JulieT Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 H folks, hope your all well and safe after the terrible flooding. I'm a novice caravan owner and went to check up on my caravan in its outdoors storage facility today. I was surprised with the inside. It was dry enough but mold had appeared on patches of the carpet and was very faintly noticeable on the lower cupboard doors. I went to the local caravan shop who advised me to purchase a salt tray which I've now left in the caravan. Is there anything else I should do to prevent this getting worse before I use if for the first time this year towards the end of March? I plan to take it out of storage for a weekend at the end of March to prepare it for use. I saw at the caravan shop a multitude of outside van cleaning products, waxes and brushes. What are your recommendations on the best way to get the outside clean? A mop and a bucket of flash? I haven't used the toilet since I purchased the van. It was clean and came with 2 bottles of cleaning fluid. However it is very mouldy when I lift the lid. I've read that you shouldn't use these types of products. Any hints on how best to get it clean and ready for use? Finally, should I clean out the water pipes to the kitchen tap? We tend to drink the water straight from the tap. Should I sterilise the water pipes? Apologies if these are too many questions for the one post but once I got started. ... Thanks in advance, Julie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sleepyfolk Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Hi Julie, sure there will be lots of advice on cleaning the outside, I'm having ours done by tourershine as the outside needs renovating but I've heard on the forum that Fenwicks do a good caravan cleaner, just be careful with whatever you decide to use to "scrub" the outside as the paint layer can be quite thin and fragile. For the toilet, if you look on eBay for some elsan organic toilet chemical, it very often comes with a free toilet bowl cleaner, I like the elsan organic as it is safe for septic tanks (and its non carcinogenic / better for the environment), you only need the one bottle as you can use it for both the rinse tank and the pooh tank. When you have a good supply of toilet cleaner you can get the one that comes with free screen wash. I think it's caravanstuff4you that sells it with the toilet cleaner. Some people seem to get a problem with mould and black spots from the rinse tank but I never have with elsan organic - it was recommended on here. You should definitely clean your pipes and aquaroll, I use beer line cleaner, clearly it is food safe! You just need to fill your system with the right dose depending on which brand you get, leave for 10 mins or so, pump some more through, leave again for 10 mins then rinse thouroughly. You can get pills etc to drop in but be careful because some treatments are designed to treat the water and will not necessarily clean the actual pipe work - just a case of reading the info and not assuming. I get mine from bookers or no doubt it will be easy to get some on the Internet, I used to be a landlord so it was the obvious choice for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thomasoes Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 I would definitely sterilise the water pipes every year I use silky cleaner on my van gets very stubborn marks off but needs a good rinse. My wife uses a multipurpose spray on most things inside including the loo and has not damaged anything. Quote The more I learn the more I know,the more I know the more I forget,the more I forget the less I know Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milkymarsh Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 (edited) Julie If you have mould on your carpets, you've prob got the pores in the van too. Best thing is to remove the soft furnishings and dry them out thoroughly. Then get a bottle of Sophis (check on here as I have posted about it on here before). Its brilliant in that it breaks down mould matter and even claims to remove all odour from spilt milk etc as well. Only reason I say this is that we had mould after using a cover, and it was the guy at our local caravan centre that recommended using it. You wipe this stuff on, leave it for the allotted time, then wash it off. weve never looked back! With regards to the outside, of you can afford Tourershine then do so as he is fantastic. If not, give it a real good clean with a shampoo/snow foam, and if you have streaks use autoglym caravan cleaner (works wonders). Then give it a good polish, and importantly, seal it with a top coat. On getting ready for the season, clean the pipes (we use puricleen and don't have any issues as its a run it in, leave it job!). And critical to the start of the season, check everything works before you go, as I guarantee something won't work!! Good luck and here's to a fab season ahead. John Ps: don't be afraid to ask if you are stuck!!! Edited February 19, 2014 by milkymarsh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulieT Posted February 19, 2014 Author Share Posted February 19, 2014 Thank you all so much for your responses. That's a a terrific help to me. I'm actually looking forward to getting stuck in. :-)) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motorhomevalet Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 If you are going to tackle cleaning the outside yourself remember to use plenty of water and don't be tempted to use a waterless system. As milkymarsh said you will have mold spores in your van so best treat accordingly ( some use a mild solution of Milton) Quote Quality valeting of caravans and motorhomes www. motorhomevalet. co. uk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milkymarsh Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 Julie This is what you need. http://www. caravanaccessories4u. co. uk/products/awnings/awning-accessories/sophis-digestant-500ml Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulieT Posted February 24, 2014 Author Share Posted February 24, 2014 Thanks for the link. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul_B Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 Saniguard is good see this link http://www. caravantalk. co. uk/community/topic/80872-saniguard/?hl=saniguard mention caravantalk if you order Quote Paul B . .......Mondeo Estate & Elddis Avanté 505 (Tobago) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulieT Posted February 28, 2014 Author Share Posted February 28, 2014 will do Paul. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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