Getting ready for our first trip last month, went to give the van its spring clean. As it was a hot day we opened all the windows and pulled down the flyscreens. Some of them, the ones we use most, have lots of little black spots on the mesh, mainly on the bottom half, which I assume is mildew.
No mildew elsewhere in van, everything bone dry, so where does it come from?
And is there anything that will remove it?
I think we have a similar problem in our Delta with the fly blinds, which I have not seen before. However, I have found damp in the back of the van, which has resulted in me having to make a repair, as serious rot had set in to the rear right panel. The van is only six years old, but judging by the amount of rot, it had been leaking from new. I would suggest that you check your van over carefully for signs of damp, even if you can't smell anything suspicious.
One thought I have had is maybe to use a product for net curtains, which I think is called 'Glo-white'? How sad is that knowing about such a product? I will ask my OH to see what she thinks of the idea.
Regards,
Kevin.
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The van was serviced and full damp check carried out just before we went away, as it has been every year from new, and I am paranoid about leaks so check it carefully myself every few months, visually and by poking all around. Have even got a damp meter with sharpened prongs!!
I am thinking the fact the screens are kept rolled up 99% of the time so get no air circulating round them does not help. But only 4 out of the 8 screens are affected, and one in particular. And the bathroom one , where I suppose most of the steam is produced, is only very slightly affected. These 4 screens are on the windows we have open most often, that must mean something, just not sure what.
hi jennifer, I noticed that in lidl they had a mould cleaner in a spray bottle. Maybe this could help. I haven't tried it myself so I couldn't say how good it is.
Thanks Elaine, we have a Lidl just over the road so I will take a look.
I did try Mildew duck, but it is very difficult to get the spray to stay on the mesh and I was trying not to let it near the upholstery! I need to give this some thought and devise a cunning plan!!
I would be careful with any mildew spray, they have a nasty tendency to bleach anything they come in contact with. Can you remove the blinds/cassettes and then sponge them down with a mild solution of Milton, that worked for me. Do make sure you rinse of and let them dry really well though.
Jennifer, you could be on to something there with fact you say the blinds are rolled up most of the time. In my previous van, we always had the blinds down when in storage, so maybe the sunlight killed of any mould that might have thought about growing.
As we have only just got this van, maybe they kept the blinds up and what with the damp and all, that could be the cause.
Anyhow, I will let you know about the curtain net stuff.
Good luck with 'the cunning plan', just make sure it works out better than a 'Baldrick' one.
Kevin.
Quote: Originally posted by Tiggarsmum on 15/5/2010
On setting up my parents van this year I noticed a little bit of mould on the fly screens and the blinds. A gentle rub with wet wipes did the trick
That would be a good starter to try - thanks T'smum.
Quote: Originally posted by Tiggarsmum on 15/5/2010
On setting up my parents van this year I noticed a little bit of mould on the fly screens and the blinds. A gentle rub with wet wipes did the trick
OK so here's the result.
We had some Power Force, Orange Kitchen Wipes (like Wet Wipes but orangey) in the house, so tried that. (Aldi - around £1.20)
To be fair the spots may have been there for a long time - newish caravan to me and not had the screens down before - and they were pretty heavily marked.
I tried from the inside and to be honest there was not much difference, however on cleaning from the outside (window open, blind down), hey presto - what a difference.
I will not claim 100% success but at least an 85% improvement. I'll leave them down in the sun - will have to wait for France for that by the look of it, and see if the bleaching effect of the sun does the rest.
Anyway - thanks Tiggarsmum for the tip, you are the first to suggest that and I wouldn't have thought to try.
PS the used wipes did a fairly decent job of rubbing off those black stains from rain running off the mastic/rubber areas. - just thought - might work on Tiggar too?
We had a trailer tent prior to our caravan and we stupidly put it away damp so the next time we came to use it it was covered in mould and mildew. We used Dettol Mold and Mildew remover - it was fantastic, just spray and leave for a little while then wipe. It brought our trailer tent up like new and it didnt bleach it on the coloured canvas areas which we were worried about. I hope this helps.
Hi I’ve just used 1 1/2 capfuls of Milton sterilisation fluid in a pint of warm water and lightly scrubbed all of the black marks off my fly screen in the bathroom. It looks brand new again. Thanks for your post