10 Best RV Roof Cleaners Brand Buying Reviews
It should be quite obvious that when it comes to an RV’s exterior, the most important part will always be the roof. Unfortunately, more often than not, most of us tend to neglect its maintenance. After all, it’s all the way up there, and it always seems so reliable. Having a flat tire or an issue with the breaks seems to be the more dangerous and imminent problem.
However, there’s a reason why a roof is considered important. If you choose to not take care of your roof, you are intentionally putting yourself at risk of a major issue that could potentially ruin your RV: water damage.
Fixing this issue will most likely become a costly affair and is definitely something a passionate RVer should try hard to avoid. A poorly maintained RV roof may need replacing sooner rather than later or recoating.
Since prevention is the way to go, then maintenance is a must. And maintenance will require tools. Therefore, it’s absolutely essential that you get yourself a roof cleaner as well as a protectant, and you need to make sure that they’re the best there is. Ensuring that your roof is clean and taken care of is a cheap and easy way of making sure that water damage will be the least of your RV’s worries.
Now that we’ve settled the importance of proper roof maintenance, it’s time to move on to HOW you’re going to choose which items to get. In order to help you determine the right choices to make, this article will discuss not only the factors you need to look into, but also give you suggestions on which products currently being sold on the market are the best.
Of course, these suggestions will also come with a full review of why we believe these products are worthy of your consideration. After reading this article, you will gain access to information that will most definitely be useful in helping you choose the products that will keep your roof clean and protected for the years to come.
THE 10 BEST RV ROOF CLEANERS OF 2019
The 10 Best Products of 2019
- Pros
- UV protection
- A two-step process that involves a protectant
- Capable of removing unwanted substances such as tree sap or grime
- Dirt-resistant
- Reduces or removes annoying streaks
- Inexpensive
- Cons
- Potentially harmful to the environment
- Pros
- Application takes one step only
- Cleans your roof as well as conditions it
- Incredibly affordable
- Does an admirable job of removing tree sap
- Provides additional protection from any future damages
- Cons
- There have been numerous issues reported about the packaging
- Pros
- Cleans the roof of your RV admirably
- Adds protection
- Successfully removes mold as well as prevent them from growing
- Removes oxidation stains as well as streaks effectively
- UV Blocker for protecting your roof against the sun’s harmful UV rays
- Priced reasonably well
- Cons
- Non-biodegradable
- Pros
- Deals with all the dirt and other debris
- Usable on any type of RV roofs
- Easily used
- Biodegradable
- Affordable
- Cons
- Needs to be rinsed off after use
- Pros
- Usable for any roof surface
- Protects from grime and any other unwanted substances
- Protects against oxidation
- Prevents the buildup of residues or oil
- Affordable
- Cons
- Does not do well to being exposed to the sun all day
- Pros
- Usable on whichever part of your RV, including the waste tank
- Deals with dirt, black streaks and oxidation easily
- Biodegradable
- Affordable
- Cons
- No UV protection
- Pros
- Works on absolutely any surface
- Cleans and waxes in one step
- Usable even on boats or other cars
- No streaking
- No water spots
- Affordable
- Cons
- Poor packaging when shipping
- Pros
- Effectively deals with roof chalk and grime
- Easy application
- Biodegradable
- Affordable
- No need for rinsing
- Cons
- Time-consuming cleaning process
- Pros
- Protects against dirt and grime
- Amazing at protecting against UV rays
- Lessens the maintenance necessary in the future
- Easily applied
- Makes future maintenance easier
- Cons
- Expensive
- Pros
- Works on any roof surface such as fiberglass, rubber, aluminum or even vinyl
- UV blocker
- Removes buildup of unwanted substances
- Biodegradable
- Highly Affordable
- Cons
- A few customers say it doesn’t do anything different that a normal cleaning product can’t do
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT RV ROOF CLEANERS
If you’re buying a product, regardless of what it is, you always want to be buying the best, especially when taking the price into consideration. With that in mind, there are several factors that you should be mindful of in order to make sure that the roof cleaner you chose for your RV is indeed the one that’ll suit your needs.
This part will enumerate all of those factors so that you won’t just recognize their importance but also realize how you can use them to make the most educated decision. After carefully considering these factors, you’ll most definitely choose the product that’ll give you the most out of your money.
ROOF TYPE
When it comes to roofs, you find that there are quite a lot of types that can be found on the market. However, almost all of them can be classified under two general categories: fiberglass and rubber. In short, your RV will most definitely have a roof that’s one or the other.
Under the rubber roof category, there are two subtypes: Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer (EPMD) roofs and Thermal Poly Olefin (TPO) Roofs. In order to confirm which type of material your RV’s roof is made out of, you can always just check the manual that comes with it.
