Free bill analysis - bring a power bill, get the production math for your actual roof, panel brands like Qcells and REC compared side by side
If the pitch starts at your door and ends with "sign tonight for the special," sleep on it. The sun will still be there tomorrow; so will we.
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterFast, Reliable Solar Panel Cleaning Across Long Beach
Solar panel cleaning in Long Beach typically runs $150-$350 for a typical 20-30 panel residential system, and most homes we see need it every 4-6 months, not once a year. The port soot and salt air change everything here. If you live west of Cherry Avenue or anywhere near the 710, your panels are collecting a film that inland cities never deal with, and it’s quietly eating your production. Call us at (877) 550-6892 and we’ll come out, assess what’s on your glass, and give you a straight answer on whether cleaning will pay for itself.
We’re the local crew that actually knows Long Beach. Not a call center. Not a rotating cast of subcontractors. Gus Petrakis puts his name on the truck and his crew does the work. We answer the phone 24/7, and when you call, a live person picks up. Every job comes with our 90-Day Done Right Promise in writing: if it’s not right, Gus makes it right, one call and we’re back.
Why Gus’s Solar Is Long Beach’s Preferred Solar Panel Cleaning Company
We’ve been at this since 2011, and we’ve spent those years in the neighborhoods where Long Beach panels actually live. Rose Park bungalows with 1940s roofs. Wrigley homes where the original owner never thought about solar when the house went up. East side ranches near El Dorado where the pitch is low and the soiling sits differently than it does on a steep 1920s gable. That matters because cleaning a panel array on a 1920s California bungalow is not the same job as cleaning one on a 2000s track home. Different roof pitch, different mounting, different access, different soiling. We know the difference before we put a ladder up.
Long Beach customers call us back because we show up when we say, we don’t send someone who’s never seen a salt-corroded rail before, and we don’t upsell you on a cleaning plan you don’t need. If your panels are fine, we’ll tell you they’re fine. If they need cleaning every three months because you’re downwind of the port, we’ll tell you that too, and we’ll set up a schedule that keeps your production where it belongs without charging you for visits that aren’t doing anything.
We serve all of Long Beach, including 90813, 90814, 90815, and 90822. Response time to most of the city is same-day or next-day, depending on what we have scheduled. When you call, you get a live person. Not an answering service. Someone who can tell you whether that hazy film on your glass is normal marine layer residue or port diesel that’s been baking on for six months.
Our Solar Panel Cleaning Services in Long Beach
Each of these is part of our Solar Panel Cleaning work in Long Beach. The service you need depends on where you live, what’s on your glass, and what kind of array you’re running. We’ll figure that out together, but here’s how each one works here.
Residential Panel Cleaning
This is the bread and butter for most Long Beach homeowners. We use deionized water and soft brushes, never tap water and never pressure washers. Tap water in Long Beach carries minerals that just smear the salt film around and leave streaks that can actually reduce output. A typical 20-panel home system in Long Beach runs $150-$250 per cleaning, and most homes west of the 710 need it three to four times a year, while homes east of Lakewood Boulevard can usually go six months between cleanings.
Commercial Array Cleaning
We clean commercial systems across Long Beach, from small retail roofs on Anaheim Street to larger arrays on industrial buildings near the port. These jobs are priced by panel count and roof access, but most commercial arrays in Long Beach run $4-$7 per panel. The port-adjacent facilities are the ones that need us most often; diesel particulate from container trucks and cranes settles on those panels at a rate we don’t see anywhere else in the county. We schedule these cleanings around your operation hours so we’re not in the way.
Bird & Critter Guard Installation
Pigeons under solar arrays are a real problem in Long Beach, especially in neighborhoods like Zaferia and Rose Park where trees are mature and birds have decades of nesting habits built in. Droppings and nesting material block bypass diodes on early-model microinverters, and that can trigger rapid shutdown faults. We install critter guard that keeps birds out without trapping any that might already be in there. A standard residential critter guard install in Long Beach runs $400-$800 depending on array size and access.
