Every summer, in my sticks-and-bricks life, I took every window in my house out of their track. I cleaned the tracks, scrubbed the screens and polished both sides of the glass before putting everything back together. Rarely, outside of that annual maintenance task did I give the windows much thought. But in RV life, I find myself constantly checking my windows, cleaning tracks, clearing weep holes and polishing glass.

Do RV windows get dirtier than a house’s windows? Maybe. But I think it has more to do with this micro world I now live in. It’s easy to not see a dusty shelf when you live in 1,800 square feet, a lot less easy when you live in less than 125 square feet.

Having said that, I have to acknowledge that I use my bed as my office space most of the time. And the two biggest windows in my trailer are above the two beds. Literally, my eyeballs are less than a foot away from the windows. So, it’s impossible not to notice pet hair, dirt, dead bugs and general grime.  

Still, it’s not just the windows. I more readily notice dust on door frames and the lip of the drawers, fingerprints on the cabinets, pet nose prints on the refrigerator door and grains of dirt on the floor. In sticks-and-bricks life, I cleaned my house in about 90 minutes every Sunday. Cleaning Quill is so different. Honestly, I have no idea how much time I spend cleaning each week because now it’s whenever I notice something. Now, I often clean in five-minute increments but I can do it once or twice a day.

My RV cleaning arsenal, too, is different from what I used in sticks-and-bricks cleaning. So, today I wanted to share the items that help me to keep the inside of the trailer spic and span. I also tried to throw in a few that might be useful in other rigs. Please note, these tools and products are for cleaning the inside of the RV. It takes a whole different arsenal to get the outside clean.

RV Cleaning Arsenal

In my micro house I need micro tools in addition to more traditional ones. The small nature of some of these really helps get into the nooks and crannies of an RV.

• Cotton Swabs. These are a fantastic tool to get into tight spaces where your fingers and a cleaning cloth just can’t reach such as corners. The tracks for my windows are very narrow and cotton swabs are the only thing I’ve found to get them clean. I use several a week on various cleaning projects. Plus, of course, they get wax out of my and Kitty’s ears.
• I talked about Canned Air in my post Most Used RV Gadgets Under $10. Most of us know canned air as a great way to clean a key board but it is great for any place you dust. Like cotton swabs, it’s especially useful in tiny cracks and crevasses because it gets places your fingers just can’t. I have a couple of tracks on my screen door that are so narrow I cannot even fit a cotton swab. But the stick that comes with the canned air fits. A few pumps and that pressurized air gets rid of all the dust and dirt particles hiding in there. Note there may be some places that canned air can should not be used for cleaning such as things will delicate pieces as the pressure can cause things to detach.
• Do you have weep holes in your RV? Do you know what those are? I’m not sure if they are a fiberglass trailer thing or whether most rigs have them. Although, I admit, I haven’t heard anyone but Oliver owners talk about weep holes. My apologies if this isn’t applicable to you. A weep hole at the base of windows helps make sure water from rain or a rig wash stays outside the rig and doesn’t find a path to creep inside the trailer. Well, if those weep holes (think of them as drain holes) gets clogged with dirt, water doesn’t drain. Because they are small, clogs are common unless you regularly clean them. In my case, I thread a pipe cleaner or a tiny brush (sometimes called drinking straw cleaners) under the cover of the weep hole, pull it out and keep doing that until the pipe cleaner or brush comes out clean. Both tools can be used for a variety of other cleaning projects. I also use them for the very narrow lip around the top of the base of my composting toilet.
• A dish scraper, obviously, is to scrape gunk off dishes, pots and pans. But it’s a good little tool to have around for any scraping need. They work great, along with a spray of Goo Gone, to get sticky price tags off of items. Or, really, anything sticky off of whatever it’s stuck to (things that comes in on the bottom of shoes and sticks to the floor, for example). I have several plastic ones and recently I bought one made from a more sustainable product: bamboo. On the outside of the rig I’ve used a dish scraper and Goo Gone to get road tar off of the Violet (van) and Quill (trailer).
• I like to use disposable gloves for the especially dirty cleaning projects. Most of those are outside, but not always so I thought they were worthy of this list. I hate dirt under my nails or grime ground into my skin. Most RVers keep disposable gloves on hand for dumping the tanks. I admit I don’t put on gloves for dealing with my tanks but I have a composting toilet so I’m not dealing with sewage. Sewage, as I understand it, is a health issue so if you have a black tank you always want to use gloves. And, you might remember, disposable gloves were on the list of First Aid supplies I suggested.
• To get the best bang for my buck, I purchase baby wipes in bulk and use them for tons of cleaning projects, from wiping the dog’s face to wiping down counter tops, from cleaning the bathroom to collecting pet hair from the floor. And, of course, they are good for cleaning people parts too. When I started out, I bought both Clorox wipes and baby wipes but over time I’ve tried to lessen chemicals in my life and environment. And baby wipes meet that need. Plus, when I did a price comparison, I found baby wipes to be less than half the cost per sheet than either Clorox or Lysol wipes (saving between two and four cents per sheet) and even less than store brand wipes (saving between one and two cents per sheet). So, all the way around baby wipes are a good thing to have on hand.
• Because I have tried to move away from heavier chemicals, I love the Mrs. Meyers Cleaning product line line and use the Everyday Cleaner (my favorite scent is Basil) for just about everything. By the way, I also use their laundry soap even though it is pricey but I don’t use the dryer sheets as I found them not to be enough help with static cling.
• A scrub brush with soft(ish) bristles works well to clean screens from the inside of your trailer. Now a proper cleaning would involve removing the screen and cleaning it with soap and water. But for the in between times when you want to knock loose the road dust, pollen and the things floating in the air that get caught in the fine mesh, a quick once over with a scrub brush does the trick. However, when you are brushing an overhead screen (such as a roof fan), be sure to wear protective eye wear and maybe a mask or you’ll get a face full of dust and dirt and bug parts.
• Another annual maintenance project of mine in sticks-and-bricks life was to take everything out of my kitchen cabinets and wipe them down. I used a degreaser on the front of the cabinets and drawers because cooking over time left a film. Many RVs have wooden cabinets and pantry doors. If you cook frequently and have wooden cabinets, you might need a degreaser in your cleaning arsenal.
• Microfiber clothes are good all-around items to have on hand. I purchased a big multi-pack that had three colors. Then I gave each color an assignment. Yellow for cleaning the inside of the trailer. Blue for all things outside the trailer, mechanical and more chemical things, such as 303 Protectant Spray for moisturizing tires or wiping down the electric jack stand base as described in the post on maintain electric jacks. And, finally, green for all things pet related and miscellaneous needs.

