The Most Common Questions About Drone Window Cleaning (Answered by Experts)

In December 2025, we hosted a live AMA (Ask Me Anything) on Reddit’s r/windowcleaning community to answer the top questions about drone window cleaning. The questions were thoughtful and covered a range of topics, from quality questions and concerns to pricing, the drone technology, and the business itself.

Below, we’ve answered the most common questions about drone window cleaning, based on real-world experience and active job sites.

Q: How is a drone able to effectively clean a building? Is there any physical friction used to wipe off stuck on dirt and grime (walnut pad or bristles), or does it rely on water pressure alone?

A: Drone window cleaning is less about equipment and more about technique. The tools that we have at our disposal are water pressure, various chemistry, filtration, and heat.

The right combination of these things, in the right hands, along with the right experience and conditions, you can do as good, if not better, compared to a squeegee.

Getting enough water pressure and chemical on the glass is how we make up for being touch-free.

Drone cleaning really “shines” in the glass world on windows that are cleaned regularly. It does a really great job cleaning dust, bird poop, cobwebs, and very light mineral stains.

Our big selling point is we do high-dusting and clean sills really well as we clean.

Q: Hey Jay, I read that you price by the day or sometimes by square footage. What’s the approx amount you charge per square foot of cleaning, and what’s your standard day rate when you’re just using one drone?

A: Sure, great question. Range for charging by square foot can vary from $0.50 to $1.50 depending on the market and severity of dirt. Our daily rates vary between $1,000 to $3,500 a day depending on the complexity, location, and, again, severity of dirt.

Q: How do you clean a building that has windows and other surfaces like brick, painted surfaces, stucco, etc.? From my understanding, if you use a strong window cleaning solution, you could potentially damage the building, and if you use strong surface cleaners, you might overspray and damage the windows. How do you approach cleaning a building like that?

A: When providing multiple types of services, building cleaning versus window cleaning, typically the building cleaning happens before the window cleaning, or it can be done at the same time. It’s important to have these difficult conversations with your client and explain to them their options. With any chemical, it’s important to provide a detailed and thorough rinse after application. There are a lot of guys that will clean the windows with SH and can do a pretty good job as long as you rinse properly.

In general, it’s important not to bite off more than you can chew. If you don’t think that you can clean the building and the windows safely and effectively, partner with somebody that can help. Consider just doing the building and hiring another crew to do the windows by hand, or vice versa. I don’t really recommend overworking your drone or overpromising. Best to start small.

Q: What PSI pressure are you getting actually firing off the drone, and what PSI do you usually use for windows and other building surfaces?

A: Many of the videos you’ll see online, the pressure is vastly below what it needs to be. If you think about an automatic car wash, that water hits the car pretty darn hard. We like to be right around 1,500 PSI at the nozzle, spraying from about 10 feet away. The actual pressure hitting the glass is at most half that. We haven’t had any issues with too much pressure on the glass.

Q: What is the approximate cost for the specific type of drone you use, and the associated equipment?

A: Our drone is marketed for about $60k+. You can get a second gen for about $30k. The equipment we use is about $30k.

Q: What does it cost on average to run? Do you hire a pilot? Do you need special licensing or airspace approval?

A: Cost to run a drone cleaning business is the initial startup cost between $30k to $100k. Operational costs are primarily labor and insurance, less than $3k for a small crew.

Yes, you need an FAA Part 107 drone license, which is really easy to get. That is it, really.

Q: Is drone cleaning a no-go for new construction?

A: It’s not great for new construction. You really need to get up close to scrape off caulk and the stickers. But for cleaning construction dust, there’s really nothing better!

Q: How efficient is it vs WFP?

A: WFP is very efficient. It’s an essential tool for any window cleaning crew.

Q: Startup costs?

A: Start up costs vary between 30k-100k for a starter crew.

Q: How much traditional work are you doing vs drone? Do you sub out your drone and work for others? Or do you sub out ground work?

A: About 70% is traditional work. No, we don’t sub out our drone, but we do get subcontracted.

Q: What if the windows haven’t been done in years? Will you do rope access? Or partner?

A: If the windows haven’t been cleaned in years, we will offer and encourage restoration by a partner or our in-house rope crew. Once windows are restored, the drone comes back to maintain clean next time.

If the windows are that bad, a squeegee isn’t going to clean them either.

What pump and soft wash do you run? How big is your DI setup?

A: 8 GPM, 4,000 PSI pumps. Tucker USA DI resin filters.

Q: Is building washing better and more profitable than windows?

A: We do more business with windows, but I know other guys that do a ton of building cleaning. Depends on your market.

Q: In practice, have you actually been able to clean windows that are beyond the maintenance clean stage (haven’t been cleaned in a few years, very dirty, etc.)?

A: No, windows that have serious mineral stains cannot be completely cleaned. We can make them shiny, and we can clean off dust and bird poop, but it’s still visibly dirty. They must be restored. Our rope access team can provide that service, allowing us to drone clean effectively after.

Q: What chemical do you need to use for a typical window clean?

A: We have our own touchless window cleaning solution and propriatary soap technology called FoamStream™.

