starider Posted February 3 Posted February 3 Hi, beginning to think about cleaning the camper ready for the coming season. We live about 10miles from Bude and are subjected to salt laden winds from the various westerly coastal areas. Our property faces South so we have sun all day, Our vehicles are parked East to West so one side has sun all day,thus the other side,after a time begins to collect green algea in various places,eg behind N/side mirrors etc.This algea washes off the main areas easily, but not in all the spaces such as where the side glass joins the bodywork. I mix a little wash and wax with a small amount of water and go round all these areas and any that a normal wash/polish doesn't remove with a tooth brush[£1 for two, Waitrose]. 1
Rojie Posted February 3 Posted February 3 2 hours ago, starider said: Hi, beginning to think about cleaning the camper ready for the coming season. We live about 10miles from Bude and are subjected to salt laden winds from the various westerly coastal areas. Our property faces South so we have sun all day, Our vehicles are parked East to West so one side has sun all day,thus the other side,after a time begins to collect green algea in various places,eg behind N/side mirrors etc.This algea washes off the main areas easily, but not in all the spaces such as where the side glass joins the bodywork. I mix a little wash and wax with a small amount of water and go round all these areas and any that a normal wash/polish doesn't remove with a tooth brush[£1 for two, Waitrose]. A nice tip. My Alphie faces east, so the passenger side gets the algae. I knew about the tooth brush approach. I'll try wash and wax. I also need to moisten my leather seats after a hot summer. A small tip I have for everyone with leather upholstery is an old rag with a smidgen of polish and leave it under a seat ! Renew as and when. Your can buy deodorisers that smell of leather but they are quite expensive.
Gillibanana Posted February 4 Posted February 4 How funny that today I decided to clean my Alphie …. Took ages & had to go round with a toothbrush cleaning all the green algae out of all the cracks. I was complaining that there was so much of it when the other 2 cars on our drive don’t get any. I was glad to see this post & know that it’s not only my van that grows green algae!. There are a few marks from over winter that wouldn’t come off so I will try the wash/wax on them !
Jenny Smedley Posted February 4 Posted February 4 LOL we did ours a couple of days ago, and yes algae brush was out.
starider Posted February 5 Author Posted February 5 I have considered turning the Alphard round 180 degrees occasionally and present the "algae" side to the sun for a period of time,but decided that having the rain[which we get in large amounts],is better blowing at the rear rather than the front.
Rojie Posted February 5 Posted February 5 I have had the same thought. I would have the van facing into the prevailing winds and rain. Additionally my van would be facing the 'wrong' way (regarding night time parking). Parking on the other side would upset a neighbour ! The way I park now is easiest for my EHU connection for battery changing and dehumidifying.
derek sullivan Posted February 5 Posted February 5 thanks for your ideas, all good food for thought, will certainly be getting my tooth brush out and wax and water.
starider Posted February 5 Author Posted February 5 My mains connections are on the back of a tall field fence away from wind and rain, so I can connect to the Alphard and our touring caravan.A tip if you have a caravan on your property for the winter is to put a largish dehumidifyer inside on a timer. I am getting almost a gallon of water every week and the inside is dry and there is now smell of damp.
Rojie Posted February 6 Posted February 6 A gallon a week does not surprise me at all. I probably would get the same, or even more as I live about 500m from the sea ! It is difficult to get the humidity just right. What is your target Relative Humidity ? My only caution is not to dry the leather out, even more than the summer sun does. Dehumidifying first and then feeding the leather are more important, to me, than the green algae. I di have a sign of mould; we left an unwashed beaker in the van ! Anyone have any tips on how to gentle remove mould from the 'velvety' material used for the inside trim ? Preferable a non bleach based product. Thanks.
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