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Last Updated on August 22, 2024 by Paul Clayton
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The 6 Most Effective Homemade RV Awning Cleaners
The 6 Most Effective Homemade RV Awning Cleaners are essential solutions every RV owner should know. These DIY cleaners offer a cost-effective and efficient way to maintain the cleanliness and longevity of your RV awning.
They are made from readily available household items, making them an eco-friendly alternative to commercial cleaning products. These homemade cleaners can effectively tackle grime, mildew, and tough stains, leaving your awning looking like new.
Key Takeaways:
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- Homemade RV Awning Cleaners: The article emphasizes the effectiveness of homemade RV awning cleaners made from common household items. These cleaners provide a cost-effective, eco-friendly alternative to commercial cleaners. These solutions can effectively remove grime, mildew, and tough stains without damaging the awning.
- Six DIY Cleaner Recipes: The article offers six specific recipes using ingredients like white vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, and bleach (used sparingly). Each recipe is tailored for different levels of dirt and types of awning material, whether fabric or vinyl.
- Cleaning Process: A step-by-step guide covers preparing tools and solutions, proper application, gentle scrubbing, and rinsing. The importance of testing the solution on a small area before full application is highlighted to prevent potential damage.
- Awning Maintenance Tips: To extend the life of the awning, regular cleaning and the application of protective coatings are recommended. Products like 303 Fabric Guard for fabric awnings and 303 Aerospace Protectant for vinyl awnings are suggested to maintain water repellency, stain resistance, and UV protection.
- Cleaning Frequency: The awning should be cleaned at least once a year, with more frequent cleaning depending on usage, parking habits, and environmental factors. Regular rinsing is recommended to minimize the need for deep cleaning.
Traveling in an RV can be insanely fun, but the so-called behind-the-scenes activities of owning an RV may not be as pleasant. Cleaning is a big part of the backstage activities.
You need to keep clean all the components of your RV, including its body, slide-outs, ladders, satellite dish, and the awning.
With The 6 Most Effective Homemade RV Awning Cleaners, you can ensure your awning’s aesthetic appeal and durability, enhancing the overall RV experience.
Today, we’d like to explore the maintenance of the latter. More specifically, we want to discuss homemade RV awning cleaners, whether they are worth it, and how to use them.
Homemade RV awning cleaner recipes
Why use a homemade RV awning cleaner?
With so many cleaning solutions available, why bother making your solution? Making your mixture doesn’t necessarily cost less, so what’s the benefit here?
Avoid commercial cleaners, as manufacturers often use bleach or harsh chemicals. While these can effectively clean RV awnings, most contaminations do not require such harsh solutions.
If treated carelessly, these chemicals can easily damage your awning. If your RV awning is so messy that you need to use bleach, maybe you should replace it.
The financial benefits of making your RV awning cleaner aren’t always evident, and we think that keeping your awning safe and sound is more important than saving money. However, you will probably save money in most cases because homemade RV awning cleaners are made from ingredients readily available in most households.
RV awning recipe suggestions
Solution #1
Mix one gallon of warm water and one quart of white vinegar. This solution should work well with either vinyl or fabric awnings.
Solution #2
Make a mixture of a gallon of warm water and a quart of white vinegar. Add one squeeze of dish soap. This solution can again be used on either vinyl or fabric awnings.
Solution #3
Mix one part of hydrogen peroxide with six parts of water. This mixture will work better on vinyl awnings. Adjust the mixture to the size of your awning.
This solution can be harsh, so you should test it on a small patch to see how your awning reacts. To do this, spray a small area of the awning with the mixture and let it sit for about 15 minutes. You may proceed with this solution if the awning’s color hasn’t faded or changed. Otherwise, do not use this method.
Solution #4
Mix one part of hot water, one part of washing soda, one part of borax, and two parts of bar soap. The consistency of this solution should be that of a semi-liquid soap when cool. Adjust the solution to the size of your fabric. This mixture can be used on either vinyl or fabric awnings.
Solution #5
Mix a small amount of water with baking soda to make a paste-like solution. This recipe works well with fabric awnings.
Solution #6
Mix 2-1/2 gallons of water with a 1/4 cup of bleach for very stubborn mold or mildew. While bleach can easily treat stubborn stains, you should only use this solution once every few years. Bleach can easily damage your awning, so do not overdo it.
How to clean your RV awning?
You may have prepared a very effective solution for awning cleaning, but it won’t do an excellent job if you don’t know how to clean your RV’s awning properly.
If you don’t know how to clean awnings, below is a step-by-step guide to RV awning cleanup.
RV awning types
It’s important to know what kind of awning you are working with since caring for one type of RV awning differs from caring for another.
RV awnings are usually made from either fabric or vinyl. Fabric awnings are commonly called canvas or acrylic awnings. Vinyl awnings feel plastic-y, so it shouldn’t be challenging to find out what kind of an awning you have. The awning label should also tell you what your RV awning is made from.
There are several key differences between these awning types, which we will overview below.
Fabric awnings
Sunbrella usually makes fabric awnings. Their breathable outdoor textile is designed to dry quickly and has a high tolerance for UV rays. Sunbrella fabric awnings also usually have a finish that is resistant to water—and oil-based stains.
The repellent finish can fade over time, making the once quick-drying awning a damp mess. If left untreated, a fabric awning can become permanently soiled and might even begin to leak.
Vinyl awnings
Vinyl awnings are usually mildew-resistant, but this doesn’t mean they are immune to mildew growth. If you don’t take care of your awning regularly, mildew can form on the dust and dirt that collects on the awning’s surface. Vinyl awnings are much easier to clean than fabric awnings, but only if you take care of them properly.
