Maintaining Your RV's Interior Appearance

Keeping your RV clean and neat inside will make it more enjoyable to use and will help retain resale value. Regular cleaning of carpets and  upholstery will also help reduce wear, as embedded dirt and grit work like little grinders, cutting the threads from which the covering is made.  As with many situations, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Avoid activities or bringing objects or materials into your RV that will damage upholstery, flooring, or walls. Periodically clean your upholstery and carpets and apply some "ScotchGuard" to help repel stains. Appropriate use of indoor and outdoor mats can also help prevent dirt, sand, and mud from being tracked into your RV and ruining floors. Clean up spills as soon as possible to prevent them from spreading and from causing permanent stains. Avoid spills by using unbreakable containers and making sure cabinets and the refrigerator are securely latched before hitting the road.  Dirt left in upholstery and carpet can cause long term damage and not just stains that are hard to get out.  Grit can actually grind away at the fibers and cause premature wear.  Thoroughly vacuuming your carpet and upholstery often should be on your regular "to do" list.  Using blankets or slip on seat covers is one way to protect upholstery from sunlight and excess wear.  Just using reflective foam insulation panels in the windows will reduce sun damage to dashboards and upholstery and help control indoor temperatures -- keeping it cooler in summer and warmer in winter.

In camp and on the road. While there is a legitimate tendency toward the "I'm on vacation" syndrome when camping, it is still a darned good idea to keep your RV clean and orderly throughout your stay and your trip. Put things back where they belong when you are finished using them -- even if you expect to use them again later in the day. Clean up any spills immediately so they don't cause permanent stains or get spread further than necessary. Keeping things clean and orderly may seem to detract from your play time, but ultimately it will maximize it. You will be able to find what you need, when you need it instead of asking yourself "Now where the heck did I put the XXXXX?" or having to search through piles of clutter. Your RV will also be ready to roll should you need to leave unexpectedly due to a local or personal emergency. Clutter tends to beget clutter, so don't let the first stray object get things started. Clutter detracts significantly from the pleasure and convenience of using your RV. Over time you will discover the best way to organize the things you use most so they're always handy and ready to use when you want them.

Eliminate clutter.   One of the first tasks is to make sure everything is properly stored and that unnecessary items are removed.  It is really hard to clean counter tops, cupboards, upholstery, and floors if they are covered in stuff.  We are usually better at preventing clutter in our RVs than in our homes because it tends to slide around and cause problems if we don't, but some stuff can still accumulate over time.


Routine "post trip" cleaning. You should invest a little time at the end of each trip to perform routine cleaning: sweep and mop or vacuum all the floors. Vacuum upholstered surfaces (don't forget the beds!). Wipe down the tables and counter tops. Clean the sinks and tub or shower and toilet.  Many RV toilets are made of plastic which has a tendency to yellow and darken over time.  You can often restore them to near new color by cleaning them with a solution of vinegar and lemon juice.  Clean the stove and ovens. Clean up an spilled foods in the cabinets. Thoroughly clean the refrigerator. I like to use a window cleaner with ammonia to sanitize the fridge and help prevent the growth of mold and mildew. Also leave the door open once you've turned it off, removed the contents, and cleaned it. RV stores have little gadgets to hold the fridge door open an inch or so to allow the inside to dry thoroughly and further prevent the development mold and mild while keeping the door from swinging open. Remove the ice cube trays from the freezer or at least dump them out so they can dry. I like to store mine in my freezer at home so they're always full and ready for the next trip. Take any floor mats or rugs out and shake them, vacuum them, or beat them to remove loose dirt. Wash them if they are badly soiled.  Ordinary household furniture polish is usually adequate for routine cleaning of cabinets and counters. However, there are some wooden surfaces in my RV that I like to give a little extra attention to, to keep them looking their best. For more intense treatment during annual cleaning, I use a beeswax-based cleaner and wax on all natural wood surfaces. It takes more rubbing than spray waxes but adds deeper protection and luster. My motorhome has leather captain's chairs up front, and I like to use a good leather cleaner and preservative like Leather Balm on them after each trip. This is something that might be relegated to annual maintenance, but I like the idea of keeping the leather supple as well as clean. You might want to use saddle soap for a good deep annual cleaning of leather surfaces.   The dashboard is a huge expanse of vinyl. You will want to treat this frequently with appropriate detailing sprays to keep it in good condition and avoid cracks. I use the same SC-1 silicone-based detail spray I use on my dirt bikes. I have been told Armor-all and similar products are water-based and can actually contribute to drying out of vinyl surfaces requiring repeated applications to maintain appearance. Take any sheets, pillow cases, towels, etc that have been used out and wash them before returning them to the RV. Clean all glass surfaces (windows and mirrors, microwave doors, TV screens). Empty all trash cans and remove all used trash bags. Remove dirty clothing. Trash and dirty clothes left behind can perpetuate very unpleasant smells. Make sure any items you got out during the trip are returned to their proper places. Replenish any non-perishable supplies you used during the trip. Review any list you made during the trip of services, repairs, or changes of supplies and equipment (additions or deletions) you may have noted and take care of them now.

