Awning cleaner

Bruce H · October 14, 2016

Hi all,

That time of year to do a complete cleaning outside. Going to camping world outside of Boston on saturday. ( live in Ct ). What would be the best awning cleaner to use. Noticed a little green stuff starting to form.

Thanks in advance.

Yarome · October 14, 2016

If it needs a really deep cleaning then it depends on your awning material.. vinyl or acrylic... but before I would do any really heavy cleaning I would first try a soak, on either type, and see how well that does.

I use the blue dawn dish soap in a 5gal bucket of warm water. Brush it on with a soft bristled brush or broom. Just on the top. Then I roll up my awning and let it "soak" for a half hour or so. How long you can leave it kind of depends on where you are and how hot it is outside. You don't really want it to dry out.. just soak. After the soak then I extend my awning and rinse both sides. You don't want to spray rinse it (it can remove the water repellent treatment on some awnings) just flowing water over the surfaces. Let it dry completely and then see where your at.

I don't recommend using any after market chemical cleaners.. no matter how much someone might try to convince you that it will work better and help protect your awning. They likely won't do any better job than dish soap but WILL likely do more damage than good.

Some will add a 1/4 cup of bleach per 2 1/2 gallons of the water/dish soap mixture. I will do that if the soak cleaning fails, but only doing spot cleaning and scrubbing lightly with a soft bristle brush. Again.. rinsing with a gentle water flow, let it dry, etc. If THAT still fails then you can sprinkle the stained area with a little baking soda and then lightly scrubbing again with the water mixture, rinse, dry.

For any step of the way you don't want any of the solutions or baking soda to dry into the fabric and ONLY scrub/treat the top surface.

If you get that far and it requires additional heavier spot cleaning then it "would" depend on what type you have.

Edited October 14, 2016 by Yarome

Kirk W · October 14, 2016

I would add a small amount of chlorine bleach to whatever you choose to use in cleaning the awning. While dish soap is a gentle cleaner that will work at least to some degree, I've not had great results on our awnings over the years and have used it many times. What I have found to work best in cleaning our RV and awning is a product called Reliable that I was given a small amount of by an RV dealer, service manager. I'm out of it at the moment so am considering something new if others have a better product.

frenchie · October 14, 2016

My first post here, as I haven't found a good reason yet to introduce myself while learning more about HDTs... At any rate, I used a product called AutoGlym before to clean and protect a fabric convertible top on my previous car. It cleaned quite well, and kept the rain / water sliding on rather than soaking into the fabric. If your awning is fabric, it may work for you.

Now I'll go back to lurking in the background

LFDR3116 · October 15, 2016

We use Awesome cleaner and know many who use Mean Green. Both are available at places like Family Dollar and Dollar General, Walmart, K-Mart etc. We have canvas awnings and park under trees at our summer position. The one awning is very green when it's time to clean up and go. The Awesome works beautifully. We have used it for 3-4 yrs now 2X per year and the awnings still look great.

Bruce H · October 16, 2016

Thank you all for your input on my awning topic. Yarome, I did what you suggested, and the awning looks brand new. I did add some bleach to the soap mixture,which helped get rid of the more darker stains.

Thanks again

Ray,IN · October 17, 2016

I've been adding a few oz. bleach to the wash water for our vehicles for years, including RV awnings. It kills mold/mildew on the plastic strips that cover screw heads, awnings, gel-coat, EPDM roof membrane, etc.; and keeps the vehicle looking great. To remove stubborn black streaks, the best product I've ever used is Crown RV and boat hull cleaner.

Yarome · October 17, 2016

the awning looks brand new.

Great! Glad it worked out for you.

Snufy1 · November 21, 2016

Yes thanks Yarome my awning needs cleaning and your method sounds like what I was basically going to do except I would have sprayed it off and not let it soak now I will

Tcwndsr · July 13, 2017

I use a Magic Eraser. Mold, dirt wipe off easily and no chemicals needed. Just give it a quick rinse with the hose after wiping clean.

Edited July 13, 2017 by Tcwndsr

johnpeters · October 28, 2021

Camco is a great awning cleaner, it is tested to be safe for generally all kinds of awning fabrics. It is a highly concentrated cleaning product, so you need to dilute it in some water for regular cleaning purposes. Just 4 ounces of this cleaner mixed into a gallon of water is strong enough to clean even the largest RV awning thoroughly.

Edited October 30, 2021 by johnpeters

Ray,IN · October 28, 2021

On 10/14/2016 at 6:04 AM, Bruce H said:

Hi all,

That time of year to do a complete cleaning outside. Going to camping world outside of Boston on saturday. ( live in Ct ). What would be the best awning cleaner to use. Noticed a little green stuff starting to form.

Thanks in advance.

For years I've been using auto-soap and 2-3 oz bleach in 5G of water to wash everything on our RV's, both 5ers and MH. There is no mold.mildew anywhere from rooftop to tires, bow to stern. That is enough bleach to kill mold/mildew without harming anything.

Keep in mind mold/mildew can only grow on organic material, wash off all the dirt and you've eliminated mold/mildew growth.

When finished the RV is clean and shiny, and the awning material is also clean and bright.

Edited October 28, 2021 by Ray,IN

FULLTIMEWANABE · October 28, 2021

We never use bleach on the awning personally! Generally our awning we've always ensured it is totally dry before stowing away, and if not as soon as we can unroll it to dry thoroughly asap after parked up and we've never had issues in over 23 years on two separate units.

However, daughter's boyfriend would roll away damp and forget to unroll once home from camp to dry it out and it was disgustingly green and black. When he had it at ours a few months ago. I did a two part clean to it.

Unrolled then sprayed with a baking soda water mixture (gotta love baking soda!) and rolled it back up to overnight stowed.

Unrolled next day and sprayed again with a vinegar and water mix and started gentle brushing with long handled brush. Then rinsed with shower head on hose. Got soaking wet in the process and on the severe impacted edges used step ladder and hand did with a sponge/scourer.

Bottom line he was going to replace it but when saw it arriving at their next camping location, couldn't believe how great it looked. With immense thanks from him, he was told he has to ensure it is totally dry before stowing and if not, as soon as practical when parked again roll it out and let it get bone dry before storing long term.

beemergary · October 30, 2021

If its just stain etc. in spots the best thing I 've found at 71 yrs. is bleach white tire cleaner.

clark261 · August 9, 2022

Using a top-notch cleaning like the 303 Multi-Surface Cleaner can help your RV awning look great. This cleanser works well to remove surface stains from vinyl and fabric awning materials. As a result, even the worst stain, grease, oil, and mildew will be eliminated from your RV awning.