Our Process
Every job follows the same sequence, whether it is a 10-panel residential array or a 60-panel commercial site. Here is the full process, in the order we actually do it.
1. Pre-Clean Inspection
Before any water touches the array, we walk the system visually: checking for loose wiring, cracked panels, hardware corrosion, and bird nests. On arrays with wiring near the panel edges, we check that connections are properly seated and secured, not hanging loose where they could be damaged during cleaning. If we find something beyond normal soiling, we tell you before we clean, not after, and document it with a photo.
2. Optional Thermal Imaging Scan
On request, or when a system has an unexplained production issue, we run a thermal imaging pass before cleaning. A thermal camera reveals hotspots: areas of a panel running hotter than the surrounding cells, which usually point to one of two things. Soiling hotspots are caused by dirt or debris sitting directly on the glass, acting like an insulating layer that traps heat in that spot. Hardware hotspots, caused by a failing bypass diode or a bad cell connection, look similar on camera but will not clear up after cleaning.
We run a second thermal pass after cleaning to see which hotspots resolved and which did not. Anything that persists gets photographed and documented in a report you can send to your original installer, since a genuinely defective module is often still covered under a manufacturer parts-and-labor warranty.
3. Deionized Water Cleaning
We clean exclusively with deionized, purified water and a soft-bristle brush head on a water-fed pole. Deionized water has had its mineral content removed, so it air-dries completely spot-free with no rinse step and nothing left behind to attract more dirt. No soap, no detergent, and no pressure washer touches your panels. Soap can leave a film residue, and a standard pressure washer can crack seals or damage the anti-reflective coating on the glass.
4. Front-to-Back Cleaning Order
On multi-row arrays, cleaning order matters more than it seems. We always start with the front or top row and work backward. If you clean back to front instead, runoff and loosened debris from the dirty rows behind you drains directly across the rows you already finished, undoing the work and leaving streaks. Front-to-back means every row you finish stays finished. On ground-mounted or flat-tilt arrays where rows are close together, we adjust pole angle and access path row by row so we are never walking back across a wet, just-cleaned section.
5. Drainage and Final Check
On flat or low-tilt ground-mounted arrays, we check for standing water after the rinse. A mount that is not shedding water properly can leave residue behind as the water evaporates instead of running off, which partially defeats the point of the cleaning. If we find a drainage issue, we flag it and can recommend a simple fix rather than let it become a recurring problem every visit.
6. Before-and-After Documentation
Every job gets dated before-and-after photos, sent to you the same day. For commercial and HOA clients, we provide a written summary formatted so it can be forwarded directly to a property manager, ownership, or an HOA board without additional work on your end.
See This Process on Your Own Roof
Call +1 (619) 332-4312 for a free estimate.