Cleaning your RV awning
Now, let’s overview the step-by-step process of cleaning an RV awning. Along the way, we will offer some tips specific to awning types.
Step 1. Prepare your cleaning tools
First, prepare tools for cleaning your RV awning. The exact tools you use will depend on the material.
Generally, vinyl awnings do not handle abrasive, more complex brushes like fabric awnings. They are coated with a mildew-resistant finish that is easy to scrub off with a stiff brush.
Conversely, fabric awnings can take a little harsher treatment. But they have a water-repellant finish, which may also come from harsh scrubbing.
Whatever kind of brush you are using, you need to mount it on a long pole to reach the top of your awning, which would be much more difficult with just a brush.
Step 2. Prepare your cleaning solution
Preparing your cleaning solution is next. Depending on your ingredients, you may use any of the recipes provided above. Don’t forget that some cleaning solutions may work better with a specific awning type.
You may also opt for a commercial cleaning solution if you lack the necessary ingredients or don’t want to make a cleaning solution yourself.
However, avoid using an abrasive or oil-based cleaner, as these can easily stain or damage your awning. Also, avoid chemical-based solutions unless you know nothing else will work.
Pour the solution into a spray bottle to conveniently apply it to the awning. You may also wet your brush and rub the solution into the awning, but using a spray bottle is more convenient. If the top of your awning is challenging to access, you may need to use both methods.
Step 3. Prepare your awning for cleaning
Give your RV awning a rinse. This will help you remove lighter mildew or mold from its surface and leave only those stains that need to be treated with a cleaning solution. In addition, rinsing will clear the awning of dust and leaves.
If you have an awning stabilizer kit, use it to help you clean.
Step 4. Apply the solution to the awning
Before using any solution, test it on a small spot to see how the awning reacts to the mixture. Your cleaning solution shouldn’t discolor the awning or leave a residue behind. If you will be using
solutions containing bleach or other toxic chemicals, clean away from grass or plants.
Apply the solution to the awning—the top and the underside—with your chosen method. Apply as much as needed to saturate the awning. You may use a toothbrush to scrub the mixture for tight areas or crevices.
With the underside, you should be able to apply the solution with a spray bottle fairly easily. As for the top, you may need a long-handled brush to reach the areas beyond your reach. When using a brush, be gentle so as not to damage the awning or its finish.
After applying the solution to both sides of the awning, roll up or retract it. This can help the solution spread across the entire awning surface. Let the awning sit like this for 15-30 minutes before extending it.
Step 5. Gently scrub the awning
After extending the awning, you need to gently scrub the awning to remove any mold or mildew stains.
If stains come off very easily, a gentle scrub may suffice. If stains don’t seem to come off, gradually increase the pressure on the brush until the mold comes off. You may not use a strong enough cleaning solution if you can’t remove the stains.
Step 6. Rinse the awning
After you’ve removed all mildew or mold stains from the awning, rinse both sides with a hose. If the water doesn’t run down the awning easily due to its slope, dip one of its corners to help it run off.
Step 7. Let the awning dry
Before retracting the awning, let it dry for a couple of hours. If you retract the awning while wet, you may again cause mold or mildew growth, making your efforts pointless.
Protecting your awning
After you’ve completed the cleanup, you will need to apply a protective coating to the awning again. The coating may have been damaged by mold or mildew and worn off during the cleaning process.
Many protectant products are on the market, but 303 Products’ solutions are a particularly popular choice.
For a fabric awning, you may go with their 303 Fabric Guard. It is claimed to restore stain repellency and water protection to factory levels.
If you have a vinyl awning, you may opt for the 303 Aerospace Protectant. This solution adds fading and UV protection to the awning, imparts dust—and stain-repelling properties, and is claimed to restore faded colors.
No matter what kind of protectant you choose, ensure it is soil-resistant, water—and stain-repellant, and durable. Also, ensure you aren’t using vinyl protectants on fabric awnings since they are formulated differently.
How often should you clean your RV awning?
It depends. You should at least clean your RV awning once a year before putting your RV away for storage. But you can limit yourself to one clean only if the awning hasn’t gotten dirty during the year.
You should check the condition of your awning after every trip. The more often you travel in your RV, the more frequently you need to clean it.
Your parking habits will also impact the frequency of cleaning. 
If you park beneath trees or don’t protect the awning from rain and humidity, it will likely get covered with dirt and mildew.
Another question you may have is how frequently you should use awning cleaners. We recommend doing this as little as possible to avoid damaging the awning and make cleaning easier and quicker.
The best way to avoid deep cleaning is to rinse your RV awning regularly. Removing dirt and dust from the awning can prevent mildew growth on its surface.
Of course, the awning may get contaminated no matter how frequently you rinse it, and you may need to use a cleaning solution occasionally. But it’s better to expose your awning to cleaners once a year than once every month.
Wrapping Up
In conclusion, the 6 Most Effective Homemade RV Awning Cleaners offer a variety of benefits. They are cost-effective, easy to use, and environmentally friendly. These cleaners include water and vinegar, dish soap solution, hydrogen peroxide solution, baking soda mixture, borax solution, and club soda.
Each homemade RV Awning cleaner has unique properties that effectively remove dirt, grime, and mildew from the awning. Thus, they ensure the awning’s longevity and maintain the RV’s aesthetic appeal. Opting for these homemade solutions over commercial products can save you money while providing excellent cleaning results.
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