Cleaning solutions

[Hematite]

Since it now seems to be Spring, at least in the Northeast, the Spring clean up of the Sunline is now in order. I'm wondering what the favorite cleaning solutions, commercial or homemade, are for the rubber roof and the siding.

I've tried Dawn dishwashing soap on the roof and while it is mild and safe to use, it's not overly good for stains. I'm sure there must be a more effective product.

The streaking on the siding is something I would like to eliminate,as well. I've tried car soap but that is also not real effective. This Sunline has the coated siding so that may require a different cleaner.

Thank You!

[Ray and Lynn from PA]

We also tried different products for the streaking in the siding and have found "Awesome" works best by far. Just spray it on and wipe off the streaks on the siding with no effort. It really is awesome and it's only $1 a bottle at Dollar General. If you have a dollar store near you, I'm sure they would carry it. The bottle says it contains no acid, ammonia or bleach. Sorry if I sound like a commercial but the stuff really works!

[Steve Collins]

http://www.sunlineclub.com/forums/ph...opic.php?t=450

http://www.sunlineclub.com/forums/ph...opic.php?t=242

http://www.sunlineclub.com/forums/ph...opic.php?t=965

http://www.sunlineclub.com/forums/ph...topic.php?t=91

http://www.sunlineclub.com/forums/ph...wtopic.php?t=3

[Hematite]

Thanks for the replies! I see that subject was covered pretty well about a year ago (should have done a Search).

Awesome is still in the lead for the siding, it seems!

[donreitz]

We all have our favorite cleaning product just like we have a favorite brand of vehicle. However, most general purpose cleaners will do pretty much the same job as any other general purpose cleaner. They might differ by scent or color or other trivial characteristic, but they remove dirt with about the same efficiency. What makes Awesome (or any other dilutable cleaner) useful is that you can adjust its strength to the task. This is helpful in that the use of overly strong cleaners is likely to have a deleterious effect on the exterior elements of a trailer when used over the long term. While you might need a fairly concentrated cleaner to spot remove heavy black streaks (particularly if they're old), a dilute cleaner works perfectly well on removing regular road grime. My own bias is to substitute elbow grease for a higher concentration of cleaner wherever possible to minimize the adverse effects of a strong cleaner on my unit's fiberglass.
Don

[Bobo]

I use Reliable for the general cleaner on the exterior, but for the tough black streaks, I have found that thinned down Soft Scrub with bleach works great.

Bobo

[JohnB]

It seems this year the black streaks are the worst I have had. Mainly as the new to us TT did not receive as much TLC sitting on the dealers lot. So this spring clean up is tougher then normal.

I have found a combination that when the 2 products are combined do work better then either alone on the heavy welded on black streaks.

Awesome used with Mr. Clean Magic eraser pads. Both by themselves are good but neither cut thru this heavy baked on black stream mess I have. But combined with elbow grease, they do cut it back to the white TT. But you have to work fast as when the foams suds starts to dry, the steaks harden up once again. I have found that you need to work a small area, like no more then 2 x 3 feet. Spray on, wait about 30 seconds then start with the Magic Eraser scrubbing. Once it foams up the crud, wipe it off dry. Then move to the next spot.

When I can keep after it, then normal car type wash works.

I have the aluminum siding with crystal coat.

Also a heads up, the Awesome strips any wax or UV treatment. So when I have to use the Awesome on the plastic parts, they gets a treatment of 303 UV protectant after the cleaning including all decals.

http://www.lastotallyawesome.com/index.html


http://www.mrclean.com/sites/en_US/m...s/eraser.shtml


http://www.303products.com/


Happy Cleaning

John

[Hematite]

JohnB:
That is precisely the problem I have with my Sunline. It already had black streaks on it when I got it and car soap did not remove much of them. I will have to use an aggressive treatment like you suggest to get back to where it should be. After that I will keep the roof and siding cleaned frequently so that it never gets that bad, again!

[donreitz]

Black streaks can be a problem. I have a three step procedure for removing them that works pretty well. First, a general overall cleaning with a standard cleaner like Awesome and a deck brush will get rid of the bulk of the steaks that accumulate over the winter or a long trip. Second, concentrate on the remaining steaks by scrubbing them (still using the deck brush) with a more concentrated cleaning solution. This removes tougher stains but, inevitably, there'll be some that still remain. Third, I apply an automotive cleaner wax (it has to be a cleaner wax--containing some abrasives) and rub out the remaining stains. An alternative to cleaner wax is WD40. You don't have to rub as hard but I don't think it's quite as effective. Interestingly, the worst streaks will sometimes leave behind a faint ghost of a stain even after cleaning, but these go away with time.

It sounds more complicated than it really is. I don't think it would add more than an hour or so to your routine cleaning schedule (depending on the seriousness of the black streak problem of course). Doing this twice a year, after our big summer trip and in the spring, keeps the black streaks at bay.
Don

[rich2500]

Awesome is my cleaner of choice also, including the roof,I know plenty of folks are gonna disagree with awesome on the roof and before using it on the roof I done a test where I put a piece of the roofing in a cup of awesome and left it there until it evaporated which was about two weeks,when I removed the piece that was in the awesome I found absolutely no damage at all ,I have been using awesome on the roof for three years now and my roof looks like new and I have no problems,I do treat the roof with Dicor after every cleaning and I only do my roof three times a year.

