Champion RV window cleaner gets Bugs Off in the first round

Need a bug collection for the front of your RV? Love bugs are abundant in south Texas in April as evidenced by my motorhome windshield. These creatures are greasy and very difficult to remove especially after they’ve baked in the sun and welded themselves to the glass. You almost need a sand blaster to get these things off. Fortunately there is a great product that does the job the first time. The product is called “Bugs r' Off” and is sold by a company supplying a wonderful line of RV products. The company is Coil n’ Wrap and you may purchase Bugs r' Off online by clicking here: Coil n’ Wrap. I put this product to the challenge by cleaning the driver side window with regular blue window cleaner and the passenger side with Bugs r' Off. I can tell you without hesitation that Bugs r' Off is up to the task of removing these tough to clean bugs. The blue window cleaner left streaks and basically smeared the greasy bug mess making it worse. The hands down champion of this contest is Bugs r' Off. The product is shipped with a full spray bottle ready to use and a bottle of concentrate that will fill four more bottles. It will not remove wax finishes, leaves no soap residue and can be used on glass, chrome, fiberglass, leather, woodwork, counters and tires. I carry an extra bottle in my towed vehicle because there is nothing worse than touring a special place with a dirty windshield. I can see clearly now the bugs are gone - Jim Twamley, Professor of RVing

Be Aggressive With Condensation in Your RV

Dealing with condensation is a fact of RV life. Moisture is the RV’s worst enemy so you need to be aggressive in preventing it from causing damage. Most often condensation will form on the windows of your RV during the night when you are asleep. As you breathe, your body exhales moisture into the air. When it’s cold outside RVers tend to close all the windows and vents trapping moisture vapor inside the RV. The airborne moisture finds its way to the windows and forms a condensation of water droplets. Our motorhome has dual pane windows everywhere except the windshield. No condensation forms on the dual pane windows but collects on the windshield instead. If you allow the condensation to remain on the window it will run down and pool on your dash. I normally use a towel to remove this excess moisture. I prefer micro-fiber towels because they have superior absorbent qualities. Simply run the towel across the glass and you’re done. The best thing about these towels is they don’t leave streaks. Micro-fiber towels are great for RVs and can be purchased at hardware stores, RV parts stores, and warehouse stores like Costco. I buy mine at Costco because they have high quality towels at a great price. Don’t forget that venting your RV helps remove excess moisture, especially when cooking and showering. I really appreciate the fantastic vents we’ve had in our RVs over the years. They quickly remove odors and moisture from your RV. When you store your RV over the winter it’s a good idea to use a dehumidifier (see my article, “Dry Air Makes a Happy RV”). Clearing the air on condensation - Jim Twamley, Professor of RVing

Microwave Lemon Magic in Your RV

Do you have “splatter matter” in your RV microwave? Crud build-up can be tough to remove especially if you’ve “cooked it” into your microwave/convection oven. The Professor found this tip at wikiHow to pass on to you. Cut a lemon in half. Squeeze the juice into a microwave safe container along with one cup of water. Put it in the microwave and cook it on max power for 10 minutes. Allow the steam to fill the microwave and enjoy the fresh lemon aroma while it cooks. Carefully open the door being careful not to burn yourself with the steam and remove the hot container (I recommend using a hot pad or oven mitt). I know this sounds elementary, but some bonehead may just reach in, take it out, burn themselves then complain about it or blame me for not giving them complete directions. Wipe down the inside microwave surfaces with a wet towel or sponge. Easy! To prevent small food explosions from splattering in your microwave keep your food covered or use a splatter guard like this.Helping citrus farmers stay gainfully employed - Jim Twamley, Professor of RVing

