Dirty Slide-out Seals

[EscaladeEscaper]

My husband and I are brand new to R'ving ownership. We bought a used 2007 KZ Escalade. We are doing some sprucing up and want to clean the mold spots off the seals of the slide outs. Can anyone recommend the best product to use for this. The seals look to be in good condition and we are going to use a conditioner, but after we clean. Thank you!

[joelc]

I was surprised to find you have white seals. We have white sealer on our 5er and some of it has a "mold" appearance. I have tried everything to whiten it, and nothing seems to work. The fix is to scrape it off and install new sealant, but you can't do that with the slides. I would try toothpaste that whitens your teeth, but that is abrasive. Just a joke.

[heaterswa]

Our KZ Durango has black spots on the slide out seals. I have not worried about it so much. The inside stays dry. The looks from the outside are not whitey titey but such is life. I am making my focus now to the roof and thinking about replacing all the seam sealant up there.

-Bryan

[ford_truck_guy]

I had an 08 KZ Montego Bay that also had black spots on the white rubber seals. I am not so sure it was mold spots ??
I tried everything I could find to remove them with no luck , I hope you have better luck finding something than I did !

[d-mac1]

Technobody wrote:
I would under no circumstance use WD40 on anything rubber. It has a petroleum base like kerosene which will degrade anything rubber. I use Camco Slide Seal lubricate. It goes on as a foam so you know where to spray it. When the foam dries it leave the rubber soft and supple.

+1.

I use the foam seal lubricant kinda as a cleaner when I wipe it on....but I'm only cleaning off a little light surface dirt, not trying to remove mold. I am pretty sure Home Depot has a product for mold eradication...you might check with them to see whats in it and what surfaces it is safe on. Or just use Dawn and some elbow grease, as previously described, and maybe keep an eye on the area.

[joelc]

Technobody wrote:
I would under no circumstance use WD40 on anything rubber. It has a petroleum base like kerosene which will degrade anything rubber. I use Camco Slide Seal lubricate. It goes on as a foam so you know where to spray it. When the foam dries it leave the rubber soft and supple.

Yes, the Camco Slide Seal works good too. I have tried it, but I think, but won't bet on it that Silicone will do the same thing and is less expensive. Be sure to get the inner and outer rubber seals.

[Technobody]

I would under no circumstance use WD40 on anything rubber. It has a petroleum base like kerosene which will degrade anything rubber. I use Camco Slide Seal lubricate. It goes on as a foam so you know where to spray it. When the foam dries it leave the rubber soft and supple.

[joelc]

I have never had the problem, but any good cleaner like dawn or a mold killer cleaner should work. Use a soft brush. After spray silicone or teflon spray on the rubber. WD40 I believe would not go good with rubber and attracts dirt. Someone also uses baby powder, but I tried it and it did not work well. I use regular wash and wax on my slides when I clean the RV.

[EscaladeEscaper]

The mold is not real bad. Just spots of black. I'm thinking it is due to being wet when they had to put it away to move on. We haven't seen any signs of leaking anywhere.

[2oldman]

She's asking about cleaning them.

[pcm1959]

I would NOT use the traditional formula of WD-40. On rubber and the like I only use 303 Protectant. It is a non-petroleum distillate product and also has UV inhibitors. WD-40 makes a silicone formula that might be ok but I'm not a fan of traditional WD at all. There are far better products to choose from. I'm sure others will their favorites but that's my 2 cents. Good luck and enjoy our rig.

[meesda]

I use WD40 on my white seal(wipers) on the slide out. It works good and it does not appear to dry out the rubber

[2oldman]

Mold? That doesn't sound good. I've never seen that, but I don't keep my rig in a wet climate. Check real good for leaks..anywhere?