Cleaning the caravan. You either love it or hate it. For me it’s a great time to unwind, care for the caravan and get it ready for the next adventure. In general, I find it quite cathartic.
One thing I do not enjoy however is those pesky black streaks. They are every caravanners worst nightmare. The black streaks are formed from the rubber seals around windows, roof lights and other seals around the exterior of the caravan. As sunlight degrades the very top layer of rubber (exactly what its supposed to do, otherwise it will crack and perish) it creates a loose layer of material that can be washed off – revealing fresh rubber beneath. However rain usually spreads this degraded material down the surface of the caravan, resulting in those stubborn black streaks.
Thankfully there are products on the market that focus entirely on getting rid of the black streaks, and believe me, I’ve tried a lot of them.
New on the market here in the UK is a brand that is quite popular in mainland Europe and that is Mellerud.
Mellerud have quite a line up of Motorhome & Caravan cleaning products for inside and outside the unit. I will cover off more of their products in future reviews, but for now let us focus on those pesky black streaks.
My test for the day was the back of our caravan and the rest of this article is written as I go with thoughts and comments as I clean.
We site our caravan in storage with the front higher than the rear, this helps keep the roof dry and dirt to a minimum. But because we have the rear quite low, the back panel of the caravan always ends up filthy with water run off from the roof.
The first task is to get the caravan wet, this will help pull any grit, large debris and loose dirt off the panel. I use a pump spray bottle as there is no running water nearby and, using just water I set to spraying and soaking the rear panel. If I am cleaning the whole caravan, I tend to break the process down into areas that are manageable. So each side I split into two halves and work on each of those one at a time. The process i am following today is simple. Rinse, clean, rinse and finally protect.
Now the back is wet, its time to look at the black streaks. There are quite a few along with some annoying green muck building up around the light clusters. But more on that later.
The instructions for the black streak remover are clear. Using a clean cloth use some of the black streak remover and wipe over the black streaks, then leave for a couple of minutes then wash and wipe off.
While I am waiting for the black streak remover to do its thing, I have already noticed that a huge section of the streaks has disappeared on the initial wipe over. But for the light clusters, and tricky areas I cannot get my cloth into, I use a clean household paintbrush.
Spraying the black streak remover on the brush and working the bristles into the areas agitates the black streak remover and causes the black and green build up to simple loosen and fall away.
Once washed and wiped down, I can see the areas that I missed, the areas that have had the black streak remover and the areas yet to be cleaned. Its quite a noticeable difference already.
With the area now clean of black streaks, I move onto the cleaning of the panel using the Mellerud Motorhome & caravan shampoo diluted in a bucket of water. To help with the washing down, I use a bubble mitt that allows me closer contact with the caravan and being a mitt its kinder, softer and more controllable than a long reach brush. The down side to this approach is getting up high on the caravan and the water that runs down my arm. But using the caravan step its quiet easy to reach up high.
Once cleaned down I simply use my trusty spray bottle to wash the panel down again and wipe down using a clean microfiber cloth.
At this stage the caravan back panel is spotless and dry. It is making the rest of the caravan look quite unsightly.
But this isn’t the end of the review, you see Mellerud also produce some products that help in protecting the skin of the caravan especially during the winter months. Motorhome & caravan shield encourages water to bead off the panel, which will reduce the risk of water ingress and hopefully mitigate any damp issues too. The shield contains no carnauba wax, so its perfect for Bailey Alu-tech bodies.
Applying the product initially is an issue to see where I have placed the liquid. But in no time, the Shield dulls down and clouds over – showing clearly where I have wiped over. Once left until it dulls, I wipe over to create the sheen. The panel now looks amazing.
After 15 minutes or so, the Motorhome & Caravan shield starts to repel water and like a big child I simply must see this in action.
The water when sprayed simply runs off the panel. Its just like a wax in the way it works. But oddly, it doesn’t feel like a silicon based product, which is great.
My conclusion. Would I recommend you try Mellerud ? Yup. The black streak remover is incredible. I will be using this one again and again, we have always had an issue with our back panel, and now finally I think I have product that will keep the back nice and clean.
You can buy the product here in the UK from manomano.co.uk and also independent resellers also stock the range too, I will be following this post with a review of some of the other products in the range. In the meantime have a look at the product links below and watch our video review and see the results as I clean the caravan.
⭐ Mellerud Motorhome & caravan Shampoo : http://goo.gl/vrdD6Y
⭐ Mellerud Black Streak Remover : http://goo.gl/jYnCxk
⭐ Mellerud Motorhome & Caravan Shield : http://goo.gl/HbexzZ