Annual Cleaning. Annual cleaning may be done as spring cleaning when you're getting your rig ready for the season or when you prep your rig for storage at the end of the season.  Annual cleaning, is more intense and more detailed than routine, post-trip cleaning.   Vinyl or tile floors should be stripped and re-waxed. Carpets and upholstery should be shampooed.   If you don't have a carpet cleaner it will probably be well worth renting a "Rug Doctor" from your local supermarket.  You may want to "flip" the mattress on your bed if you can. Not all mattresses are reversible, so make sure the bottom side matches the top before flipping it over.  At the very least, it should be thoroughly vacuumed and bedspreads, comforters and sleeping bags removed and cleaned. Even if they aren't heavily soiled, they are likely to have become laden with dust and residue from your body and cooking fumes. Bedspreads,comforters, and sleeping bags might need to be dry cleaned, but sheets and pillow cases and sleeping bag liners can go in the washer.  Take everything out of the cabinets and drawers and clean the drawers and cabinets with a disinfectant cleaner. If you've done your post-trip maintenance well, you shouldn't encounter any spills or leaky containers but if you do, clean up the mess thoroughly. Discard any expired or damaged food containers. If you find any unpleasant odors in your fresh water supply, you will want to add some bleach to the fresh water tank (one cup of bleach for each 60 gallons of water), then pump water through all the fixtures until you can smell the bleach at the faucets. Let it stand at least 4 hours, then drain the and flush the system. For an added measure of freshness, add some baking soda (a half cup in a gallon of water) to the fresh water tank then completing filling and flush it through the system, then drain and flush the entire system with fresh water one last time before refilling with fresh water for your next trip. There are products that can be added to the fresh water tank to help preserve the freshness, but they are normally not required unless your water source is contaminated if the tanks and system have been properly flushed. The black water tank, on the other hand, should ALWAYS get a fresh charge of holding tank chemicals as soon as it has been emptied -- unless you are winterizing your RV. Know the size of your tank in order to add the correct amount of chemicals. Too little is ineffective, too much just wastes money. Adding more with the idea that it will help cover foul odors is like pouring perfume on a pig! If the odors are getting really bad, dump and flush the tanks and start over as soon as possible.

Annual cleaning is a good time to review your on-board wardrobe. Discard any worn, torn or otherwise unusable items. Consider removing items that have not been used for a while. Are you missing anything you should have? Now would be a good time to complete your wardrobe. Check for any pest damage. Rodents and insects sometimes find clothing and other textiles to be appealing for their own residences and even for food, so inspect each item to make sure it is in good condition. It is also a good idea to make sure items you have on board still fit. We all tend to gain or lose weight at different times in our lives, so the jeans we hung in the RV 5 years ago may no longer fit. Keeping a used dryer cloth in the drawers and closet and cupboard spaces where textiles are stored has been reported to help repel pests and lend a fresh scent. This is a very easy -- and free! -- tip, and worth giving a try. The scent on unused ones may be a little strong.

Walls and ceilings. Walls and ceilings usually need little maintenance beyond regular dusting. Areas near the stove or sinks may need a little extra attention periodically to remove cooking residues or soap scum. If walls or ceilings become soiled, you should be able to clean them with a good all-purpose household cleaner. Wood paneling can then be treated with furniture polish to restore shine and provide a protective coating. Do not use furniture polish on wallpaper surfaces. Some RV ceilings are vinyl covered and can be cleaned and shined as you would the dashboard. If a wall or ceiling has become damaged -- either by impact or dry rot, the affected section may have to be be replaced. Sometimes you can simply install a new panel over a damaged one, but I wouldn't recommend this if the problem is dry rot caused by water damage. Water damaged sections should be removed, the areas behind them cleaned and sanitized and repaired, and new paneling installed.  Sometimes the covering on walls and ceilings may come loose from the paneling.  You may be able to reattach it by injecting glue behind it using a old livestock hypodermic needle or, if you can gain access to an edge, by gently lifting the covering and applying adhesive under it.   It is usually easier to get even coverage using a spray adhesive, but take care to avoid over spray or settling of airborne adhesive on other places where you don't want it.   Water stains can be hard to get out of light colored materials, but it may be worth giving it a try, especially if you can get to them before they have too much time to set.  A product called Instagone is said to remove even hard water stains.

