What Dirties Solar Panels in South Florida, Month by Month: A Solar Panel Cleaning Calendar
Pollen, Saharan dust, salt, algae, storms, and birds, and the two months a year most roofs should be cleaned.
Solar panels between Fort Lauderdale and Boca Raton get dirty on a schedule: oak and pine pollen from February through May, Saharan dust from June through August, storm debris in September, and salt film, algae, and pigeons year-round. Two cleanings a year, in May and November, catch most of it; coastal roofs do better quarterly.
The calendar
| Month | Soiling driver | Recommended action |
|---|---|---|
| January | Dry-season dust and salt film; seasonal residents are in. | Annual plan check. Good month to book the year. |
| February | Oak and pine pollen begins. South Florida pollen peaks February through May. | Book the post-pollen clean for May. |
| March | Peak pollen. The yellow film is visible on the glass and the car. | Pre-departure clean for seasonal owners leaving early. |
| April | Pollen continues; the dry season ends. | Strong cleaning month. Pre-departure clean for seasonal owners. |
| May | Pollen tail; humidity rises. | Post-pollen clean (recommended). First of the two plan visits. |
| June | Hurricane season opens June 1. Saharan dust season begins. Algae and mildew start in the wet season. | Rain does not clean panels; the dust and algae bond to the glass. |
| July | Saharan dust events, documented across South Florida. | Coastal and quarterly plans: mid-year visit if not in August. |
| August | Heat, humidity, storms. | Mid-year maintenance visit for coastal and quarterly plans. |
| September | Peak storm activity; wind-blown debris. | Post-storm visual inspection after any named storm. |
| October | Storm tail; seasonal residents begin returning. | Pre-arrival clean for seasonal owners. |
| November | Hurricane season ends November 30; drier air arrives. | Post-season clean (recommended). Second of the two plan visits. |
| December | Dry-season accumulation; residents are in. | Annual plan renewals. |
Pollen: February through May
Live oak, slash pine, and the rest of the canopy release pollen from late winter into late spring, and South Florida's peak runs February through May. It lands as a fine yellow dust; overnight dew wets it, the morning sun dries it, and by the third day it is a film bonded to the glass. Inland towns with mature trees, Coral Springs, Victoria Park, Parkland's older sections, get it worst. Rain moves the loose layer and leaves the film.
Saharan dust: June through August
Dust from the Sahara crosses the Atlantic every summer and settles over South Florida in waves from June into August. It is fine enough to pass for haze, and the humidity binds it to the glass the same way it binds pollen. Because it arrives after the pollen and before the storms, a May cleaning gives you clean glass going into the dust season and a November cleaning takes the dust off with the storm debris.
Salt film: year-round near the water
Anything within a mile or two of the beach or the Intracoastal picks up salt from the air every day. Lighthouse Point, Coral Ridge, Las Olas Isles, Rio Vista, and east Boca Raton are the obvious cases. Salt haze is thin but it never stops, rain does not rinse it, and tap water adds mineral spots on top of it. Deionized water dissolves the salt and dries clean, and coastal roofs are the reason we offer a quarterly plan.
Algae and mildew: the wet season
From June through October, water sits along the lower edge of each panel after every afternoon storm, and algae and mildew grow in the strip where it dries last. It shows up as a dark or green band along the bottom of the modules. It comes off with a soft brush and deionized water, and it comes back if the panels are not cleaned after the wet season.
Storm debris: September and October
Peak hurricane activity brings wind-blown leaves, palm fronds, and roofing grit onto and under the array. After a named storm, a visual inspection with photos is worth having before anyone else is on the roof; see post-storm inspection. The November clean takes off whatever the season left.
Birds: year-round, not seasonal
Pigeons do not migrate. On a tile roof they roost under the array all year, and their droppings bake onto the glass in every month on this calendar. Iguanas are real on some properties, mostly near canals and lakes, and we note them only where our own photos show them. Cleaning removes what is on the glass; a clip-on mesh guard is what keeps the birds out. See pigeons under solar panels.
Dry-season dust in the west
In the dry months, homes in western Broward and western Palm Beach County, Parkland, western Coral Springs, and West Boca, pick up a fine grey dust. Agricultural smoke and ash from the Everglades Agricultural Area can contribute to that dry-season particulate load in the western communities. It is a secondary driver, not the headline; pollen and Saharan dust are.
So when should you clean?
May and November for most homes. Add February and August if the roof is coastal or has heavy bird activity. Seasonal residents: a pre-departure clean in March or April and a pre-arrival clean in October or November. The maintenance plan puts either schedule on the calendar at 15% off.
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