Debris & Soiling Removal
This is the deep clean, the one Long Beach’s port-adjacent homes need when a standard rinse won’t cut it. We’re talking about diesel soot and salt film that’s fused to the glass after months of marine layer. Our process uses deionized water, soft agitation, and sometimes a mild, panel-safe detergent for the worst port soot. We did a job on a 1940s Rose Park bungalow where the homeowner’s 12-year-old REC panels were losing nearly a quarter of their modeled kWh. Not from degradation; the panels were tracking normal. It was the gray film of port-truck diesel and salt sitting on the glass. After a full debris and soiling removal, the Enphase monitoring showed the array back within 2% of its original production estimate. That’s the difference between cleaning it right and just hosing it down.
Scheduled Cleaning Plans
For homes and businesses near the port or in Belmont Shore and Naples, where salt air comes from two directions, we set up recurring cleaning plans. Monthly for the worst port-adjacent exposure, quarterly for most of the city, and one-time post-storm cleanings after big winter weather. A scheduled residential plan in Long Beach runs $120-$200 per visit, and you get priority scheduling because we already know your roof, your array, and what’s been building on it since the last visit.
Post-Storm Panel Cleaning
After a winter storm or a Santa Ana wind event, we get calls from Long Beach homeowners whose panels are coated in debris that rainwater didn’t wash off. Salt spray from the harbor, dust and grit blown in from inland, leaves from mature trees in Wrigley. We come out, assess, and clean what needs cleaning. Post-storm cleanings are $150-$300 depending on what the storm left behind.
What happens when you call
- 1
A real person answersNo phone trees - you reach a local pro.
- 2
You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
- 3
A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
- 4
You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Trusted Brands We Service in Long Beach
We clean and maintain panels from every major manufacturer you’re likely to have on a Long Beach roof: SunPower, REC, Qcells, Panasonic, and the rest. We don’t push one brand; we work on what’s already up there. The same goes for inverters. Enphase microinverters, SolarEdge power optimizers, string inverters. We’re familiar with all of them, and we know what the monitoring data should look like after a good cleaning. That’s the part most cleaning companies can’t offer. We don’t just wash glass; we verify production before and after so you know the cleaning actually did something.
Common Solar Panel Cleaning Problems We See in Long Beach Homes
- Salt-laden marine layer that hardens into a hazy film. This is the Long Beach signature problem. When panels go unwashed through the summer months, that salt and marine layer residue bakes into a film that standard tap water just smears around. You need deionized water and proper agitation to actually remove it.
- Port-truck diesel soot that crusts over and etches glass. In the western ZIP codes, especially 90806 and 90810, diesel particulate from port trucks and cranes combines with salt air into a crust that can permanently etch glass over time, particularly on low-pitch roofs where rainwater doesn’t sheet off quickly. This isn’t cosmetic. Etched glass reduces light transmission, and you can’t clean away etching.
- Bird and critter debris blocking bypass diodes. In neighborhoods like Zaferia and Rose Park, pigeon nesting under arrays leads to droppings and nest material accumulating around wiring and microinverters. Blocked bypass diodes on older microinverters trigger rapid shutdown faults, and that takes the whole panel offline until it’s cleaned and reset.
- Low-pitch roof soiling that never sheets off. East side mid-century ranches near El Dorado Park often have low-pitch roofs. Panels on those roofs don’t shed soiling as effectively as panels on a steeper pitch, so film accumulates faster and rainwater does less of the work for you.
Pricing for Solar Panel Cleaning in Long Beach, CA
Residential panel cleaning in Long Beach runs $150-$350 for a typical 20-30 panel system, with the lower end applying to easy access and panel counts under 20, and the higher end applying to port-adjacent properties that need debris removal plus soiling removal that goes beyond a standard rinse. Commercial array cleaning runs $4-$7 per panel. Bird and critter guard installation runs $400-$800 for a standard residential array. Scheduled cleaning plans run $120-$200 per visit depending on frequency and location. Post-storm cleaning runs $150-$300. Every quote is upfront; the number we give you is the number you pay, and we don’t ask for a signature tonight. Take two weeks, think about it, the price will be the same.
