Jack Kean

Clean Your RV Awning For #1

Keep your RV awning clean for pocket change.

Our new Jayco Greyhawk RV has an electric awning and while an awning can provide needed shade and a good place to sit while grilling burgers or just people watching, nobody wants to sit under an awning covered with mold, mildew and dead insects. Unfortunately my awning was becoming quite the eye sore with the aforementioned mold spots all over. It was so bad my wife was embarrassed to extend the awning on a recent trip to Gulf Shores, Alabama.

Since this is our first RV with an awning, I asked several RV owners what they used to clean their awning and they each had a different answer involving purchasing some cleaning product that was relatively expensive. Some of them use rather strong chemicals as well.

Most often it is a good idea to follow the suggestions of other experienced RV owners, however my objective was to find a better and cheaper solution to the problem. Also, the budget is particularly tight right now in preparation for a future RV vacation. A trip to Dollar Tree and the purchase of a bottle of their regular car washing liquid called Street Appeal offered the possibility of a solution. If it didn't work at least the lesson would only cost a dollar.

The bottle did indicate that it was also good for awnings. I moved the RV from where it is normally parked to the front of my house and rolled out the awning. Using an eight foot ladder, a soft bristled brush with a long handle, a high pressure nozzle on the end of a garden hose and the aforementioned dollar store car wash liquid, the awning cleaned up quite well.

First the high pressure nozzle was used to wash off any loose debris. Then, after not being able to find my collapsible can, I made do by pouring the liquid directly onto the brush. With a little elbow grease the mold and mildew spots were removed and the job was finished with a thorough rinsing. The dollar store car wash liquid worked so well it seemed appropriate to wash the RV as well.

Of course the awning was left extended until it had fully dried. Keeping your awning as dry as possible will help prevent mold and mildew. In the future I will try and extend the awning after it rains to let it dry. That and a regular cleaning should keep my awning in good shape for years to come. Keeping your awning dry and clean will allow it to be a real asset to your RV and even when it needs cleaning you don't have to spend a lot of money.

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