needs removal and replacement.
Areas where irrigation spotting is most common
Answers
Window cleaning questions
Should windows be cleaned before or after a house wash?
Why do my windows have white spots that will not come off?
Can hard water damage be permanent?
How much does window cleaning cost in Jacksonville?
Do you clean the screens?
Do you do second-storey windows?
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