Cleaning caravan

Use the hose to wet the van and then, using Autoglymn Caravan and Motorhome Cleaner, followed by a good rinse, we use this set up, making sure that the ladder is safe and secure to avoid accidents.

 Hi JillwithaJay, thank you for your advice.  How does your partner secure his ladder on the caravan. 👍

Does the awning rail not squash in with the weight of the person on the ladder

One useful tip is the wrap a bit of old carpet around the top of the ladder  which prevents any scratches. Unless you have the ladder at a very shallow angle, the load on the awning rail isn't too great. It's amazing how much muck accumulates on the roof.

I normally stand at the bottom of the ladder and keep it secure and we've never had an issue with the awning rail.

"It's amazing how much muck accumulates on the roof."

Until recently, Cy, I would have agreed with you.  Our previous Barcelona used to get filthy over the winter - especially with green mould underneath the edges of the roof lights and around the solar panel.

I cleaned the roof of our Knaus for the first time after 16 months, the other day, and there was hardly any dirt on it at all.  It's stored on the drive in exactly the same place as the last one and I couldn't believe the difference. I don't know if it has anything to do with it being a one piece GRP roof, or what - but the difference was remarkable.

I bought a ladder for decorating the stairwell of our French hovel about3 years ago. It has 3 sections, 1 of which can be folded to form a step ladder base, whilst the 3rd section extends beyond the vertical line to give a safe extra reach. I used this set up to clean the caravan roof because I can set the ladder parallel to the van,so no contact and minimal leaning across if using an extending brush. 2 or 3 'shuffles' along the van gives ample space to clean around roof vents etc at close quarters, reducing the level of pressure to be applied, and, in turn, reducing the chance of the ladder tipping or tilting.

By extending the brush poles, it's possible to dunk the brush head in the soap bucket without to descend too far down the ladder, whilst avoiding the risk of trying to haul a bucket up when refills are needed.

Mrs March still stands at the foot of the ladder, and usually passes the time by checking the insurance cover and confirming that the premiums are paid to date, but she is a careful and canny Scot ... [is there any other sort?] ...

Steve

Using a ladder with bucket of soapy water below, I use a Mop. It adds that bit of friction/heaviness when wet that is needed to remove a winters grime, then the same with a bucket of mixed 'Bobby Dazzler' to finish it off.

As far as I’m concerned ladders and steps are for access only. It’s hard to maintain three point of contact when washing a caravan/ Motorhome roof.

So I purchased a small portable scaffolding platform. It gives me a safe steady platform to work from when I clean the caravan roof. Takes a few minutes to erect and dismantle and stores away in quite compactly. 

No wobbly moments when using. No leaning against my pristine caravan sides, less chance of it slipping and me ending on the floor waiting for something to follow me down to land on me. And with a nice size platform to work from, less strain on the feet and more reach and less getting down to move a few feet. 

Thank you for sharing your views. They have all been very helpful. Think i will gor for the mop idea. Happy caravanning (when we can).