Cleaning a very dirty awning

[Blaise]

We had a 4 night stay in Adirondack Camping Village in Lake George, NY. Very nice place, friendly folks, well maintained. But this year is a "Gypsy moth" year - there were caterpillars all over the place! They say the moths come every ten years or so. But the danged things pooped all over the roof, slide toppers and Awning. It comes off if you give it a good scrub with soap and water, but how can you scrub the awning? It just moves when you push on it.

So (see pics) I thought if I remove the 2 pins (labeled in the pic), I could let the awning drop, laying it against the MH side wall, and then I could do what ever scrubbing I need to do.

I'm thinking that the piston is what pushes the awning open, and with the pins removed, it may want to expand further - perhaps too much - so I was thinking I could prevent that by securing the support arm. Maybe use a rope tied off to something (perhaps the vertical metal track attached to the MH side wall that supports the awning.

Is this a reasonable way to go, or am I asking for trouble going this route?

If it is reasonable ... the second pic shows the opposite side of one of the pins. How does one remove the clip holding the pin? Maybe slip a blade screw driver under the clip and work it off by gently prying and perhaps rotating it? I'd prefer not to break the clip 😉

Thanks for any and all feedback!

Awning parts
Pin Clip



PS - I don't see how to post an embedded picture, so I used links

[Blaise]

Thanks for all the ideas! It has rained here for several days, and to my surprise, much of the crud was removed by the rain! For the rest I'll try WildToad's suggestion.

[wolfe10]

What is the fabric?

Verify with your awning manufacturer that you are using the correct product!

Pretty easy to remove the waterproofing from some fabrics with the wrong cleaner.

[Gjac]

I found the best way is to make a solution of soap, water and bleach brush it on then roll the awning up and let the solution soak into the awning killing the the mold and dirt. After an hr or so open the awning and hose off the dirt and mold .

[doxiemom11]

I just close the slides. The awning then lays on the side of the rv.

[capacitor]

I use Mold armor E-Z house wash. A no touch operation. Spray it on, wait 5 minutes and wash off. We do this in the am so the top doesn’t dry before the rinse.

[wildtoad]

DO NOT try to take the awning apart just to clean the fabric. Close the slides that are under the awning. Then lower the awning to is full down position on both sides. I have that exact awning on mine Newmar. Get an extension pole with a brush head that will reach the top of the awning where it connects to the mh. The fabric should be taught enough to handle the back and forth of the brush. You will most like need a step ladder to brush the topside of the awning.

[Yosemite_Sam1]

Scrub the part when the awning rolls into the tube as you retract it little by little.