cleaning interior

[tinsltootsie]

It looks like we will be finishing up the plumbing and hopefully other things will go fairly well. If not, I guess for now we can use coolers and outside grills. But I was wondering if anyone had any good ideas for cleaning the plastic and special coating .....also since we will not replace carpeting and cushions yet, how do you get the (smell) out????? I plan to clean well with a carpet cleaner, but i'm not sure if regualr cleaner will do it. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks
Debbie

[InsideOut]

I was wondering if anyone had any good ideas for cleaning the plastic and special coating

What year is your trailer? The materials vary from year to year...so the cleaning process may be different.

The only sure way to get rid of the smell is to replace the foam, upholstery & carpet and any 'bad wood' underneath.

Shari

[MW64OVERLANDER]

I agree with Shari, the more soft goods you can replace, the better the "trailer smell" will become. I would add this however, after replacing all foam, curtains, upholstery and flooring, we still had a slight odor. I purchased an ozone generator and used that in the trailer on a high setting for two days. It was amazing what a difference it made. The lingering odor disappeared and was replaced with a slight smell of bleach. An occasional touchup with ozone generator keeps the dreaded "trailer smell" from returning.

[gotair]

whats an ozone generator

[MW64OVERLANDER]

Check this web address, it will answer all your questions.
www.air-zone.com

[maxandgeorgia]

I'm curious about this air cleaner. Not only does our trailer have an "old" smell, not bad, just something I notice, but I often find a stale smell coming upstairs from our large furnished walkout basement area. If you do not mind sharing the information, which size do you have? How do you use it, in the house and in the trailer? Thanks if you can tell a little more about it.

[71_safari]

I have asthma and am very sensitive to ozone in any quantity, whether from vehicle smog or ozone generators. Ozone is damaging to the lungs in small quantities, and I for one would not have an ozone generator anywhere near me. Because there are many misleading claims about them, I would suggest you check out the info at the US EPA website before purchasing one.

www.epa.gov/iaq/pubs/ozonegen.html

You'll have to cut and paste that as I forgot how to make it a link.

john

[tinsltootsie]

I have a 1974 overlander. I do plan to replace all soft goods as soon as possible, but with limited time and good vacation time looming, it may have to wait until fall, or next spring/summer. I am thinking of using my handy dandy carpet cleaner on all carpet and cushions, and adding a touch of bleach..... Any thoughts on this??? I know a little bleach on the curtains didn't bother the fabric, and aided cleaning as well as conquered that odor. The water odor problems are minimal as the only leaks were those due to breaks in water pipes. Those are being dealt with as well as wood which was saturated.

[AYRSTRM2]

My wife was leery of being too harsh on the factory curtains that came with ours. The cushions had the original fabric, too, which we had to jetison after we discovered gnawed areas underneath. She used Woolite on all of the fabrics and they turned out looking sparkling clean and smelling fresh.

John

[tinsltootsie]

The curtains seem okay. I used woolite on some, then switched to regular detergent with no known problems....i'm hoping they hang well. I ironed and pleated today, but it is possible that there was some shrinkage. Maybe I will try taking the covers off to wash carefully. Those i am a little more leery of. We seem to be lucky so far with critters and such, but, while things have been gone over fairly well, I will find our more with the final cleaning. I order a new door seal which i hope continues to keep us "critter free".

Originally Posted by AYRSTRM2

My wife was leery of being too harsh on the factory curtains that came with ours. The cushions had the original fabric, too, which we had to jetison after we discovered gnawed areas underneath. She used Woolite on all of the fabrics and they turned out looking sparkling clean and smelling fresh.

John

[Penguin]

I put the "soft goods" outside to air several times after we got our Trade Wind. We are very lucky because our rig doesn't have the musty smell, but I am always a proponent of sunshine and fresh air.

A couple of weeks ago, I read on one of the posts that replacing the screening helped with smells! Guess screens would catch lots of stuff that could generate a smell.

Connie

[InsideOut]

Maybe I will try taking the covers off to wash carefully. Those i am a little more leery of.

Check this out before you wash your upholstery...

Cushions & Fabric

Shari

[silver suz]

The commercial type of ozone generators create lots of ozone for a short time, which reacts with the odors. Then are taken out and the house is aired. These kind of machines are used after fires, mold etc. You might want to try a corona discharge machine rather than and ozone machine. suz

[tinsltootsie]

What? A corona discharge machine? Does it come from Mexico and in a bottle? I guess a few of them would help. Sorry to be flip, but i don't know what you mean. Could you explain?

Originally Posted by silver suz

The commercial type of ozone generators create lots of ozone for a short time, which reacts with the odors. Then are taken out and the house is aired. These kind of machines are used after fires, mold etc. You might want to try a corona discharge machine rather than and ozone machine. suz

[tinsltootsie]

I loved your pictures and decorating scheme. I am looking forward to getting to that point sometime. Thanks for your info.

Originally Posted by Penguin

I put the "soft goods" outside to air several times after we got our Trade Wind. We are very lucky because our rig doesn't have the musty smell, but I am always a proponent of sunshine and fresh air.

A couple of weeks ago, I read on one of the posts that replacing the screening helped with smells! Guess screens would catch lots of stuff that could generate a smell.

Connie

[tinsltootsie]

Oops! I think I meant your pictures, which were great! I guess I will just use the rinse and vac on them, instead of trying the washer on delicate. At least then, I can hopefully use them as a pattern when sewing new covers. Thanks. That is something you can't undo.

Originally Posted by InsideOut

Check this out before you wash your upholstery...

Cushions & Fabric

Shari

[silver suz]

Debbie the newest Gaiam Lifestyle magazine has an article on air and pp104 explains the difference among all the indoor air cleaners suz

[tinsltootsie]

Thanks, but i don't subscribe to that magazine. Is it available on line?

Originally Posted by silver suz

Debbie the newest Gaiam Lifestyle magazine has an article on air and pp104 explains the difference among all the indoor air cleaners suz

[silver suz]

Sorry I've been gone a couple of weeks. Maybe you could look up www.gaiam.com. silver suz