Pressure washing is an effective way of washing away grime, grease, and stubborn stains from an RV. When it comes to cleaning the surface of your recreational vehicle, you must remember to employ an electric pressure washer for an RV that utilizes 1,100 to 1,300 PSI pressure. This is ideal for the RV and won’t cause any damage to the body of the RV.
To clean an RV, you must dissolve a mild detergent or soap in water and then spray this solution from the spray nozzle to clean the surface, as plain water may not be adequate to remove tough stains.
Plenty of cleaning agents are available, but to decide which one works best for your RV, here is an ultimate guide.
What Soap Can You Use in Your Pressure Washer for RV?
Using mild detergents and soaps in your pressure washer is highly recommended to remove tough stains, but experts recommend diluting the soap in warm water instead of directly using it. Doing this would ensure that the soap particles don’t clog the nozzle of your pressure washer.
You can also mix dish soap in hot water to form a soapy solution and spray it with the nozzle on your RV’s body. However, some experts feel that dish soap might not be as effective as certain commercial detergents and soaps that are specifically designed for use with pressure washer systems.
However, when you are in the middle of a cleaning session, and you run out of a commercial detergent suddenly, doing the rest of the job with dish soap is the best replacement that could come in handy.
You could take 1 tablespoon of liquid dish soap and then dilute it with 1-1.5 quarts of warm water. Once there are no lumps and you achieve a homogenous solution, then dissolve it in a large volume of water and spray it from the nozzle directly on the RV in a swirling motion from top to bottom.
What Kind of Pressure Washer Detergent is Recommended for RVs?
The type of detergent you use in a pressure washer largely depends on the type of surface and type of dirt you need to clean. The detergent used for cleaning a concrete surface will obviously differ from the one you need to clean a boat’s surface. Therefore, there are specific commercial detergents for each type of surface. Let’s see which is best suited to clean an RV’s surface.
Karcher pressure washer detergent – Karcher offers a range of detergents that are the best in quality and are affordable. The detergents are tailored to suit the user’s needs. The Karcher detergents are absolutely biodegradable and made for the environmentally conscious.
This pressure washer detergent is specifically designed for cleaning all sorts of vehicle exterior surfaces. It doesn’t spoil the surface paint and also comes with a car washing foam and wax. The wax could be employed later to restore the shine on the surface of your vehicle and make it appear brand-new.
DIY Soap: For Cleaning RVs And Cars
Here’s the trick to make your cleaning agent.
- Take 12 tablespoons of laundry detergent in a liter of hot water and stir effectively to avoid the formation of lumps.
- Then, dissolve one-third of the phosphate in the above solution.
- Keep stirring continuously to avoid the formation of lumps or studs.
- Finally, when you get a homogenous solution, it indicates that your mixture is all ready to clean your RV.
Difference Between Soap and Detergent
Although these terms are often used synonymously, the major difference between both is that a block of soap is made out of organic material like plant and animal extracts. So, they react with minerals in water and form residue. If you look at the chemical composition of soaps, you would see that they contain Sodium Hydroxide, Sodium Metasilicate, Sodium Hypochlorite, or Sodium Tripolyphosphate
However, the detergents, on the other hand, are made of synthetic materials and do not react with water or leave residue. Detergents comprise Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Alcohol ethoxylates, or Alkylbenzene sulfonates.
Using Vinegar and Bleach in Pressure Washing
Although bleach is an effective cleaning agent, it causes damage to the O-rings, hoses, and wands of your pressure washer and must be used cautiously.
Vinegar is also useful as a cleaning agent, but it must be diluted first to reduce its acidity. Otherwise, it would erode the hose and nozzle of the pressure washer.
Final Thoughts
You can now understand which type of detergent you should use with the pressure washer for cleaning your RV. You can use dish soap, but there are plenty of commercial detergents available to do the job easily.
Detergents are often effective in cleaning tough stains. These detergents are also curated specially so as not to harm the vehicle’s paint. However, feel free to employ the dish soap when you have run out of detergent, as it will do the job for you.
We have also suggested making your DIY solution for cleaning your recreational vehicle with a pressure washer device.