By Cheri Sicard
Have you ever noticed gray or black streaks coming down the sides of your RV? It’s a common problem, especially after a rain.
Below, the team from The Camping Loop wanted to know the best way to get rid of black streaks on an RV, so they put three products to the test. The video also talks about how to prevent unsightly black streaks on an RV from happening in the future.
According to our host, the longer these streaks are left untreated, the harder they are to get off. So, for the best results, clean your RV as soon as you see black streaks starting.
The products they tested to remove black streaks:
- Awesome Orange: a low-budget cleaner they picked up at the Dollar Tree store for $1.25.
- Star brite® Black Streak Remover: Made specifically for this purpose, the cleaner will set you back about $17. Check the link for today’s Amazon price.
- Camco Black Streak Remover: About $7. Check today’s Amazon price.
To test the product, our host cleaned a large black streak going down the sides of his travel trailer in three different sections. This showed which cleaner worked best in a graphic way.
What did he discover? The Camco product did not work nearly as well as the other two. But the big surprise was that the $1.25 bottle of Awesome Orange from the dollar store worked every bit as well as the $17 bottle of Star brite Black Streak Remover! In fact, it worked slightly better.
Our host was just as surprised as anyone. He had heard good things about this low-budget cleaner but was skeptical. No more!
How to prevent black streaks on an RV
Our host installed gutter spouts on his trailer. In theory, this will keep rain from dripping down the side of the rig and prevent the black streaks from happening.
Watch the video to see the demonstration and results for yourself.
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RVT1247
Wax and elbow grease has always worked perfectly for me! Accomplish two chores with one good product!
One problem with awesome from dollar store it removes the black streak as well as the paint
I just use dawn dish soap, it also cleans up the clear caulking they use to seal
…and removes the wax on your paint.
Prevention – well as best you can prevent – install the flexible gutters with end spouts. Some streaks will occur – but minimal. To remove them, I use “Simple Green” as directed on the bottle. Works on a lot of stains and dirt removal problem. I’ve also used it with a pressure sprayer – with more of a mist spray than a penetrating stream which will remove decals etc!
Meguiar’s cleaner wax, liquid