Care of a Thule or Omnistor awning... (1 Viewer)

[RedFrame]

Simple question really...

I'm used to camping, so dry out anything that's wet/damp when you get home.

Is it necessary to wind out the awning and dry it, if it's damp when wound in on site, after you return to base?

Is there any other, return to base, maintenance that peeps would suggest..?

Cheers
Red.

 

[tonyidle]

I do nothing. They appear to survive. They're made of a plasticised material so they don't rot - they do develop interesting patterns that seem to clean off OK using car wash stuff. I do mine every five years or so. Or when I notice it's looking grubby.

 

[Anthea M]

Ours did smell fusty when we unrolled it after a year so must have been damp when we put it away. But no damage done . We would now make sure it was dry if not using it for a long time.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[GAVLAD]

Interesting post as my experience has been different.
When I bought my mh I noticed that the awning needed a good clean as it was stowed dirty.
It's a 5m long omnistore.
I bought Thule's awning cleaner spray after washing it with car shampoo wash.
Washing it seemed to get the top surface layer off.
I didn't use the spray until my next outing when I unrolled it and noticed that it had mould on it. Although it was dry when last stowed, it must have been damp or not as fully dry as first thought. So, I used the Thule spray. It cleaned off most of the mould but not all.
On rolling out the awning on our next trip, I noticed that parts of the awning was stained purple. - the awning pvc fabric is white & blue.
I've since used car shampoo, fairy liquid, Thule awning cleaner spray and fenwicks awning cleaner spray and although it cleans the awning, it doesn't fully get all of the dirt stains and the purple stains out.
The dirt stains look like spilt coffee stains, which I can only guess is a mixture of dust, sand and rain water which hasn't been washed off immediately afterwards.
Unfortunately, I keep my mh in storage and there's no washing facilities or tap on site, so have to wait until we go away in it and wash it on site there. Due to work shifts and then school, I'm limited to when we can get away and to impact on that, we've moved house this year, so DIY has taken over. So I'm still waiting for a time slot with decent weather to give my mh a good clean since our August holiday - which doesn't help.

So, in answer to your question, I personally would unroll it and give it a good wash and ensure it drys thoroughly after each occasion that you use it when it's exposed to dirt/sand/rain, as with my experience, even the manufacturer's own PVC spray cleaner doesn't fully get it cleaned.
And where the purple stains have come from is anyone's guess.

I'm sure others will enjoy along to say that they never wash their awnings, but each to their own.

We usually clean the inside on our last day on site before coming home, so that it's ready for the next trip.

 

[mike mcglynn]

Hi,Re purple stains that's probably bird droppings after they have binged on berries mine was the same after I unfortunately parked near a tree ,big mistake took lots of bleach and scrubbing to shift them .

 

[Kingham]

I'm on my third Fiamma canopy (on 3 different vans) and I've never purposely dried any of them out before storing. No issues to date !

Even when wound up, the storage cases are not watertight and I have wound out a previously dry awning, to find the front and rear metre or so of fabric to be wet.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[GAVLAD]

I'm on my third Fiamma canopy (on 3 different vans) and I've never purposely dried any of them out before storing. No issues to date !

Even when wound up, the storage cases are not watertight and I have wound out a previously dry awning, to find the front and rear metre or so of fabric to be wet.

That's probably what's happened with mine as I was sure that it was stowed dry. Maybe I've got the Friday afternoon manufacturered material

 

[Pia]

So car wash is good for washing the awning...inside and out? Ours is a bit mucky so I think I'll have a go before we go off for the winter...it would be nice to have it looking cleaner