Patio awnings are a great way to make instant shade, and they are easy to use, but there are a few tips that will keep you from prematurely destroying your awning.
First, never leave your awning out at night or when you are going to be away from the RV. While awnings provide excellent shade, they also are the perfect sail. One strong gust of wind and your awning will fly away, ripping the awning, damaging the hardware, or damaging the RV itself by pulling the mounts out of the side wall of the RV.
Second, you don't want to roll your awning up wet; you want to let it completely dry first. If you must roll it up wet, you will want to open it up and let it dry out entirely on the first sunny day. If it has been put away wet and you notice that you have some mildew forming on the fabric. You can take a 50/50% hydrogen peroxide mixed with water and spray it on the fabric, letting it set for a few minutes, then take a soft bristle brush, agitate the solution, and rinse.
Once again, let the fabric thoroughly dry before rolling it up. Also, you will want to test the solution on a corner of your awning before applying it to see if it will change the fabric's color.
Follow these simple tips, and you will enjoy sitting in the shade of your awning for many years. If you need a new vinyl fabric, we have several options at a reasonable price, and we can have the new fabric installed in a few days. Give us a call today.
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