Sticky Ensolite: Yet Another Technique
I have been trying different things to clean the sticky and dirty Ensolite in our trailer. Nothing was working. Frustrated, I did an internet search on cleaning vinyl, since the dimpled surface of the trailer's Ensolite is vinyl, or so I believe. I found nothing helpful, but a comment made on one of the sites gave me an AHA moment.
The suggestion was to use WD40 on a sticky vinyl chair, to "loosen" the oil on the chair, so that it could be cleaned. This reminded me that I used a mixture to remove the label glue from a jar. I wondered if it would work on the Ensolite.
two parts oil
one part baking soda
The baking soda does not remain suspended in the oil for very long, so it needed to be mixed for each application. I used canola oil.
I tested a small area, about 6 inches by 6 inches, the example in my images are of the ceiling near the fan, I tried the same procedure on various areas on the ceiling and wall.
I began with a bucket of warm water and Dawn detergent, a kitchen brush, an old dishcloth, a cup containing the oil and baking soda, and a spoon to stir the mixture each time I wanted to apply it.
The dishcloth was wrung out after being dipped into the warm soapy water, a corner of the dishcloth was dipped into the oil/baking soda, and this was used to vigorously rub the area I intended to clean. After applying the mixture, I waited about ten minutes, then used the kitchen brush to brush the area for about a minute, with moderate force. Finally, the dishcloth was rinsed in the soapy water and used to wipe down the area. After letting it dry, I could detect no stickiness. I intend to clean the entire interior Ensolite in this way, doing a little bit at a time, when I feel like it.
The area by the ceiling vent was very sticky, and the black mark to the left in the photo would not wash off with a brush and soapy water. The black around the edge of the ceiling vent is mould I believe. It all came off.
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Previous owner of 1970s Airstream Argosy
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