Pick Your Paper for the RV

RVers are huge consumers of paper products. In our coach we have over 15 kinds of paper that include toilet paper, boxes of tissue paper, wrapping paper, paper plates, boxes, paper bowls, paper towels, napkins, photo paper, printing paper, wax paper, stationary, scratch paper, news paper and paper bags. Face it, paper is here to stay and we are doing our part to help out the logging industry. But, you ask, do you really need that much paper? No, we don’t, but it makes RVing so much easier when we use disposable paper products. They decompose quickly in a landfill and are a major convenience. I would like to point out that the Professor has been using more paper towels than napkins as of late. They accomplish the same thing and are so much easier to grab off the roll than reaching up in the cupboard for the napkin basket. So, theoretically anyway, you could dispense with the napkins and rely on the roll instead. Helping to keep you on a roll - Jim Twamley, Professor of RVing, Dr. of RVology and ROAD Scholar

RV Fan Takes A Bath

RVers love powered vents because they quickly eliminate odors, vent out hot air and remove moist air from the shower area. Unfortunately, they haven't invented a self cleaning vent as of yet, so we have to resort to the old fashioned bath. First you turn off the fan, break out your cordless drill and remove the dirty screen. Just take out the screws and place them in a cup or somewhere where they will not fall into the toilet or down the sink drain. Next fill up the sink with soapy water and immerse the screen. Use a soft brush to scrub off the lent and grime, rinse and set aside to dry. Use a wet paper towel to clean off the fan blades and reinstall the dry screen. I did two fans in about 10 minutes. The cordless electric drill really makes the job fast. Jim Twamley

Really, I Don’t Work For WalMart !

I spend so much time and money at WalMart that people sometimes ask me for assistance. I must look like a manager or something, perhaps it’s the red vest I wear. The point of this story is that I found two more new products that WalMart is selling in the RV section. A telescoping window washer and a telescoping soft brush. The window washer ($10.00) has a nice locking handle that allows you to extend and lock with one twist. It's long enough to do any large rig and has a nice squeegee to boot. The brush ($20.00) is angled and has soft bristles that are easy on that fancy full-body paint job. The brush also has a squeegee on the back. You can also attach the hose so you can have water running down your elbows onto your shirt and into your pants. Who said you can’t have fun while you're working? "Excuse me sir, where do you keep the RV supplies?" "Really, I don't work here, but they're back in the automotive department." Jim

Vinegar: Great On Salad, Hard On Minerals

Our kitchen faucet is one of those combo faucets that is both a regular flow and a sprayer on an extension that pulls out so you can get everything wet within six feet of the sink. When we purchased our coach the sprayer had only about seven working squirt holes (sprayers) due to mineralization. To solve this problem I simply soaked the faucet/sprayer in a cup of vinegar overnight. Do the same with your bathroom faucet screen (you’ll have to unscrew the retaining tip to get the bathroom faucet screen out). Vinegar dissolved the mineral build-up on my kitchen faucet and now it works like new. Vinegar is also a great solution to use for general purpose cleaning. You can clean just about anything with vinegar reducing the amount of cleaning supplies you need to carry in your RV. Just put about 1/8th portion of vinegar to water in a spray bottle and use it like you would Windex on windows, Spic-n-Span on bathrooms and floors or for brushing your teeth (just kidding about that, but hey, if you have a mineral build-up in there…) I hear that vinegar makes a good salad dressing too. If you have more ideas on how to use vinegar, let us know in the “comment” section below. Jim

Finding Cleaning Tips At The RV Detail Shop

I asked Joe MacIntosh at the RV detail shop if they had any secret weapons in detailing RVs and he demonstrated a product called “Power House.” Zep Power House heavy duty cleaner and wax stripper removes the grime off of vinyl surfaces like a charm. Just spray it on and let it set for about a minute.This product is non-abrasive and can be used on a variety of surfaces. After a minute you just wipe it off.It works great on most RV exterior surfaces, however it is not recommended for full-body paint, and you should test it on painted surfaces before using it. Power House comes in 24 oz. aerosol cans. Some RV parts stores carry it. Power House