Your RV Floors Will Stay So Clean With These Easy Tips
So, you're about to hit the road to travel around the U.S. in your RV exploring a few bucket-list national parks and some of the most breathtaking places to camp in the country. It's a once-in-a-lifetime trip. However, when you spend a long time in an RV, it's going to get dirty. Because an RV is such a small space, a little bit of grime can make the whole vehicle feel unclean and cluttered. To avoid this, it is important to regularly sweep, mop, and vacuum your RV. However, as you probably don't want to spend every day of your ultimate road trip cleaning, it is only natural to want to extend the time between each deep clean as much as possible. One easy way to do this is by using mats and outdoor rugs to your advantage.
Specifically, placing one mat or rug at the doorway outside your RV and one at the entrance inside your vehicle is a great way to trap dirt, mud, and sand before it gets inside. Then, at the end of the day, simply grab your mats and shake them out to remove any remaining dirt and dust. If you are camping in an especially dirty area, you can even consider lining your entire vehicle with easy-to-clean rugs. This is especially useful to help protect against sand and gravel particles which can scratch and damage vinyl flooring.
Other ways to keep your RV floors clean
Even if you place one doormat outside and one inside the entrance of your RV, if you and your family wear shoes inside the vehicle it will still get dirty. To prevent this, you can create a special container for dirty shoes and require everyone to remove their shoes as they enter. This will prevent anyone from tracking dirt inside. An even better idea would be to create an outdoor shoe storage space and have everyone remove their shoes outside before entering. If you go with this method, you may want to provide slippers or flip-flops to wear while indoors to make sure everyone is comfortable.
If you are camping somewhere where swimming is involved, you can keep a bucket of water and a washcloth outside the front door and require all campers to rinse their feet and legs before entering. It's also a good idea to hang any wet or sandy towels and bathing suits on an outdoor clothesline. If you and the family will be spending time in the sand, you can always try using baby powder to prevent sand from sticking to your skin. This way you can easily brush any sand away and avoid bringing it back home with you.
What about pets?
While keeping an RV clean on a long road trip is hard no matter what, the task can get slightly more complicated when you're bringing pets along for the ride. The reason for this is that pets tend to shed and can also track in a lot of dirt. While the double-mat method is still important for protecting your RV against pet grime, you will want to take a few extra steps to keep your vehicle clean when camping with indoor-outdoor animals.
Firstly, you will likely need to keep some spare towels near the door to wipe off your pet's paws after they've been outside to prevent them from tracking in mud. You will also need to brush and groom your pet regularly (preferably while outside) to prevent any extra hair from ending up inside the vehicle. Bringing a mattress cover and removable furniture covers is a good way to help protect RV interiors from fur, mud, or other damage. Furthermore, if your pet gets wet, it's best to let him or her dry completely before entering the RV because dirt is easier to clean up than mud.