Canvas Awning Advice Needed

Terry Campbell

Terry Campbell

Member
The two new shopping cneters I started cleaning this week have Canvas Awnings in them or atleast they look like canvas, Dark Maroon in color and today while I was in cleaning I seen where the Bird dropping are piling up on a couple of them. I know they are going to want me to clean them here soon and wanted to know from you that do awnings what type of cleaner and if you use a brush or something softer so not to damage them and leave marks. These are only about a month old awnings and are getting real dirty from all the construction on this center. Adivice needed on cleaning them up....Thanks..
 
Terry, I nomally just use a mild housewash mix on the awnings I've done. The sh in the mix disolves the bird doo very quickly. Ds and a lite rinse and you will be fine. You can do a test spot if you want but I've never seen it bleach out the awnings . Hope this helps! :)
 
Yea I have never washed any before and did not want to make a big mess LOL and I'm sure they are not cheap to replace so I wanted to get advise from you guys that have washed them before. They sent me master keys for the whole center today so I know they are going to want me to wash them awnings here soon too along with the windows. Thanks larry for the reply..OH what do you charge for doing awnings? they are about 15 ft x maybe 4 ft in size.
 
Keeping in mind that I live in the land of the cheap I would probably be around $20.00-$30.00 each depending on how bad they are. If some are not as bad go more towards the $20.00. Doing so always builds a level of trust that they have in you and therefore will probably want to continue using you rather than thinking they may get ripped off by another contractor. Pricing may be higher where you are so it's tough for me to give you a definate on that subject.
 
$20 should be fine they are brand new and mostly dirty from construction dirt and two of them have bird dropings on them not real bad yet. I should make out just fine at that price, You don't brush them or anything just a good rinse? whice would be better for them anyways.
 
TLC Sweeping & Maint said:
$20 should be fine they are brand new and mostly dirty from construction dirt and two of them have bird dropings on them not real bad yet. I should make out just fine at that price, You don't brush them or anything just a good rinse? whice would be better for them anyways.
Click to expand...

Ones I've done were not real nasty so Inever bothered to brush. Rinsing them has always seemed to do the trick for me. I've always been a little leary of leaving brush marks. :eek:
 
TLC Sweeping & Maint said:
The two new shopping cneters I started cleaning this week have Canvas Awnings in them or atleast they look like canvas, Dark Maroon in color and today while I was in cleaning I seen where the Bird dropping are piling up on a couple of them. I know they are going to want me to clean them here soon and wanted to know from you that do awnings what type of cleaner and if you use a brush or something softer so not to damage them and leave marks. These are only about a month old awnings and are getting real dirty from all the construction on this center. Adivice needed on cleaning them up....Thanks..
Click to expand...

what are there demensions?
 
Hello Terry,

I think we are the folks that DJ mentioned. If the awnings that you are referring to are an open weave (canvas type), we call that a fabric awning. You are on the right track with your cleaning ideas.

I would suggest a small gpm pressure washer (about 2 gpm) in addition to low psi (about 500). Be very careful around the seams as they are the weak point of the awning. Use a very mild cleaning solution. If you do a search for awning cleaning you will find there are several companies that manufacture specialty cleaners just for awnings, which is what we use.

When fabric awnings are new they have a highly repellant finish and will cleanup very easily. Generally we find that those that clean awnings do not take the time to do a thorough job of cleaning and consequently do not charge enough for their work.

I hope this helps. If you have other questions, give me a call.

Bob
 
Larry Millette said:
Ones I've done were not real nasty so Inever bothered to brush. Rinsing them has always seemed to do the trick for me. I've always been a little leary of leaving brush marks. :eek:
Click to expand...

Brushes do not work very well on awnings. They will leave brush marks. You can use sponge mops that do a good job. I like the ones that have the wringers on them. Too strong a cleaner can make some awnings bleed color. Go weak on the SH and soap mix, use low pressure and rinse well.
 
Thanks Bob, I will give you a call when I get time here and ask you a about a few things things before I do it and they are new and they are fabric this I know LOL not much else I know about washing them and Thanks to all that have responded to my post it helps getting advice from other who have cleaned them before. OH and DJ I see you use Weather Underground too :D I use it here to check temps all over town to see if it will be warm enough for me to wash.
 
I use it here BIG time in the winter, they have weather stations all over town so I can see what temps are ranging and if it is going to drop below 32f or if it's already at that temp and no need to go out and FREEZE :D Great Site.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top