When cleaning your caravan, you may find that the most challenging place to clean is the roof, yet it’s also the place with the most dirt on it. This is because the roof is a very large and flat surface that can easily collect the natural dirt from trees, such as leaves, twigs and moss. Usually, the rain doesn’t remove this dirt as it is a flat surface, which means the rainwater doesn’t run off the caravan fast enough to carry the dirt. This type of dirt can also build up very fast as the rain and sun encourage the moss to grow. This is why it’s important to know how to clean your caravan roof well to keep it in good condition.
Cleaning the roof of your caravan requires you to have a good, stable ladder. Then apply your cleaning product, use a suitable brush to clean off the dirt, use a hosepipe to wash it off, and then apply some wax to finish. These steps are pretty simple to follow but ensuring you know how to do them safely is essential. This blog post will walk you through each step of cleaning your caravan roof and suggest some useful tools and products that may help.
This blog post will cover the following:
Preparing to clean your caravan
Before you begin cleaning your caravan, there are a few things you need to do before you begin. The first one is raising or lowering the jockey wheel. This will make the cleaning process of your roof a lot easier to do. By adjusting the jockey wheel, you can control the angle of your caravan, which will allow the water to run off the roof of your caravan when you clean it. You can slope your caravan roof forwards or backwards by lowering or raising the jockey wheel. If you want to slope the caravan roof forwards, you need to lower the jockey wheel. If you want to slope the caravan roof backwards, you need to raise the jockey wheel.
In addition to adjusting the jockey wheel, you also need to ensure enough space around the caravan. When you clean the roof, you will be using a ladder to reach the top, which means there needs to be enough space to use a ladder and move it around the caravan as needed. If there isn’t enough room for the ladder, it can be pretty dangerous as it can make your ladder unstable and cause you to fall off it.
Here is a list of the equipment you may need when cleaning the roof of your caravan:
- A long-handled brush
- Some microfibre cloths or a sponge
- A hose pipe or a pump sprayer
- Some caravan cleaner and polish/ wax
- An appropriate ladder
Cleaning the roof
Cleaning the roof of your caravan can be quite daunting for some people as it is such as big task. It may leave you feeling like you don’t know where to begin. Follow the steps outlined below to ensure your caravan roof is well cleaned.
Step 1: Use a suitable ladder
To clean the roof of your caravan, you need a ladder that allows you enough access to the centre of the roof while also ensuring your safety. Telescopic ladders are the best for this as they can be adjusted to the height of your caravan. These ladders will allow you to have better access to the centre of the caravan roof and will ensure your safety.
Another great thing about telescopic ladders is that they are lightweight and compact, so you can easily carry them around the caravan. To ensure you keep safe while using a ladder, you should always keep two hands and one foot, or two feet and one hand, on your ladder at all times.
Step 2: Use your caravan cleaner
Once you have a suitable ladder, climb up and look and use a hosepipe to rinse off the roof. Once the roof has been rinsed off, apply your cleaning solution. There are several different types you can use when it comes to cleaning solutions. The one you decide to go for will depend on how dirty your caravan’s roof is. Another factor to think about is the time of year. The damp conditions mean that algae and moss can build on your caravan roof during winter. Therefore, you may want to invest in a cleaning solution made to fight algae and moss.
Step 3: Use a brush
Once the cleaning solution has been applied and you have left it to sit for a few minutes, you should use a brush to scrub off any of the tough stains left behind. The best way to do this is to divide your caravan roof into specific areas, cleaning one area of the roof at a time. It would help if you also had a bucket of water in which you could drip the brush in.
It’s also vital to ensure you have the correct type of brush. It must allow you to get at the stains in the hard to reach areas of your caravan while also being gentle enough not to scratch the surface of your caravan roof. It’s also important to clean the caravan’s more fragile areas, including the satellite aerial and skylights.
Step 4: Rinse your caravan
Once all the stains have been brushed off and cleaned, you should use your hosepipe to rinse the roof of your caravan. Once all the dirt and the cleaning solutions have been washed away, you will be able to see if there are any spots left that still have dirt. You can re-apply the cleaning solution and use your brush to scrub it again if there is. When all the dirt has come off, rinse the caravan roof again.
Step 5: Wax your caravan to finish
Once your caravan roof is spotless and stain-free, you should apply some wax to it. The benefits of waxing your caravan roof include the following:
- It adds another layer of protection to the paintwork and acts as a barrier against dirt.
- Wax will give your caravan a shiny and polished look.
Useful tools and products
Although cleaning the roof of your caravan is a simple process once you break it up into steps that are easy to follow, it can be even more helpful if you use the tools and products that have been created for the specific task of cleaning your caravan roof. To get more insight into what other caravan owners are using, I asked users on Practical Caravan for any helpful tips or equipment recommendations. User ‘otherclive’ said, “For me, I always used a ladder, protected the caravan side-roof area, used a telescopic brush, Fenwick’s toothbrush and other bits for the fiddly areas.”
After looking into telescopic brushes (as well as other caravan cleaning products) for myself, here are some of the valuable tools and products I found that may be helpful to use when cleaning your caravan roof:
- Quest 2M Extending Deluxe Wash Brush: This wash brush can connect directly to your hosepipe, allowing you to run water through the brush. This makes it much easier to clean your caravan than switching between a brush and your caravan. Another helpful feature of this brush is that the handle can be extended up to 2M in length and shortened to 1.2M when not in use. The soft bristles also help prevent scratching, and the ergonomic comfort grips make it easy to hold and use. The Quest 2M Extending Deluxe Wash Brush is available to purchase on the Go Outdoors website. Click here to learn more about this product.
- Fenwicks Caravan Cleaner Concentrate: This cleaner has been specially formulated to attract dirt, actively surrounding it and preventing it from sticking. It has been manufactured using raw materials, which are also the most biodegradable in their class. This product easily removes black streaks, green algae, diesel fumes, and overwintering grime. It’s also suitable for cleaning plastics, aluminium, acrylic windows, GRP, ABS, fibreglass, decals, sealants, etc. The Fenwicks Caravan Cleaner Concentrate is available to purchase on the Go Outdoors website. Click here to learn more about this product.
- Kampa Microfibre Telescopic Flow-Through: This microfibre vehicle cleaning brush ensures nothing is missed when cleaning. The Flow-Through brush is telescopic and has a hose connection with an on and off switch for easy and quick use, making it ideal for a variety of cleaning tasks, not just to clean your caravan. It features a 2.5 Metre telescopic pole, an extra soft microfibre brush head, a hose connection, and a detachable head which can be used as a hand brush. The Kampa Microfibre Telescopic Flow-Through is available to purchase on the Camping World website. Click here to learn more about this product.
With these helpful tools and products, paired with the step by step guide on how to clean your caravan roof, you should be fully equipped to tackle the cleaning task of your caravan.
