VIDEO: Motorhome cleaning guide

In this video we go through our 10 steps to cleaning your motorhome. Although it can be a daunting task, washing and cleaning your motorhome regularly will keep it in good shape for longer.

To film our motorhome cleaning guide we visited Richard Baldwin Motorhomes in Halifax, where we cleaned an Auto-Trail coachbuilt, which had plenty of black streaks, dust and some road dirt around the body. In a few hours our team had it clean and shiny so it could go back on their sales forecourt.

Before you start cleaning here’s the kind of equipment you’ll need:

• Hose
• Two buckets
• Portable pressure sprayer
• Step ladder
• Telescopic long handled brush and mop
• Rubber gloves
• Noodle wash mitts
• Micro fibre cloths
• Small paintbrush
• Alloy wheel brush or sponge
• Mellerud black streak remover
• Silky cream cleaner
• Fenwicks motorhome cleaner
• Triplewax Waterless Wash and Shine
• Meguiars Quik Wax
• Autoglym Fast Glass
• A helper with plenty of elbow grease!

We used a variety of different products on different parts of the motorhome, but did use specialist cleaners. It’s always worth checking your handbook in case your manufacturer advises against the use of certain cleaning products.

Step 1.

Rinse down

Starting from the top, give your motorhome a good hose down to wash away any loose dirt. Don’t use a high pressure jet washer as this could cause damage to your seals.

Step 2

Clean the roof

Using the Fenwicks concentrated motorhome cleaner diluted in a bucket of water start to clean the roof with the telescopic brush. This is great at lifting any algae, stains and stubborn dirt. Get someone to help you up and down the step ladder and to hold it in place as you tackle this area.

Use plenty of soap on the brush and enough pressure to remove grime. Work from the back of your motorhome to the front, carefully moving the step ladder as you go.

Be careful around any fixtures or fittings on the roof, such as solar panels or satellite dishes. If you can reach try using a paintbrush or long handled emulsion pad doused in plenty of water and shampoo mix to clean underneath the solar panel or around fixings.

Step 3

Hose it

Hose down the roof and all sides of the motorhome so it’s all nice and wet.

Step 4

Remove the streaks and stains

Paying attention to any black streaks over the cab, where there’s run off from the roof and around windows and lockers, use a black streak remover to wipe away these marks before rinsing off.

If you have a build of algae then a cream cleaning product like Silky is great at getting rid of these stubborn marks. Simply use a small paintbrush dipped in the pot and then apply to the motorhome, agitating it into the affected areas with the brush. Leave the product to work for a short time and then rinse off once again with a hosepipe or garden sprayer, making sure all the product is washed away.

Step 5

Time for a wash!

Using a specialist motorhome cleaner, dilute it into a bucket of warm water. Use the two bucket method, where you have the cleaning product and warm water in one bucket and a second bucket filled with cold fresh water. Soak the wash mitt into the cleaning product to clean the side of the motorhome and then rinse in the cold water to remove any grit from the mitt before dunking it back into the soapy water.

Continue to repeat this working around the motorhome in sections until all sides have had a good wash and clean.

Step 6

Fridge grills and windows

To clean the fridge grills, unclip from the motorhome and give the surround a good wipe down. Clean the grill using a microfibre cloth and the same cleaning solution. Once cleaned, dry down and clip back into place.

Be careful with the motorhome’s acrylic windows. Give them a wipe down with your bare hands dipped into the cleaning product. This way you can feel for any grit to avoid scratching the delicate acrylic.

Step 7

Tyres and wheels

If you have alloy wheels use an alloy wheel brush to wash down the wheels, getting into those tight nooks and crannies. If you have hub caps then thoroughly clean with a sponge or softer brush so you don’t scratch the surface.

Then give the tyres a wipe over.

Step 8

Rinse and wipe

Rinse the motorhome once again to remove all the soap and loosened debris and then give all areas a wipe down with microfibre cloths to remove any excess water.

Remember to open any doors and wipe down the surrounds.

Step 9

Glass cleaning

Using a glass cleaner which is suitable for acrylic windows, such as Autoglym’s Fast Glass, spray onto the windows, wipe down and then buff up to a shine with a dry, clean, microfibre cloth.

This will get rid of any water spots and streaks and make them sparkly clean!

Step 10

Wax and polish

Finally, work a wax product into the motorhome’s bodywork to give it a layer of protection and a deep shine. Apply by either spraying directly onto the motorhome or onto a microfibre cloth and wipe onto the bodywork. Allow it to cloud over for a few minutes and then buff off with a clean cloth until it sparkles!

Another product which is great at keeping your motorhome clean and protected when on the road is the Triplewax Waterless Wash and Shine. By leaving it in your motorhome when you’re on your travels you can quickly keep on top of any dirt. You simply spray onto the motorhome and then using a clean microfibre cloth, wipe over until it clouds up and then buff to a shine.

So there’s our 10 point step-by-step guide to cleaning the exterior of your motorhome.  Remember, a regular hosing down of your motorhome will clean off any loose road dirt and polluted rain water and prevent stubborn marks from building up on the bodywork. And it’s worth keeping on top of bugs in the summer and the green mossy stuff building up in the other months.

There are more motorhome cleaning tips in our previous guide.

Over to you…

Got any motorhome cleaning tips to share? Feel free to add them in the comments box below.