Owning a caravan can be a great way to travel when you’re on a budget. But like most possessions, your caravan also needs regular maintenance and extra TLC to keep it clean throughout its life. While caravan owners might remember to clean the interiors and exterior body of their caravans, many of them tend to forget to clean their caravan awnings while before storing them away.
Unfortunately, self-cleaning caravan awnings have yet to become a thing. As such, many caravan owners have taken to either cleaning their caravan awnings by themselves or to send them to a professional. While the latter is a more convenient choice, the bill that follows a professional cleaning service may shock many caravan owners. Over time, more caravan owners have taken to clean their caravan awnings by themselves.
But how do you do that? In this article, we’ll discuss some of the important things to take note of when you’re cleaning your caravan awnings and guide you through cleaning your awnings in 5 simple steps. Without further ado, let’s begin.
The pros and cons of cleaning caravan awnings without professional help
Before we move into the dos and don’ts of cleaning your caravan awnings, let’s first look at some of the pros and cons of cleaning your caravan awnings DIY style.
Pros
- Saves you money: The biggest pro in cleaning your caravan awnings yourself is that that you’ll be saving a ton of money in the long run. In return, you’d be able to enjoy your vacation a lot more, spending more of it on leisure activities or more beers in your favourite bar.
- A sense of achievement: There’s nothing better than to marvel at your hard work after cleaning out your caravan awnings DIY style, especially when glinting on warm sunny day. If you’re cleaning it with the help of your loved ones like kids, grandchildren or some friends, this could make for a great bonding time and part of the holiday prep.
Cons
- Time-consuming: Cleaning your caravan awnings can be a time-consuming and tiring job. It may also get a bit repetitive.
- You’re at risk of damaging your awning: If you happen to use the wrong cleaning products, you’ll run the risk of damaging your caravan awnings. Hence, it’s important to always read through the manufacturer’s manuals to understand what shouldn’t be used on your caravan awnings to avoid damaging it.
What you’ll need prior to cleaning
If you’ve decided to clean your caravan awnings yourself, a little bit of prior preparation goes a long way. Here are some of the cleaning materials you’ll first need to help make your cleaning job easier:
- A bucket of water or a hose: We all know how hot water makes it easier to lift dust and grime off surfaces. However, most caravan awnings were not made to handle high-temperature water. By using hot water, you may run the risk of damaging your awning instead. As such, it’s highly recommended that you only use room/warm temperature water when cleaning your caravan awnings.
- Awning cleaning brush: Typically made of PVC and medium-hard bristles, awning cleaning brushes are what you’ll use to scrub away tough dirt from your caravan awnings. Where possible, you’ll want to find a cleaning brush that has an extendable handle so it could also clean off hard-to-see reach areas of your caravan awnings.
- Awning cleaning soap: There are a variety of awning cleaning chemicals that you can find in the market today. Be sure to look through your owner’s manual for your caravan awnings to understand which chemicals are suitable for the material of your caravan awnings. This is important to prevent damage to the awning.
- Awning re-proofer: If you have a waterproof awning, you’ll want to apply an awning re-proofer after cleaning it out. This is to help retain the waterproof capabilities of your caravan awnings without running the risk of damaging them. After all, the last thing you’ll want to experience is a leaking awning during your trip on the road.
How to clean caravan awnings: A step by step guide
Once you’ve prepared all the necessary materials to clean your caravan awnings, you will now be ready to get down to business. Below you’ll find an easy step-by-step guide to cleaning your caravan awnings so you can have it cleaned in no time. Where possible, you should lower your awnings and be barefooted when cleaning your caravan awnings. This reduces the possibility of damaging your caravan awnings and makes the job easier from start to finish.
Step 1: Using a regular, soft-bristled broom or brush, you will first have to brush away any loose dust from your caravan awnings.
Step 2: Wet your caravan awning thoroughly using a bucket of water or a water hose. Remember not to use hot water unless stated in the owner’s manual as this may damage your caravan awning.
Step 3: Apply a thin layer of awning cleaner over the awning. Be sure to check through your owner’s manual to see if it is sensitive to any chemicals. If needed, you can try cleaning a small part of your caravan awnings to test its compatibility.
Step 4: Once cleaned, rinse your caravan awnings with water. Repeat until there is no awning cleaning soap or residue left on your caravan awnings.
Step 5: Use the awning re-proofer to retain your caravan awnings waterproofing capabilities. You’ll want to check through your owner’s manual to ensure that the awning re-proofer is compatible with the material of your caravan awnings.
And that’s it! Your awning is ready for another trip and should be clean and glistening in the springtime sun, while keeping you dry if there’s a sudden downpour.
Useful Awning Cleaning Product Links
We’ve pulled together some useful cleaning products for awnings to make it easier to begin your search if you don’t have the necessary products outlined above.
- Fenwicks Cleaner for Awnings & Tents (1 Litre)
- Fenwicks Reproofer for Awnings & Tents (1 Litre)
- Nikwax Tent & Gear Solarproof (500ml)
- Nikwax Tech Wash and TX Direct Twin Pack (300ml)