RV cleaning

we0ne · Post by **we0ne** » Wed Jul 05, 2006 7:23 pm

Can anyone recommend someone or somewhere in Reno or San Francisco that I can get my RV cleaned before returning it to the rental company? We will be staying in a hotel after and don't have access to vaccums etc. Cruise America charges alot of money to clean it and I would rather pay someone who's independant.

Thanks
We0ne

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Thu Jul 06, 2006 7:44 am

I know this wont help those that have no where to clean thair unit. .
Last year I bought a old 5th wheel. It had been ridden had for a lot of years. I put a squirel cage fan in a window. Blowing out. Closed everything. Then took compresed air to the thing. The guy next door didn't care for my idea. But I saved many hours of chaseing dust. Then a lot of hours washing every thing. BUT Washing a weeks worth of finger prints etc wont be to hard.

phil · Post by **phil** » Thu Jul 06, 2006 11:22 am

I'm sorry to say I can't speak from experience on getting RVs cleaned post-playa. Check Louise's page at
http://civilizedexplorer.pbwiki.com/ind ... pplies#was
and see if anything there looks promising (one place says it cleans the ambulances after playa runs) - either call them or email for information and quotes. Area code in Reno is 775.

geekster · Post by **geekster** » Thu Jul 06, 2006 3:08 pm

One thing is to try to keep it as clean as possible inside to begin with. I would cover the floor with plastic runners, keep the doors/windows closed, dont allow shoes inside, try to minimize in/out traffic. Honestly I am not sure I would ever go in a rental RV because for the life of me, I can't figure out how to get it clean enough to return without paying a fee. We used our little pop-up camper this weekend and it still has playa dust tucked away in places from last year.

For people that have never been before ... imagine steady winds of 20 mph being fairly common and containing a thick suspended dust finer than flour and the ground coated with that same dust (not bad at the start of the week but as the foot and vehicle traffic pulverizes the crust, it gets worse towards the end of the week) and getting into every tiny nook and cranny and into fabric, etc. You open the door to the RV and blammo, it is full of dust. One way to further mitigate that is to set up an enclosed shade structure on the "door" side of the RV and use a tarp as a floor in that shade structure. That will keep the worst of the direct wind-driven dust out of the RV when you open the door.

The compressed air and fan exhaust is probably a good way of cleaning. Might as well get the stuff out the same way it got in ... suspended in air. But you might also spend a lot of time just blowing the stuff around inside the RV too.

Overall, if you try to make the dust your enemy, you are going to lose. Better to make friends with it and not set yourself in a postion where you are going to fight it.

Burp! · Post by **Burp!** » Fri Jul 07, 2006 6:18 pm

Yeah Imagine this, my truck hasn't been to Burning Man in 5 years and I still get a blast of playa dust when I turn the fan on. If you are going to have a chance you are going to have to really stick to keeping doors and windows shut at all times.

T.

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Fri Jul 07, 2006 6:34 pm

Dollor Tree.... Has reflective window covers for cars.Cheap way to cover all van windows. Cut to size and tape into place with "BLUE" masking tape.

Post by **Eric** » Fri Jul 07, 2006 7:16 pm

we0ne wrote:Cruise America charges alot of money to clean it and I would rather pay someone who's independant.

If you get an independant contractor or company, get in writing how clean you expect it to be.

Post-playa RV cleaning is a bitch, plain & simple. Last year we had 2 people cleaning the outside & 4 inside, and it still took about 2-3 hours before we felt it was even approaching presentable. The dust is everywhere & normal products don't seem to work that well on it. The best thing we found is a home mix of vinegar & water in a spray bottle.

It isn't going to be cheap either way- if you're taking an RV cleaning needs to be thought out before the trip to the playa, not after.

At one time there was an "RV's on the Playa" thread, but I'm too lazy to go look for it.

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Fri Jul 07, 2006 7:43 pm

I take my Van every year and live in it on the playa. To clean it....First (nothing wet) A vac, aircraft ear protection and a 2in wide paint. Start brushing the dust into the vac. Stay on track all the way around the van. Then do the same with compressed air instead of a paint brush. That shit turns to cement if you get it wet. The vinagar in water is a great idea for a final was down. Thanks
/
ps Yes, clean it good before going and wax the outside.

safetythird · Post by **safetythird** » Mon Jul 10, 2006 5:42 pm

Big rug outside RV door. No shoes policy inside.

Google carpet barrier. Lay that stuff down over everything and use blue painters tape for the small areas. Upholstery is tough to get playa out of so make sure to cover it with carpet barrier. Use a blanket or sheet on top of the carpet barrier to make the seating comfy. Small rugs keep things nice under foot.

Post playa: Clean as much as you can with vinegar water mixture then pull out the carpet barrier and blue tape. Wipe once more with vinegar water mixture. Done.

Don't forget outside storage and gear compartments.

S3

Tiara · Post by **Tiara** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 2:57 pm

Is this this stuff you recommend?

http://www.carpetbarrier.com/carpetbarrier.htm

phil · Post by **phil** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 3:27 pm

Burp! wrote:my truck hasn't been to Burning Man in 5 years and I still get a blast of playa dust when I turn the fan on.

Louise and I cover the outside vent under the windshield and that prevents the playadusting when you turn the blower on. :-> Ease of covering it depends on its location, of course, but it works for us.

safetythird · Post by **safetythird** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 3:28 pm

That's the exact stuff I use. It kicks ass.

I use the 24" W roll due to the width of the main aisle and 1 roll does my 27' Winnie. Your mileage may vary.

Tip: Stick the film to the bed or sofa when making smaller pieces for upholstery. It can get a little unwieldy like sticky Saran wrap.

Bonus Tip: It's transparent so smaller pictures can be placed underneath for that creative fix.

S3

Dork · Post by **Dork** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 3:53 pm

Endust wipes and equivalent work quite well at getting dust off car interiors, which I assume will also translate to RV interiors. I've found them at Target. One good wipe with a clean one and the dust is gone. One wipe with a wet cloth and it will look like the dust is gone, until it dries then the dust re-appears. Nasty stuff.

Also, as soon as you pull onto the playa, set your car/RV fan to recirculate instead of fresh air and don't set it back until you get back onto the road. I did this and had little to no playa dust in my car's ducts.

Post by **AntiM** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 4:10 pm

I've had good luck with the armour all wipes.

phil · Post by **phil** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 5:40 pm

Dork wrote:Also, as soon as you pull onto the playa, set your car/RV fan to recirculate instead of fresh air and don't set it back until you get back onto the road. I did this and had little to no playa dust in my car's ducts.

Ooh! Sounds good. I'll make a note.

Post by **trilobyte** » Tue Jul 11, 2006 5:42 pm

SafetyThird's info sounds like exactly what my friend recommends. Plastic cover on everything you can, use blue painter's masking tape to secure it. As he explained it, grabbing plastic and tape at Home Depot and speding an hour in the lot playa-proofing the RV made all the difference in the world.

The armor all wipes are probably a good idea, too.

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