A skylight faces straight up. Nothing rinses it, nothing shades it, and every bit of dust, pollen, and roof grit that lands on it stays there.
It’s usually the filthiest glass in the house and it’s almost always the last thing anyone thinks about, mostly because you can’t reach it and you can’t really see how bad it is from below.
Both sides
The outside is where the real dirt is. Sun-baked film, pollen, leaf tannin from anything overhanging, and in the newer neighborhoods, hard water spotting where a sprinkler reaches the roofline or where the skylight sits low on a single story.
The inside collects dust on the interior pane and, in kitchens and bathrooms, a greasy or steamy film that flat out won’t come off with glass cleaner on a mop head. Skylights over showers are the worst version of this.
We do both when we can get to the inside safely. Tall interior skylight wells are their own access problem, so tell us how high the ceiling is when you call.
Getting up there
Skylight cleaning means roof access. We bring the right ladder for the pitch, we’re licensed and insured, and we’re careful about where we put weight.
To be clear about the limits: we get onto a roof to reach skylights and gutters. We don’t wash roofs, and we won’t get onto a roof that’s too steep, too brittle, or too slick to be safe on. If we look at yours and decide it isn’t safe, we’ll say so rather than risk it.
Questions we get
How often do skylights need cleaning?
Once or twice a year for most houses. If you’ve got a tree over the roof, twice.
Can you clean the inside of the skylight too?
Usually. It depends on how high the ceiling is and whether the well can be reached safely. Tell us the ceiling height when you call.
Mine is over the shower and looks foggy. Can you fix that?
If the film is on the interior surface, yes. If the fogging is between the panes, that’s a failed seal in the unit itself and cleaning won’t touch it. We’ll tell you which one you have.
Do you clean tube skylights?
The exterior dome, yes. The inside of a tube unit isn’t accessible for cleaning.
Will you walk on my roof?
Only if it’s safe to. Steep, brittle, or slick roofs we’ll decline, and we’ll tell you why.