cleaning awnings

[tomkaren]

Truth or fiction?

We were told by a fellow camper that the best way to clean the white underside of our awning was to spray it with bleach and then roll it up.

Has anyone ever heard of this? The underside appears to be white vinyl, and living in central FL it gets a lot of milldew and also the porch light attracts a lot of bugs that stain the white and make it look dirty.

Don't want to try this without more input as I don't want to ruin it.

Thanks in advance for any and all help.

Tom and Karen

[Bama Rambler]

I use Tilex Mold and mildew. It cleans it really well. I use my garden sprayer to wet the surface and then roll it up for about 15 minutes. Unroll and rinse off. That's all there is to it. If there's resin or bird droppings I use a long handled brush to scrub them off.

[powerboatr]

Originally Posted by Bama Rambler

I use Tilex Mold and mildew. It cleans it really well. I use my garden sprayer to wet the surface and then roll it up for about 15 minutes. Unroll and rinse off. That's all there is to it. If there's resin or bird droppings I use a long handled brush to scrub them off.

thats hw we do it to
just dont let the solution dry. and stay on to long it will make for some funny looking spots
i have a brush that extends to 12 feet which helps alot reacing the tall parts

[dimurrrw]

The sprayer and rolling the awning up for 15 minutes is the way to go. Use the poison of your choice for the cleaning part. I use about 35% bleach, 15% Purple Power (a biodegradable degreaser from Advance Auto,)a cap full or so of dish detergent to help the solution "stick" a bit better and 50% water - more or less. I sometimes add a bit of Vinyl Siding cleaner for good measure.

[Mr.B]

The owners manual on my awning actually states to apply the solution (i dont recall the exact solution it states) then roll the awning into its closed position and let it sit for 5 minutes. Extend and then rinse. I use simple green, a friend of mine uses the purple power with good success. However, I suggest reading the instructions on the purple power or for that matter any cleaning agent prior to its use. The pp I read appeared to be fairly strong of course the dilution suggested is likely great.

[brianR]

We bought an '02 Rockwood and the awning was a little grungy. I hosed it a little and used a very soft deck type brush to scrub it a little with soapy water (dish detergent). This worked very well. I'll try the rolling it up idea next time, but no bleach or special cleaners the dish soap was fine.
Brian

[08flagvlite]

I asked this very same question at my RV dealer today - It seems Tropical storm FAY was so WET that my awning (rolled up) mildewed. They clean their awnings with bleach and dish soap diluted in water. That's their recommendation to me, anyways. I'm going to try it tomorrow. Randy

[tedrowd]

We also use Tilex and roll it up, wait 15 minutes and unroll and rinse. Works like a charm.

[08flagvlite]

UPDATE !! cleaned my awning yesterday with wal-mart bleach and a half a bottle of Thetford premium awning cleaner. Sprayed it on with a pump-up garden sprayer,saturated thoroughly, then rolled it up for about ten minutes. Unrolled it and rinsed it off with a garden hose sprayer, BEAUTIFUL!! p.s. wear OLD clothes and EYE PROTECTION from the bleach !! Randy

[chevy02]

lol yeah that bleach is hell on shirts glad it work for you it`s nice to have a nice clean awning since if you are like most of us thats where we do most of our sitting and entertaining.