[Hematite]

Don:
I think part of my problem is that, so far I've been using car soap and a car wash brush. Both are so gentle that they don't have a chance to remove a stain. I'm definitely going to buy a deck brush, which I presume is more stiff than a car brush,and use Awesome and see how I fare. I may be wrong,but I thought that with the crystal cote that wax was not supposed to be used on it?

rich2500:
Now that is one clean roof!!!!

[reysaint]

Originally Posted by Hematite

Don:
I think part of my problem is that, so far I've been using car soap and a car wash brush. Both are so gentle that they don't have a chance to remove a stain. I'm definitely going to buy a deck brush, which I presume is more stiff than a car brush,and use Awesome and see how I fare. I may be wrong,but I thought that with the crystal cote that wax was not supposed to be used on it?

rich2500:
Now that is one clean roof!!!!

Hi,
I just bought a bottle of Awesome from the local dollar store. I will be washing my T-1950 tomorrow. For the black streaks do I use it full strength from the bottle or delute it?

Also, will it affect the CrystalKote finish?
Nervous in Deerfield Beach Fl

Ray

[Steve Collins]

Originally Posted by reysaint

I just bought a bottle of Awesome from the local dollar store. I will be washing my T-1950 tomorrow. For the black streaks do I use it full strength from the bottle or delute it?

Also, will it affect the CrystalKote finish?
Nervous in Deerfield Beach Fl

Ray

Ray,

Do the roof first with appropriate cleaners. The black streaks are caused by runoff from a dirty roof.

Spray Awesome on black streaks full strength, scrub with soft bristled brush or rag right away, and rinse while still wet. Don't let the Awesome dry. Do a small area (a few square feet) at a time. Work from top to bottom of the trailer.

Awesome won't affect the Crystal Kote.

Enjoy your sparkling clean trailer.

[donreitz]

I imagine any cleaner wax that's designed to be safe with clearcoat auto finishes (which is most of them) would be safe to use on a trailer, but I'm no expert. If you have information to the contrary, go with that. I've used cleaner wax on a number of trailers over the years and haven't run into any obvious problem in all that time.

As far as Awesome goes, I've never run into a situation where using it full strength was necessary. If I recall correctly, right on the bottle there are suggested dilutions for various jobs. I keep a spray bottle with a ten percent solution handy for most household chores and that works fine. For washing the trailer, I'll pour a couple capfuls in maybe a gallon of water. I'll crank up the concentration to about twenty percent for spot treating problem areas with a spray bottle (for black streaks, road tar, bugs and so forth), but that's about as concentrated as my solutions get. There's nothing magic about these concentrations--you might find better ones for your washing technique, but my bias is to keep the cleaner concentration low and make up for it with elbow grease. For example, rather than using a high concentration of cleaner on bugs or tar, I'll keep the concentration low and mechanically scrape off the crud by lightly rubbing the area with a nylon Dobie pad. I suppose it's possible to find a cleaner powerful enough to simply dissolve the crud, but I'd worry about what it's doing to the finish.
Don

[rmstack]

Reliable, as recommended by the Sunline factory, works well for me for general cleaning. As for black streaks, I make a stronger Reliable solution for in a spray bottle. I spray the black streaks, let it work for a few seconds and then wipe it off.

I have uses Awesome, also, and it works great.

[luckyva]

I cleaned my camper this past weekend with Awesome, top to bottom, and am so pleased with the results! The awning turned out as good as new. After cleaning the roof, I conditioned it with rubber roof conditioner. What a great cleaning product Awesome is and for only $1! I am going to start buying in quantites!

[rmstack]

I agree that Awesome is a great product for cleaning and cheap. But Reliable seems to do better in my opinion based on my washing of the trailer in August (last week). My Reliable gallon was almost empty, and the Sunline factory has closed where I purchased it so I dumped an entire bottle of Awesome in a bucket and added water (abt. 3 gallon). When I saw that it was not taking off the black streaks like the concentrate did or Reliable, I used another bottle of Awesome to spray on as a concentrate. Then I washed with my solution.

I need to discover where I can purchase Reliable. Anyone know where it can be purchased near New Holland?

Rich

[Hematite]

I agree, when Awesome is diluted it simply doesn't take off black streaks. I also noticed that it seems to leave the siding dull looking. Probably leaves a residue. It does very well on the roof, however.

[MarknShana]

Originally Posted by rich2500

Awesome is my cleaner of choice also, including the roof,I know plenty of folks are gonna disagree with awesome on the roof and before using it on the roof I done a test where I put a piece of the roofing in a cup of awesome and left it there until it evaporated which was about two weeks,when I removed the piece that was in the awesome I found absolutely no damage at all ,I have been using awesome on the roof for three years now and my roof looks like new and I have no problems,I do treat the roof with Dicor after every cleaning and I only do my roof three times a year.

When cleaning your roof with Awesome, do you dilute it? If so, what ratio do you use? Also, what Dicor treatment do you use? Your roof looks "Awesome", pun intended.

[rich2500]

what I do is wet the roof first then spray a section with awesome non diluted, scrub with a soft bristtle brush then rinse that section,this is how I do the entire roof,then I let it dry for a few hours and treat with thishttp://www.campingworld.com/shopping...rotectant/6747 thanks for the compliment on the roof