Cleaning Awning w/Magic Erasers

During the camping season I always try and let the awning dry out before rolling it up. But in the winter.. it stays up for several months. Even closed up.. rain water gets in.. and the stains set in.

A couple of years ago.. Darlene Kral mentioned Mr Clean Magic Erasers for cleaning your camper's awning. At that time.. the awning on my (then) camper was white. So I used a mixture of Dawn and bleach in water. It worked quite well to remove the gunk and stains that build up while the awning is rolled up.

The camper I own now has a nice multi-shaded awning.. white, light gray, darker gray and black. I didn't want to use bleach on the colored awning, so I bought the magic erasers. First I cleaned the awning with a long handled sponge mop, using water and dawn. This works ok for basic cleaning.. but the stubborn stains remained and were especially noticeable on the white part of the awning. Then I used the magic erasers pads and ....presto (just like magic).. the stains disappeared! And it really took very little effort.. no hard scrubbing.

The little cleaning pads also worked great on other areas of the camper too. Like the propane tank cover and rubber step assist handle next to the door. I think they would work well for the black mark stains on the side of the camper too. I don't have much of a water drain (black mark) problem anymore.. since using the "clothespin trick" ..but that's another post.

Cleaning the awning, what a bizarre concept! I like to think of it as patina, like on an antique. Do the magic erasers have any adverse affect on duct tape, just in case I give it a try. After all, I now have nuclear grade duct tape, and would not want it to turn loose. It is a source of great pride, as not every one has such exclusive repair materials.

Those things are called 'magic' erasers for a reason. They work great for kids messes around the house. I spotted 'generic' versions now even at the dollar store.

One beware though... they do have an abrasive so I wouldn't use it on any finished surface.

I've always used a bleach / water solution on the awning. Spray it on with a squirt bottle. Roll up the awning for 15 minutes. Open and spray off with the hose. Requires nothing but changing into an old pair of clothes.

Now that I have a similar black awning, I will have to see how color fast it is first.

afob3 wrote:I've always used a bleach / water solution on the awning. Spray it on with a squirt bottle. Roll up the awning for 15 minutes. Open and spray off with the hose.

This is what I have done for the last several years and have had good luck with it.

Helmsey wrote:

afob3 wrote:I've always used a bleach / water solution on the awning. Spray it on with a squirt bottle. Roll up the awning for 15 minutes. Open and spray off with the hose.

This is what I have done for the last several years and have had good luck with it.

Helmsey... have you used bleach/water on a colored awning?

chuck wrote:Helmsey... have you used bleach/water on a colored awning?

I have, my last 2 awnings have been colored and have not had any issues. I will have to look for the mixture ration, but it is just a small amount of bleach. I have all that noted in my "camping book" at home, I'll check it out tonight (or search online if I get bored at work )

Question was asked are MAGIC ERASERS abrasive ????

The answer I was given is YA / NO ...
NO if light to moderate pressure and little scrubbing is used to get off a stain or mark.
YA if you have to use moderate to heavy pressure and a lot of scrubbing.

Their texture make them equivalent to a super-super-super fine grit sand paper or rubbing compound ... that's why they work.

I use them along with AWESOME to get ride of black streaks on my RV. First time I used them, I over did one area and it removed the wax and some of the shine from the gel coat

magic erasers worked on my awning and black streaks, but I didn't know they were abrasives, like sand paper! It doesn't appear I did any damage. Just got about 1/5th of the awning done. I didn't have to rub very hard to remove stains. I would still like to know what ratio of water/bleach is safe to use. I'll try that next. I bought all the camco TT cleaning products, maybe I should stick with them?

Sorry, forgot to post that info...
I use a mixture of 1/4 cup dish soap, 1/4 cup bleach and five gallons of fresh water. Soap the open awning with this mixture, then roll it up for a bit ( I normally do it for about 30 minutes). Unroll the awning and spray both sides of the awning with water to rinse it off.
This is what was listed in my awning manual and have had good results with it.