Now that you know the type the roof of your RV is, the next step is choosing the most appropriate cleaner. The reason why this is important is that not all cleaners are the same, some of them don’t exactly work on certain roofs. Because of this, knowing the style of your roof is the most important step in ensuring that the roof cleaner you get will work beautifully on the roof of your RV.
The last thing you want to do when you’re buying a new cleaner is to find out that your brand-new cleaner will not only be unsuccessful in cleaning the roof of your RV, it might even cause harm.
With this in mind, it’s vitally important that you’re absolutely sure your chosen roof cleaner works on your RV. Especially if you’ve got a rare one like aluminum or even a vinyl roof.
If you feel like this is a bit too much information, don’t worry. When you start looking through our top 10 picks of roof cleaners, you’ll see that we already did the honor of pointing out which types of roofs each cleaner will work on.
FEATURES
You probably wouldn’t think that a roof cleaner will have many features. If that’s the case, then you’d be right; after all, it’s only a roof cleaner. However, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t any, and the right roof cleaner for your RV will need to have the right features. Thus, limited though they are, taking the features of a roof cleaner is still a vital step in choosing your product.
One example of this is whether you’d prefer buying a cleaner bundle that comes with a protectant along with the cleaner itself. This is called the two-step treatment, and you’ll find that there are examples of this in our items below.
If you don’t want this, then perhaps you would prefer a product that has both a protectant capability and a cleaner capability. Once again, if this is your preference then there’s no need to worry, you’ll find examples of this in our list.
After deciding between these two, you need to ensure that the product you’re currently eyeing is advertised as able to protect the roof of your motorhome from hazards such as the sun, rain, heat and other weather damages. After all, it’ll be the initial layer of defense of your roof in protecting itself.
The long story short of this is that the cleaner you choose must not only be capable of giving you all the things that you need but it must also be easy and convenient for you to use.
RV SIZE
This one should be a simple and obvious affair: if you don’t take the size of your RV into consideration, chances are that your cleaner won’t be able to last long enough to clean the whole roof before running out. A tiny spray bottle would definitely not be able to clean a 40-foot long RV roof. It just simply doesn’t make any sense.
You also want to be ready for the future. If your product is tiny, it probably would not last a long time. If your cleaner runs out in two or three uses, you will definitely find yourself buying a new one quite often. That’s a major hassle, costly in both times as well as money. Thus, the best option would be to just simply go for large, sufficient amounts to begin with.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
Spilling the cleaner will probably be a common recurrence. When that happens, you would want your chosen cleaner to be biodegradable. After all, being environmentally conscious should be a trait that everyone has by now. Chances are, you’ll end up spilling your cleaner and it’ll end up on the ground eventually, so if it’s biodegradable then its environmental impact will be minimized.
On the other hand, it’s true that in terms of usability, this trait is not an absolute must. After all, a biodegradable cleaner won’t perform any better compared to its non-biodegradable counterpart. However, if you think that you’re the type of person who is prone to spilling things around, then it’s probably a good idea to keep this one in mind. While not the most important factor in terms of product effectiveness, it still has wide-reaching impacts.
OTHER THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND
WHAT EXACTLY IS A ROOF CLEANER FOR RVS?
Roof cleaners are products that are specifically made in order to maintain the roof of your RV so it doesn’t give you problems in the future. In short, the main purpose of these cleaners is to provide protection for your roof from environmental hazards and other factors that could potentially damage the roof of your RV while you’re on a trip.
In an ideal world, neglecting the maintenance of the roof of your RV shouldn’t be a problem even after several years. However, this isn’t the case for this world, and so products that help you perform maintenance and protection are necessary. Hence the reason why roof cleaner products are important, it’s in order to avoid bigger financial issues down the road.
And because of this, there are manufacturers that chose to develop and produce these products for cleaning and maintaining specific surfaces. It absolutely doesn’t matter what type of material your roof is made out of, there is definitely a product that can cater to your needs. It can be made of rubber or of fiberglass, there’s definitely a product there for you.
Of course, different products have different qualities. Some simply work better than others, depending on the circumstances. Therefore, it is vital that you choose the best roof cleaning product that’ll work with the roof your RV has so that it can be useful for more years to come.
HOW DO ROOF CLEANERS CLEAN YOUR RV’S ROOF?
Exactly how a roof cleaner works will depend on its particular type.
There is the “two-coat system”. This type has the first coat that first removes all of the unwanted substances such as dirt, grease, and other nuisances. After applying the first coat, a second coat is placed in order to reduce the chances of the said substances from returning.