We also offer a Free Second Opinion on any written estimate you’ve received, a 10% senior and veteran discount that never expires, and $40 off any repair over $200. Call (877) 550-6892 for a free estimate and we’ll come out, look at what’s on your panels, and tell you exactly what it’ll cost.
We Also Serve Cities Near Long Beach
Our crews work throughout the Long Beach area, including Signal Hill, Lakewood, Carson, and Compton. If you’re in one of those cities and you’ve been watching your production dip, call us at (877) 550-6892. Same crew, same standards, same 90-Day Done Right Promise. For more on our broader service area, see Solar Panel Cleaning in Long Beach and the surrounding communities we cover.
Serving Long Beach, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Long Beach area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs - Solar Panel Cleaning in Long Beach
Panels in 90810, 90806, and other western Long Beach ZIP codes should be cleaned every three to four months, while panels in inland areas of the city can typically go five to six months between cleanings. The port soot and salt air compound into a film that builds faster than anything you’d see in Lakewood or inland Orange County. If you’re west of Cherry Avenue, quarterly cleaning is the smart play. Call (877) 550-6892 and we’ll assess your location and give you a schedule that fits your roof and your budget.
Yes. The marine layer doesn’t stop soiling; it adds to it. Panels still collect salt film, diesel particulate, and bird droppings during June Gloom months. When the sun finally breaks through in late summer, you want clean glass catching every photon. If you wait until September to clean panels that have been sitting under marine layer since May, you’ve already lost months of when production should have been climbing. A good cleaning in June, even during overcast stretches, means you’re ready when the sun returns.
Cleaning doesn’t change your net metering agreement, but it does change how much energy you produce, which directly affects how many credits you bank. If your panels are underproducing because of soiling, you’re leaving kWh credits on the table every month. Clean panels generate more, and those extra kilowatt hours go straight into your net metering bank. Most Long Beach homeowners on SCE or LADWP net metering see a measurable increase in production after a proper cleaning, especially if the array hasn’t been cleaned in six months or more.
Yes, particularly in Belmont Shore and Naples Island, where homes are surrounded by Alamitos Bay and get concentrated salt air from two directions. Standard aluminum racking hardware can show visible oxidation within two to three years in that environment. We check mounting hardware during every cleaning and will flag any corrosion we see before it becomes a structural issue. Marine-grade stainless fasteners and anodized mounts are the right long-term fix for those neighborhoods.
A 1920s California bungalow in Rose Park or Wrigley typically has a steeper roof pitch that sheds some soiling naturally, but the older mounting hardware and sometimes fragile roof materials mean we clean more carefully and check for roof debris around the array. A mid-century ranch near El Dorado has a low-pitch roof where soiling sits longer, builds thicker, and often needs more frequent cleaning because water doesn’t sheet off as effectively. The bungalow might get away with two cleans a year; the ranch usually needs three or four. Call (877) 550-6892 and we’ll tell you what your specific roof actually needs.
Call Gus’s Solar for Solar Panel Cleaning in Long Beach
If your panels haven’t been cleaned in six months and you live anywhere in Long Beach, you’re probably leaving money on the roof. Port soot, salt film, bird droppings, nesting debris. It all adds up to lost production and a longer payback period. We’ll come out, look at what’s on your glass, check your production data, and tell you straight whether cleaning will pay for itself. Free estimate. No trip charge inside Los Angeles County. No pressure to sign anything tonight. Call (877) 550-6892 and ask for Gus. A live person answers, 24/7.
Written by Gus Petrakis, Owner at Gus’s Solar, serving Long Beach since 2011.