Rubber roof care

I (Normally) go topside 2x a year (Spring and fall) with a mop, bucket, charged (Pressurized) garden hose. and a box or bottle of Spic and Span.

I did change the mop to a "Van wash" car wash brush.. This has a telescoping handle (Full length mop handle) and work better.

Mop, (or brush) with soapy water, Just like I used to do the kitchen floor down on the farm,, Rinse with the hose (Ok, I used a clean mop back on the farm).

(The RV kitchen is so small I use a Swifter Wet mop on it, NO need for pail and so on).

Rather than fixing a problem I have been on a preventative maintenance program. A few times a year the roof gets washed with the same product & soft brush as the rest of the trailer. The Meguires stuff in a pink bottle at Wally or any automotive store.

Once a year it gets treated with one of the roof cleaner & restorative products. It does not come back looking like new but at 6 years old it looks pretty good & black streaks down the side are minimal. Chalking is non existent.

Six months of indoor storage for the past 4 years helps too I am sure.

I recommend the same "product" as Larry.

Seriously, it works for me.

Thanks everyone for your replies. Sounds like the Dicor rubber roof coating is the way to go. Does anyone have tips for using/applying the Dicor coating? Thanks, Dave

LarryJM, interesting product, thanks

harold1946 wrote:
If the roofing material is EPDM its normal for the top layer to sluff off over the years, with the resulting black spots appearing. They do not compromise the roof but eventually looks pretty bad. The only fix is to recoat with a product like Dicor rubber roof coating to restore the finish.

This natural "SLUFFING" of the top coating is why I feel you shouldn't touch your roof regardless of what even the manufacturer might say in the RV world. By even lightly scrubbing the roof you are only promoting the "SLUFFING" and lessening the life of the roof. This only promotes premature aging and cracking and loss of the top UV white layer of the EDPM material. The only reason to wash it is to help prevent black streaks and if you do what I did for around a one time cost of $150 you can eliminate 99.9% of the black streaks ... Black Streak and Stain Relief. a HUGE side benefit of this system is it virtually eliminates leaks from the sides like windows, etc. since it eliminates any runoff down the sides of the trailer. This benefit alone is worth the $$$.

Larry

I use spic-n-span or tsp on mine, twice a year, with a sponge mop. You will definitely have to wash the body because it makes a huge mess, but well worth the effort. Black streaks still appear, but they are very light and wash off easily if you wash it on a somewhat regular basis. Waxing helps tremendously and is pretty easy if you wax it regularly, maybe once or twice a year. The little black spots are common.

If the roofing material is EPDM its normal for the top layer to sluff off over the years, with the resulting black spots appearing. They do not compromise the roof but eventually looks pretty bad. The only fix is to recoat with a product like Dicor rubber roof coating to restore the finish.

When a rubber roof shows black spots and if it is not something on the surface it may be the actual rubber roof showing. I always used a commercial rubber roof cleaner with a soft brush but over the years I began to see some black spots that were the actual rubber roof. I purchased the acrylic based rubber roof coating from Camping World and cleaner and recoated the roof as per instructions. The results were amazing and it was well worth the cost.

This may not be your case but I thought I would throw it in anyway.

We use spic and span liquid one a year with a soft brush.
When it is all dry we use a rubber roof protectant that you can get at most RV dealers.
When you wash it, immediately after rinsing it you'll have to wash the whole RV or you'll end up with black streaks from the roof rinsing, all over the sides.
We set aside one day a year for doing ours, and then a day or two later I wax the whole trailer sides.
Others might tell you different, but we have found over the years that doing it not only preserves the roof, but prevents black streaks from forming on the sides of the trailer.

Jack L