Appliances. There are really only two highly visible appliances in most RVs: the range and the refrigerator. The water heater and furnace are usually hidden in cabinets, but should not be ignored. Regular maintenance is required on all appliances to keep the functioning properly as well as looking good. RV ranges sometimes have ovens and sometimes are just cook tops. In either case, routine cleaning is needed to keep them looking good and working well. If you've been doing your post-trip clean-up properly, little cleaning will be required. The oven can be cleaned with a conventional oven cleaner. The stove top can usually be cleaned with a good all-purpose household cleaner. You may need steel wool to clean the burners. Make sure to clean the openings around the edge as well as polishing the top surface. Spills sometimes clog the openings and degrade cooking performance and efficiency. The refrigerator needs cleaning both inside and in the back. Clean the inside of the fridge with an all-purpose household cleaner. I like to finish up by wiping mine down with a good glass cleaner with ammonia to help eliminate odors and prevent mold and mildew. Be sure to clean the door seals and the surfaces they mate to in order to maintain a good seal. Open the back side of the refrigerator (on the outside of your RV) and clean dust and debris that may have accumulated in the cabinet. Carefully remove the burner assembly and clean it. Take care to reinstall it exactly in its original position. Inspect the chimney above the burner to be sure there are no bird or animal nests in it. Brush off the coils. Dirt and dust accumulated there will have a negative effect on cooling efficiency. The furnace usually needs little maintenance. Check the outside vents to be sure they are clear and free from insect or animal nests. Make sure all inside vents are clear and not covered by rugs or furniture. If you have access to heat runs through cabinets or under the dinette, make sure they aren't kinked or flattened. Servicing of the hot water heater is best done during Spring Cleaning when you are de-winterizing your RV. At this time the water heater should still be empty. Remove the plug on the outside of the water heater and run a little water into it until it drains out the opening. The opening is usually a little above the bottom of the tank so you'll need to siphon out the last little bit of water using a short piece of plastic tubing. You can also use a piece of tubing attached to an air hose to blow out the last of the water and any debris that remains in the tank. You should turn any winter bypass valves to the normal position, then allow the hot water heater to be sanitized along with the rest of your water system. Inspect the pressure relief valve on the back of the water heater. If there are signs that it has been leaking, it may need to be replaced. Inspect the burner and if there is any dirt or debris present or it appears damaged, remove it and clean and/or replace it if necessary. Turn on the main propane valve and start the water heater. It should start up quickly and should have a bright blue flame. If the flame is yellow or sputters, you may need to have it repaired and adjusted by a qualified RV technician.

Vinyl surfaces, like dashboards and seats, can benefit greatly from period cleaning and conditioning. Many owners use products such as Armorall. Personally, I prefer something called SC-1. It is a detailing spray something like Armorall, but it is silcone based instead of water based. Their advertising tag line is "New Bike In A Can". I've used it for years on my dirt bikes and it does indeed make them look like new.  It also works great on dashboards and other vinyl surfaces.  Just avoid using on seats because it will make them very slippery until it tries thoroughly.

Carpets should be regularly vacuumed  and deep cleaned at least once a year.  I keep a can of spray carpet cleaner in my motorhome for spot cleanups on the road.  If carpets get faded you might be able to renew the appearance by dying them.  If they are TOO badly faded or worn, they should be replaced.  If replacing carpet you might want to consider using a hard surface like vinyl or laminate in the galley.  It is easier to clean.  But you'll still want carpet in the bedroom and perhaps on the engine cover (to insulate against both heat and sound from the motor).

Upholstered surfaces, including padded headboards, should be cleaned regularly and any tears repaired as quickly as possible to avoid additional damage.  Also clean any spills or stains right away to keep them from soaking in and becoming impossible to remove.  Remove the cushions from sofas etc periodically and vacuum out the debris that typically collects there.  Removing spilled food remnants will minimize odors, stains, and insect infestations and you might even find some spare change!

Leather seats should be cleaned with saddle soap and rubbed with a good leather conditioner like Leather Balm. This will help keep the leather clean and soft and prevent it from drying out and cracking.

Vinyl surfaces, like seats, dashboards, etc. leach chemicals into the air that put a fog on the inside of your windows.  In addition to cleaning the windows, you need to recondition the vinyl.  My favorite product for that is called SC-1 from Maxim.

Cabinets and paneled wall surfaces can be cleaned and polished with household furniture polish.   You should include this in at least your annual cleaning as residue from cooking vapors and dust and smoke that makes its way in from outside will accumulate and dull the appearance.  Regular cleaning  will make this a fairly quick and easy task, It could take some time and elbow grease if it hasn't been done in a while, but it will be well worth it.

With a little regular care, your RV interior and appliances will stay looking nice and give you many years of pleasure and will help maintain the resale value.

Keep it clean!