Awning cleaning

Mold Armor - get it at Lowes in the paint section. Spray on and roll awning up, let sit 10 - 20 minutes, unroll and rinse.

We just bought a new TT and the awning was horrible mess. So I just did this.

There are three types of awning material, canvas (which is not generally used), vinyl (common) and acrylic (expensive). My understanding is that vinyl will allow water and dirt (thus mold) to penetrate the fabric. Acrylic will only allow surface mold as it is sheet and not a weave. These should be treated differently. Gentle washing should do the trick with acrylic but will not do the job for vinyl. The process is that I use for vinyl is to wash with water and soap to remove surface dirt. I then use bleach in a pressure sprayer to soak the fabric. I leave it on for no more then 5 minutes and rinse with copious amounts of water. I leave it open to dry in the sun. This last step is important. Bleach does not last long when it exposed to sunlight. Leaving it in the sun makes sure that it is completely destroyed.

Now I am sure I will get a comment about using straight bleach but I do it for a reason. Mold does not form on a clean surface of the awning, it forms on the dirt that is there. If you want to remove the dirt that supports the mold you need to break apart the stuff (organic materials) so that you can wash it away. If you use very dilute bleach you will break apart the easy molecules (read colored) but not the bigger ones and mold will come back more quickly. Also the normal mode of deterioration of vinyl if called free radicalization. This is the same mode as bleach uses to tear apart molecules but the key is that vinyl used in outdoor applications have a ton of material that inhibits that from happening so it resists bleach very will.

If I just has a little mold then a dilute solution is probably best. I would still use it at 50% strength. I would not do the above every year either.

How do I know about bleach? I was/am a chemist that has used bleach in decolorizing applications in industry for about 5 years. It was an art to determine how much bleach and for how long to use it.

Another vote for Mr Clean eraser.

Mr. Clean has an eraser head mop. We use that. So simple and easy. Spray down the awning with the water hose, "mop" the awning and rinse. No hard scrubbing needed. It comes out sparkling white.

DutchmenSport wrote:
If you take a cotton t-shirt and put it in a bucket of bleach water and let it sit over night, remove the shirt the next morning. Rinse it out, dry it, then put it on... you'll never use bleach again on your awning. The bleach will deteriorate anything it touches. The stronger the bleach the more harsh it is, but if repeated over and over, each "tiny" amount will deteriorate a "tiny" amount. Over time, just like that t-shirt, an awning will begin to shred. I've ruined too many things with bleach ... including a dump valve on a previous camper when I used bleach water to clean the black tank and left it in there too long without rinsing completely. I don't use bleach there any more either.

On my Sunline trailer, I cleaned the awning using a little bleach mixed in a bucket water with a liquid cleaner. I would hose down the awning, brush on the cleaning solution, roll up the awning and let it set for 15 minutes or so. Then, extend the awning and rinse. After ten years, the awning was in fantastic shape. Yes, bleach can be very caustic, but if used properly, it will not hurt an awning.
BUT...do not use too much bleach... a 1/4 cup or so will do it.

If you take a cotton t-shirt and put it in a bucket of bleach water and let it sit over night, remove the shirt the next morning. Rinse it out, dry it, then put it on... you'll never use bleach again on your awning. The bleach will deteriorate anything it touches. The stronger the bleach the more harsh it is, but if repeated over and over, each "tiny" amount will deteriorate a "tiny" amount. Over time, just like that t-shirt, an awning will begin to shred. I've ruined too many things with bleach ... including a dump valve on a previous camper when I used bleach water to clean the black tank and left it in there too long without rinsing completely. I don't use bleach there any more either.

I simply add a little bleach to a bucket of water with my normal wash / wax cleaner. Spray the awning with a hose, using a pole brush, I brush it with the mixed wash/wax/ bleach.......hit the close button (electric).....have a beer.......reopen awning.......rinse off and let dry.

I just spray mine with a solution of soapy water and bleach - roll it up for a couple of hours and when I unroll it everything seems to come off easy with spray hose.

Great idea Dutchmen Sport! Thank you..

I used Mean Green Cleaner straight last year on my father-in-laws that had never had anything done to in in 6 yrs. wet it down with water, spray it with Mean Green, let set 5 to 10 minutes, then wipe with a micro cloth, then rinse with water. Looked new when finished.