Old Northeast
Old Northeast Balcony & Lanai Cleaning
The heaviest oak pollen load in St. Petersburg, landing on top of bay salt. Balconies, lanais, screens and furniture, hand-cleaned at $2 per square foot.
Pollen, then salt, then both at once
The Old Northeast is the most heavily canopied part of St. Petersburg, and that canopy is the defining fact about outdoor spaces here.
From roughly February through April, mature oaks drop a yellow-green pollen load that doesn’t blow away the way people expect. Oak pollen grains are fine and slightly tacky, so they settle down into floor texture, into screen weave, and into the seams of outdoor cushions. Sweeping tends to move them around; a dry brush over a screen just presses them further into the mesh.
Layered underneath, you still get bay salt — North Shore and the waterfront edge of the neighbourhood are close enough for salt aerosol to reach glass and railings. The combination is what makes spring so unpleasant here: pollen lands on a slightly tacky salt film and adheres to it.
The third factor is shade. Heavy canopy means outdoor spaces stay damp longer after rain, and damp plus Florida humidity grows mildew in corners, along ceiling edges and in cushion seams.
What we cover in the Old Northeast
The neighbourhood is a mix rather than a tower district: waterfront low-rises along North Shore Drive, smaller condo buildings through the historic streets, screened porches and lanais on single-family homes, and the northern edge of the Beach Drive corridor including Vinoy Place and Bayfront Tower.
Screened spaces are common here, and screens are included at the same rate — mesh, frame and track. Details on lanai and screen cleaning.
What’s included — all of it, every visit
The floor
Scrubbed, degreased and extracted dry — including the slider track and the corners a broom never reaches.
The railings
Glass panels, top rail and posts hand-detailed on both faces. Salt film and hard-water spotting lifted.
Glass & screens
Sliders squeegeed streak-free. Screen mesh, frame and spline hand-washed — never pressured.
The furniture
Cushions brushed and deodorized, frames wiped, table glass polished, everything put back where it was.
Grill degrease, ceiling fan, light fixtures, cobwebs, drain check and bird mess are included at no extra charge. There are no add-ons — the square footage is the whole price.
Screens are the pollen problem
A screen is a filter you never change. Everything the canopy drops lands in the weave and stays there, which is why a screened porch here goes visibly hazy faster than an open balcony a few blocks away. The test is looking out through it — if the view has gone slightly milky, that’s the mesh, not the weather.
Left several seasons, pollen and salt bond into the weave and permanently dull the mesh. At that point re-screening is the fix rather than cleaning, and we’ll tell you if that’s what you’re looking at instead of charging you to chase it.
Doing it yourself in pollen season
There’s a genuinely effective DIY routine here, and it hinges on doing things in the right order.
Start dry. A soft brush or a vacuum with a brush head lifts loose pollen out of floor texture and screen weave far better than a broom pushes it. Only then introduce moisture, and use as little as you can — wet pollen turns into a yellow paste that spreads.
On screens, work from both sides with a soft brush and mild soapy water. Never a pressure washer, which tears mesh and pulls it out of the spline. Rinse gently and let it dry fully; damp mesh in shade is where mildew starts.
Cushions are the part most people can’t win. Surface-wiping mildew pushes it deeper into the foam, and the shade here means it comes straight back. That’s extraction work.
Timing beats effort. One clean in late April, after the drop has finished, is worth three in March.
What it costs here
$2 per square foot. No minimum, no trip fee, and no surcharge for a balcony that hasn’t been touched in years — that one takes us longer, but it costs you the same.
| Typical balcony | Size | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Small balcony | ~50 sq ft | $100 |
| Standard balcony | ~80 sq ft | $160 |
| Screened porch or lanai | ~150 sq ft | $300 |
| Large lanai | ~200 sq ft | $400 |
Not sure of your square footage? Text a photo and your building name — we’ll work it off the floor plan. Full detail in the 2026 cost guide.
How often it needs doing here
Twice a year works here, but the timing matters more than the frequency: late April, after pollen finishes, and late October or November, once storm season is done. Booking a spring clean in early March means doing it again in May. Recurring plans are timed to this, and the seasonal guide lays out the full calendar.
What buildings here ask of vendors
Condo buildings here follow the usual pattern — insurance certificate naming the association, desk check-in, no hoses. Single-family porches and lanais have no vendor requirements at all, so booking is just a matter of picking a day. Either way we bring self-contained equipment and leave the space dry.
Book an Old Northeast clean
Text a photo of your balcony, porch or lanai. $2 per square foot, screens included, everything in one visit.
Text (727) 555-0142Old Northeast FAQ
When is oak pollen season in St. Petersburg?
Roughly February through April, heaviest under the mature canopy here. The best time for a spring clean is late April, once the drop has finished.
Do you clean screened porches and lanais?
Yes. Mesh, frame and track are included at the same $2 per square foot rate. We hand-wash screens — pressure tears mesh and pulls it out of the spline.
Why does pollen come back so fast after I sweep?
Sweeping mostly redistributes it. Oak pollen settles into floor texture and screen weave, so it needs lifting out rather than moving around.
What are the black spots along my porch ceiling?
Usually mildew, which the canopy shade and humidity here encourage. We remove it — but if it’s concentrated in one spot or returns quickly, that can point to a moisture problem rather than a cleaning one, and we’ll say so.