One More Thought for Small Cleaning Projects

This is an old trick and a carry over from sticks-and-bricks but you know how you are supposed to change your toothbrush every six months and whenever you’ve had a cold (so you don’t give the cold back to yourself)? If you save the toothbrush, you have a mini scrub brush for screens, cleaning tight spaces or whatever. Then toss when it gets dirty.

What’s in That Bottle?

In the gadgets under $10 post, I talked about spray bottles. Before RV life, I didn’t own spray bottles. Didn’t need them. In RV life, I started with one. Added another and then another. Currently, I have three all of which get regular use.

• Water Only: to tame morning hair and to spritz face on hot days.
• Half Water, Half Bleach: to fight mold on the underside of my mattress and on caulking in the bathroom. Remember my trailer is almost entirely fiberglass, and mold only grows on organic material. In other words, it won’t grow on the fiberglass. In your trailer, you might use this mixture on many more things.
• Half Water, Half White Vinegar: I add a couple drops of essential oil to the mixture and use it with one of my yellow microfiber cloths to wipe down all the fiberglass inside the trailer. I’ve heard you are supposed to wash and wax the inside of your fiberglass trailer the same way you do the outside but that’s a lot of chemicals to be inhaling when you live in the trailer. Plus, the inside doesn’t get exposed to the road grime and sun that the outside does. So, I haven’t done this yet. I’m not convinced it’s necessary. But I still want to keep things clean and a solution of water and vinegar is perfect. This same bottle is used to spritz the liquid side of the composting toilet as vinegar cuts the ammonia smell of urine.

Broom vs. Vacuum

If you have the space, no doubt, you’ve never given this a thought. Why wouldn’t you have a vacuum and a broom? Especially if you have an ongoing battle with pet hair. But in a smaller space, it takes a lot more consideration before making the leap to purchase a vacuum. Even a small one.

At least that’s been the case for me. And I still don’t have a vacuum. But those high-powered small ones, I’ve heard many RVers swear by.

What’s on the Ground?

I suspect the answer to this question won’t change how you clean or the arsenal you’ll need to do so. But different locations mean very different things getting on the bottom or your shoes and your pets’ paws and, as a result, your RV floor.

For example, in a State Park on the Oregon coast in December, the pets and I drug in pounds of pine needles. Or, it seemed like pounds. Seven months later, I still find an occasional rogue pine needle. In Desert Hot Springs, we brought in desert sand. And in northern Alabama, it was fine clay/dirt.

Like I said, you don’t need specific or special cleaning tools for any of these, but know that your approach to cleaning at each location may need to be different. For example, on Solstice’s bed in Oregon, I could gather the pine needles with the lint roller. But a lint roller doesn’t work with fine grain sand. For that, I had to gather the bedding and shake it off outside.  

What in Your Cleaning Arsenal?

So those are the tools I use to clean my small fiberglass trailer. Every rig has its own needs and things that work for me may not work for you. I’d love to have you share any tips and tricks you have for cleaning as well as any must-have items in your cleaning arsenal. Be sure to include what type of rig you have.

Links to Referenced SSL Blog Posts Above:

• 9 Most Used Gadgets Under $10
• First-Aid Kit for the RVer
• Jacks Maintenance for Your RV

To see products recently purchased by readers or to browse and shop at Amazon, follow either of these links. Every purchase is so appreciated and supports the efforts of this website.

• Bioderma Miscellar Cleaning Water
• Bioderma Eye Contouring Gel

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