Unfortunately, many folding camper owners end up with mildew stains on the canvas of their unit. Pack away your folding camper while it’s slightly damp and you could be greeted by unsightly mildew next time you use your camper. Nobody wants bad mildew staining on their folding camper canvas, so is there any way to get rid of the stains?
Unfortunately, it’s impossible to completely remove the mildew staining on your folding camper’s canvas without doing irreparable damage in the process. It is possible to kill the mildew with a variety of products, preventing the staining from becoming any worse. Some cleaners will also improve the appearance of the staining, but none will remove the staining altogether.
While you can’t remove the staining altogether, you can kill the mildew to prevent further damage and improve the appearance of the stains with several products available. I’ve taken a look at some of these products and unfortunately had to try some myself, so read on to find out which products are most effective and how you can prevent further staining in the future.
Preparing Your Folding Camper
Before thinking about trying to remove the mildew, you’ll want to dry out your folding camper’s canvas. If you also live in the UK, you’ll know that sunny days are hard to come by! However, ideally you should unfold your folding camper and let it sit out in direct sunlight. The sunlight will quickly dry out your camper and help prevent more mildew growth. Before removing the mildew in your camper, it’s always important to try and prevent further spreading by drying out the unit.
Before moving on to the next step, it’s important to remember that it’s unlikely you’ll remove the mildew staining altogether. What you do here will help to prevent it from spreading further and lessen the appearance of the staining, but there will still be some signs of staining left behind.
Scrub The Area With A Stiff Bristled Brush
After you’ve given your folding camper a few hours to dry out in direct sunlight, begin to scrub the areas covered in mildew with a stiff brush. Because you’ve dried your camper in the sun, the mildew should be fairly easy to remove as it will have dried out. By using a brush, you’ll remove the majority of the growing spores. Once you’ve done this, you should just be left with the staining to deal with.
I personally use the Techspray Cleaning Brush as it ishas hard bristles designed to offer optimum cleaning with minimum effort. I got my Techspray Cleaning Brush from Farnell.
When you are finished using the brush to remove the dried mildew, make sure to vacuum. Be as comprehensive as you can when brushing the canvas because any spores left behind will begin to grow in the future. Take your time to make sure you clean the canvas as best as you can.
Treating The Mildew And Stains
Once you’ve brushed the canvas of your camper, the damage is really just cosmetic. If you took your time on the steps before, you should have removed the vast majority of the spores. There are numerous products and solutions that you can use at this stage to try and help the canvas look better.
No matter what you do, do NOT use household bleach to try and remove staining from your camper’s canvas. Household bleach is very strong and contains detergents that will completely remove the proof of your canvas. While some people advise using diluted household bleach, chemical cleaners can damage the canvas, removing the waterproof. What good is a leaking folding camper? That’s just as bad, if not worse, than one with cosmetic mildew stains!
Here are some mild cleaners that are effective against mildew staining but won’t damage your canvas at the same time. With the options I’ve mentioned below, put the solutions into a spray bottle and spray directly onto the staining. Wipe clean with a damp cloth and let the canvas dry completely in sunlight. Once the canvas has dried, check what effect the solution has had.
White Vinegar
If you want to go down the DIY method of removing the mildew staining, white vinegar can be very effective. Vinegar is a good cleaning agent and relatively mild, and it will kill mildew spores altogether. Just apply vinegar directly to the mildew-stained spots on your canvas, and this will go a long way towards removing the staining. I am currently using the Hexeal White Vinegar, which is available on On Buy.
Rubbing Alcohol & Water
Rubbing alcohol is probably something you have in the house anyway, so you won’t need to go out and purchase anything. Mix rubbing alcohol and water (about 50% rubbing alcohol and 50% water). This formula is highly effective at killing spores and removing stains.
Mild Soap & Water
Both the solutions mentioned above are fairly abrasive and will possibly compromise the waterproof coating on the canvas (more on that later, as it isn’t anything to worry about too much). If your canvas isn’t too badly stained, a mild concoction of mild soap and water might remove the worst of the staining. As with the above solutions, apply directly to the staining and then wipe down with a cloth.
Using Professional Cleaning Products
If the mildew staining on your canvas is really bad and DIY concoctions aren’t going to do the trick, there are several professional cleaning products that you can try. Some products are designed specifically with cleaning canvas in mind, such as the CLR Mould & Mildew Stain Remover.
The CLR Mould and Stain Remover is designed to remove stains on canvas, which is very effective on a folding camper. In my personal experience, it did the job, and there were no signs of mildew staining on my canvas anymore.
If you’re going to use a product such as CLR Mould and Mildew Stain Remover, you will likely have to reproof your canvas afterwards.
Reproofing Your Folding Camper
Whether you use a DIY or commercial solution, it’s a good idea to reproof your folding camper after you’ve completed the treatment and the canvas has dried again. If the staining is removed to a suitable standard (as I said, you might not be able to remove the staining entirely), you can reproof the canvas to ensure it’s waterproof again.
Reproofing the canvas of the folding camper is very easy, and there are numerous products available where you just have to spray them onto the canvas to apply them. There are two products I’ve used to reproof my canvas in the past, and both of them did the job.
The Regatta Spray-On Reproofer replicates the original water-repellent finish that is applied to a folding camper’s canvas. I’ve used this product before, and I didn’t have any problems; it worked as expected and is available for a good price. You can find it here on Winfields Outdoors.
At this stage, your folding camper should be as stain-proof as possible. To avoid staining in the future, always remember to let your folding camper canvas dry before packing it away. If you are unsure whether or not your folding camper is dry when you are packing it away, open it up again when you get home and let it dry out. You should aim to open your folding camper again within 48 hours of packing it away to avoid mildew reoccurring.