There are also products that are more straightforward, some just require you to spray it on the surface and mop it afterward.
All in all, it really depends on the features you want as well as the protection you need from your chosen product.
But actually, the actual process of cleaning the roof of your RV won’t be much different compared to say, cleaning your house’s floors. You’ll find that it functions pretty much the same as other products made to clean surfaces.
So, the question really is whether you just want one that will clean the surface of your roof or one that will not only do that but also provide you with protection to avoid issues in the future.
Deciding on this question is a vital step to getting the right product for you, so it’s highly suggested that you consider your lifestyle in order to make sure you get what you need. Personally, however, getting a cleaner that also provides protection is almost always the best option to go for.
WHY WOULD I NEED A ROOF CLEANER FOR MY RV?
Failing to care for the roof of your RV can result in issues later down the road, and these issues will definitely cost a great deal of money in order to fix. The roof of your RV is just like a regular roof so, without proper maintenance, it can fall prey to problems such as water damage or even molds.
If these issues surface, they must be immediately dealt with. The problem then lies in the fact that fixing them will require substantial money as well as labor. Avoiding these problems then becomes the obvious way to go.
So instead of paying a lot of money in the future, it’s better to pay small amounts every once in a while for roof cleaners that can wash away the potential causes of these problems. You also have to consider the fact that proper maintenance only has to be done every three or four months, and it doesn’t even take all that much effort.
This regular maintenance will not only protect your RV, but it will also be helpful in ensuring that your RV always looks as good as it can be. So not only do you get to protect your motorhome from any potential damages, but you also get to be proud of how great it looks like. You get all that just doing proper maintenance (with the right roof cleaner, of course), which is already more cost-efficient compared to having to fix any future damages.
RV ROOF CLEANER FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQS)
If you’ve reached this portion, then you probably know all the important things you need to know, and you’ve already been given great suggestions. Chances are, you might have some lingering doubts, or perhaps some confusion about the presented information. Don’t worry, here’s a list of common questions that might help dispel any second thoughts you have.
HOW TO CLEAN THE ROOF OF AN RV?
The actual process itself will vary depending on which type of cleaner you decided to use. But in general, the fundamentals of it will more or less stay the same, and you can easily look up the entire process on the Internet, as well as any changes that might be required (WikiHow has a great article on this). While it does seem like a lot of complicated effort, it’s really not. Just be mindful in following it properly.
What’s really important when it comes to maintenance is that you got the right roof cleaner. After all, using a product made for fiberglass roofs is a big mistake if yours is made out of rubber (or vice versa). If your roof is made from fiberglass, you can just use the same product that you used to wash all the other parts of your RV.
Of course, there are also products that will be usable on both, so maybe opt for one of those. Luckily, our list has some so you can just check them out.
IS APPLYING A PROTECTANT IMPORTANT?
While not absolutely necessary, applying a protectant is incredibly vital and comes highly recommended. The reason is that it helps in protecting your roof against any future issues, so it should help in ensuring that your roof remains in good shape even until you clean it again.
To make your life easier, there are also products that already come with the second step, which includes a protectant. Also, our list contains such products, so it should not be much trouble for you to find them.
In short, the point of using a roof cleaner for proper roof maintenance is to ensure that your RV is protected from any future problems that a neglected roof can result in, so you might as well do all that you can.
HOW OFTEN SHOULD YOU DO MAINTENANCE?
It will depend on your RV as well as the cleaner you’re using. However, a good rule of thumb would be to do it once every 3 to 4 months. Just like any proper maintenance, it has to be done thoroughly every once in a while in order to ensure that your RV is kept in the best condition.
You should keep in mind, however, that the purpose of buying a roof cleaner for your RV is to regularly use it. This means that you’re not supposed to just use it once and then never use it ever again. You might think that that’s the ultimate goal of using a protectant, but the truth is that the best results will only come from regular maintenance, which should be done every 3 to 4 months.
This might seem like a lot of effort, but it will surely be beneficial in the future since it’ll help you avoid the extra trouble and cost of having to fix the damages that you could avoid by regularly cleaning the roof of your RV.
CONCLUSION
After reading this article, there shouldn’t be any issues that you’ll encounter while choosing the best product for you. The list of products we provided should do a good job of giving you a good idea of which products you should be looking for, and the information we provided will go a long way in ensuring that the product you’ll ultimately choose after careful consideration will be more than adequate to provide what you need from your roof cleaner.
After getting the right roof cleaner, you also need to pay attention to the instructions that come with it so that you can most definitely be able to clean the roof of your RV effectively and make sure that it stays that way. After that, not only will you be the proud owner of a squeaky clean motorhome, you also won’t have to worry about any potential damages in the future.