Mildew!

[flyfisherman]

For surface mildew removal, my Starcraft owner's manuel says to make a solution of 1/4 cup of Clorox per gallon of warm water; and, of course, a through rinse as the bleaching compound can cause thread deterioration.

But the cleaning before hand, in fact on any part of the camper, be it the canvas,  vinyl flooring, wood paneling, or exterior surfacting, the very best cleaner I have found is the Murphy Oil Soap. And that's been with the previous Coleman/Fleetwood PU with it's ABS roof and Sunbrella tenting or my present Starcraft with it's aluminum exterior and Aqualon tenting.


Fly

[tlhdoc]

Also, when I have cleaned my tent canvas before I have re-waterproofed with silicon spray. I don't know about Scotch Guard, having never heard of it being used as a waterproofer. But I can vouch for silicon. It works great to restore a waterproofing to canvas. If you go this route, go for the good stuff. Silicone spray is expensive. Watch out for the cheap imitations.

If the "canvas" you are referring to is the Sunbrella tenting on you Coleman/Fleetwood trailer, you might want to check out the link below. Glen Raven the maker of Sunbrella recommends using 303's High Tech Fabric Guard or another product with a fluorocarbon finish.
 
http://www.sunbrella.com/usa/carecleaning_awningmarine.shtml

[dfonner]

Thanks for the advice Gary.  I'm thinking mild bleach and Woolite may be the way to go.  I swear I searched 'mildew' and it turned up like 3 things that had mentions of mildew but nothing in depth.  So I go back and search again after your post and guess what?  Yep, lots of posts on mildew!  (Snort)  Must've searched the 'humor' section.  Thanks for enjoying my little blurbs here on the net.  Can't use my humor like I used to at work, consultant says 'don't be funny, people don't enjoy funny'.  Guess that's why he's a consultant and I'm the one with the working gig.  No offense to any consultants reading this...okay I can't do it with a straight face.  I mean lots of offense to all consultants reading this, and you know who you are.  Consultants, for those of you who have no experience with them, are people who fail in their chosen field and now charge for their opinion.  Doesn't make sense to me either, but again, I'm the one with the working gig.  Sorry I've digressed into my own little personal tirade.  The REAL enemy here is mildew!  Grab your spray bottles, sponges, elbow grease and pray for sunshine.  'Let's get dangerous'.  I watch entirely too many cartoons with my children.  Name the cartoon reference and I'll send ya a Tennessee quarter.  
Here's to sand in your underwear and ants in the sugar,
H

It would be the Dark Wing Duck!

[Leroy]

Hi ,Tim and Sherry here , we just bought 1996 coleman popup has begining mold so I'm using mild solution of bleach and water then treat canvas with thomsons water seal , I tried it years ago on my old canvas tents and it made them like new and repeled water just like new , the corrosive in bleach is sodium hypochlorite , it will eat up aluminum so be very care and clean it off aluminum tracks on your popups , might be good idea to cover tracks while spraying and I would use 1oz per gallon of water at first and keep off screens , Leroy.

[wavery]

Just as a side note here:

Sunbrella is basically plastic. It is not a "Cotton based fabric" and is not as effected by bleach as a cotton based canvas material. To that end, let me quote from the literature distributed by Glen Raven Mills, the manufacturer of Sunbrella.

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"Sunbrella features a soil- and stain-resistant finish that makes clean-up a breeze. Spot wash by sponging briskly with a soapy solution of natural soap in lukewarm water. Rinse thoroughly with clean water to remove soap and air dry. For stubborn stains or suntan lotion, use a fabric remover. Follow directions on container. Rinse thoroughly with clean water, and air dry. Solution-dyed acrylic does not promote mildew growth. However, mildew may grow on dirt and other foreign substances that are not removed from the fabric. To clean mildew stains, prepare a mild solution of one cup bleach (non-chlorine bleach is recommended for Sunbrella Plus to prevent damage to the urethane coating) plus two cap-fulls of a natural soap per gallon of water. Spray on entire area and allow to soak in. If necessary, scrub vigorously with a sponge or clean rag. Sponge thoroughly with clean water, and air dry."

When boat canvas begins to leak, it can be coated with a silicone liquid. I used to recommend Aqua-Tite. It will not discolor the fabric nor will it harden it. But it is not compatible with the original factory finish and tends to work unevenly unless the fabric has been washed several times.  303 Fabric Guard is much better. It will lengthen the original characteristics of the fabric if used right away. And, if used only when needed, it will restore the original fabric finish. This is the only treatment recommended by the Glen Raven mill itself.
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