The predicted post-lockdown summer staycation boom is the shot in the arm the UK needs and it’s time to start thinking about cleaning your caravan for the season after a spell in storage perhaps. Grabbing car cleaning products or the first thing that comes to hand is a big no-no – cleaning your caravan requires specialist know-how, the right products, plenty of care and attention…
Cleaning the outside of your caravan
Make sure you have enough room around your caravan to clean every last bit of the beast and unless you’re incredibly tall or have arms like Mr. Tickle you’ll need a stepladder too. Pitching the caravan at a slight angle also helps the water trickle off quicker, protecting the seals from damage.
Mild weather is the best for caravan cleaning because too much sunshine dries it too quickly leaving unsightly watermarks.
Jet wash or high-pressure washers or car or motorhome shampoo can be too abrasive for cleaning the outside of your caravan because they can scratch the bodywork and give the seals a really hard time.
A hose or bucket of water paired with a sponge or long-handled brush and some specialist caravan shampoo/cleaner and caravan window cleaner is what you’ll need. You might also want to lay your hands on a long bottlebrush and microfibre cloth.
Start at the top and work your way down
Start by giving your caravan an all-over rinse to loosen algae, dirt, moss, dead leaves, and all the other little nasties getting a free ride. Then work from the roof down using the sponge or long-handled brush to clean your caravan with horizontal strokes. You’ll need to give it just the right amount of welly to loosen every bit of dirt and it’s a good idea to have someone steady the ladders for safety’s sake. Rinse each area as you go.
Windows and skylights
Skylights can either be opened and cleaned using a long bottlebrush or dismantled and cleaned more forensically. Windows will sparkle after a good going over with a specialist product always taking extra care not to leave any scratches. Acrylic windows demand their own type of product and will also benefit from a microfibre cloth buff-up.
Polish and wax
Let your caravan dry in the air or use a drying cloth so that you can then apply the polish for which there are plenty of products to choose from and during which you should avoid touching rubber seals and textured plastics. You’ll need to use some elbow grease here and apply in a circular motion with greater pressure to obliterate stubborn marks or scratches.
A wax completes the process and is your caravan’s protective barrier keeping all the bad stuff out and good stuff in. Then after about half an hour, it’s ready for a big old final buff.
Oh, and don’t forget the alloy wheels. A quick spray and polish here will set off all your other hard work a treat.
Cleaning the inside of your caravan
A whistle round with the vacuum cleaner should suffice unless you had a wild party before it went into storage. Likewise giving all the surfaces a good wipe down using an anti-bacterial spray or mild cleaning products that you’d use at home should do the trick.
Freshen things up
Air fresheners will help banish any storage mustiness while you can use the same product you used for the outside of the windows for the insides. One final tip for cleaning the inside of your caravan: a little bit of bicarbonate of soda diluted with warm water down the sinks can help neutralise any nasty whiffs.
And voila, your caravan is ready for the season!
https://www.caravanguard.co.uk
https://www.caravanclub.co.uk/
https://www.practicalcaravan.com/