cleaning

[railrunner74]

What's the best way to clean leaf stains from my pup exterior? The roof is a conklin system coated roof and I have leaf shaped stains on it from wet leaves setting on it. I also have the same again on the lid to the storage compartment in the front. It is made out of some kind of plastic or fiberglass I assume.

[John K.]

Our RV awning looked terrible -- leaf imprints, grime, dirt and what looked like mildew. I used a homemade, car-cleaning mixture, and it cleaned everything without a lot of scrubbing; the awning looks new. The recipe comes from Reader's Digest 13 Weird Things to Clean Your Car:
Pour 1/4 cup baking soda into a gallon-sized jug, then add 1/4 cup dishwashing liquid and enough water to fill the jug almost to the top. Screw on the cap, shake well and pour 1 cup of the mixture into a 2-gallon water pail. Fill the pail with warm water, stir to mix, and go to town. Good luck.

[bankr63]

I used a bucket of warm soapy water - car wash soap with a wax component - and fairly soft bristle and nylon brushes. The bristle brush is on a long pole and gets most of the dirt. The small nylon bristle brush is good for getting into crevices, or tough spots especially if you have a heavily textured roof. We live in a forested area, so I have to do this annually before taking the pup out. Looks like new every time.


Note if you are doing a fabric/vinyl surface (tenting or awning) I would treat with an appropriate waterproofing when done cleaning.

[klpoppe]

On my awning I use warm water with Spic and Span with a car wash brush. I use a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser (lightly) on the stubborn spots.

[railrunner74]

I tried dawn dish soap with warm water with a brush and when that didn't work I tried simple green. The simple green faded the stains but didn't get rid of them. I was thinking maybe some kind of vinegar mixture might work.

[eng45ine]

I used Simple Green with excellent results, but I did see someone at our local Jayco dealer using hot water with bleach, he told me that it gave them great results.

[TWP723]

I spray my awning with Clorox With Bleach bathroom and kitchen cleaner. Spray it down good then roll it back up in the STORED position and let it sit for about 10-15 mins. Then expand it again and spray with the garden hose. I've done this for 15 years with my awnings and have always had great results with zero damage to the awning. I wouldn't recommend keeping the bleach on for long though. From what I have heard, the bleach can eventually (over years) deteriorate the stitching. Although, I've never had that problem.

[namusmc65]

My awning looked terrible and I had tried a lot of stuff with hardly any results. Finally mixed up a bleach solution 50/50 with water and sprayed it on the awning. Rolled it up and let it sit for about 30 minutes. Came back out, rolled it our and scrubbed it down with a brush on a handle and the water hose. It looked remarkedly better. Sprayed it down a second time and rolled it up and let it sit again. Rolled it back out and scrubbed again with the brush and water and it looks like new!

[DocBrown]

A healthy measure of Oxyclean (or equivelent) dissolved in a bucket of hot water and a soft scrub brush.

Using bleach will fade the paint prematurely.