Q: Is it purified heated water mostly for standard window cleaning?

A: Yes.

Q: How do you check your work if you can only see through video and not that close?

A: Ideally, our interior window cleaning team performs quality checks in tandem with our drone cleaning, calling out areas that need to be touched up.

Q: How do you deal with sites that have failing caulking?

A: We block off the entire area under the drone. If the seals are damaged, there can be leaking inside. We can inspect beforehand using other drones. We clearly note in our contract that we are not liable for damaged seals.

Q: How do you deal with softwash overspray that dries on glass before you can rinse it off?

A: We never work in direct sunlight. Drying chemicals on glass is a disaster and must be avoided at all costs. Overspray is another issue. We won’t clean if wind is sustained above 10 mph.

Q: Is ground power tether better than battery since you are already tethered for water/solution?

A: In 2025, tethered power is not practical yet.

Q: How high can you reach?

A: We really like to stay below 150 ft, but we will go up to 200 if the right conditions exist.

Q: What is your understanding of current regulations in regards to dispensing potentially harmful products, SH, for example?

A: That’s a great question. We try to stay on top of rules and regulations as much as possible. What we’ve learned is that every market is a little bit different. Some states are much more strict than others. For example, California has the most strict regulations, and several major cities require water reclamation. You can’t let anything go down the drain.

And about SH, there’s surprisingly little regulation about the use of it. It’s crazy how widely used it is across many industries. It’s not just ours. Pretty much every pressure washing company in the country uses it in one way or another. It's pretty safe if you handle it properly.

Q: Are you aware of any new regulations in the works that supports drone washing?

A: I’m not aware of new regulations that are in progress that support drone washing.

Q: Do you recommend buying or renting the drones?

A: That’s a great question. I’m really glad to see that companies are starting to offer drone rentals.

As far as what I recommend, that really depends on your utilization. If your drone utilization is very high, meaning you need a drone almost every week throughout the year, then buying a drone might be the best option.

Purchasing equipment for your business is a great tax write-off.

You can always rent a second drone for larger jobs, or as needed.

If your drone utilization is low, it might make sense just to rent a drone when you need it.

We have done both, and I see the value on both sides.

My personal take on buying drones in 2025 is it’s a bit risky. I think technology advances are coming that will make current drones outdated very quickly. For that reason, I’m hesitant to buy an existing 2025 model.

I’ve heard Lucid is getting ready to come out with some pretty significant AI technology, and tethered power options might be affordable within the next five years.

The other problem with renting drones is you’re at the mercy of whoever you rent from. It’s their rules. You may not be able to take as risky jobs as you might with a drone that you own.

Great question. Love talking about this.

Q: Any thoughts on heavy drones that are over 55 lbs?

A: Yeah, I think there’s definitely a place for them in the industry. Not going so high that your drone is that weight.

Cleaning windows above 150 feet is not a fun situation. You can barely see what you’re doing at 12 stories.

The issue I have with heavy drones, even at low altitude, is the prop wash and size. Also, noise can be a factor. Flying a drone the size of a Volkswagen Beetle next to a building is not how I envision the industry evolving toward. There’s a lot of liability with flying something that heavy.

Personally, I think the Apellix first generation was the perfect ratio of weight to power. A Lucid is a little less stable and is slightly overweight, and the balancing needs some work.

I’m really looking forward to seeing where this industry goes in the next five years as far as the drones themselves are concerned.

I know there are a lot of guys out there trying to modify agricultural drones. I can see why they would want to do that, but I still don’t think that’s the answer.

Last thought on this. A lot of the buildings we clean don’t have really great areas to launch from in the first place. Even with a smaller drone, finding a launch area suitable for a bigger drone every 50 to 80 feet all the way around the building is going to be a challenge for guys flying larger drones.

But you also don’t want your drone to be so light that it gets blown around easily.

Q: What are your thoughts on some of the Chinese drone manufacturers? Have you had any experience or heard how they perform?

A: I think anybody buying one of those cheap $10,000 Chinese drones isn’t serious about the business. They’re just checking a box.

I haven’t flown any personally, but they look like little tinker toys, and I can’t imagine how cheap they must feel to fly.

All the manufacturers I’ve talked to say that they provide reliable maintenance options, but I can’t imagine it’s easy to warranty or troubleshoot a drone like this. The American manufacturers, even though the drones are more expensive and they are not perfect, at least they pick up the phone when you call and can ship you parts relatively easily.

Last thought on this is I want to support American drone manufacturers. I love our country, and I really want to see our drone industry thrive.

Final Thoughts About The Most Common Questions About Drone Window Cleaning

These questions came directly from real people asking real questions during a live AMA, and the answers reflect what we actually see in the field.

Drone window cleaning isn’t a magic solution for every building, but when it’s done the right way, in the right situations, it’s an incredibly powerful tool. As the technology, regulations, and best practices continue to evolve, so will our approach.

If you’re considering drone window cleaning, the most important thing is working with operators who understand both the technology and the craft of cleaning itself. Feel free to reach out to our experienced team to get a quote or learn about how to start a drone cleaning business.