How to Remove Stains from RV Ceiling Fabric

“Fabric on an RV Ceiling. REALLY?” I had honestly never heard of such a thing until we purchased our 2^nd RV, a Motor Home, with a Fabric Ceiling! I had a hard-enough time trying to keep carpet clean on the floors so the idea of trying to clean a fabric ceiling didn’t have me thrilled to say the least! However, replacing it would take much more time than we had to complete this Motor Home Remodel/Renovation, so we had to at least try to clean it first. ~ Angie~  So, this is Mark’s version of How to Remove Stains from RV Ceiling Fabric.

An Old Camper Saying

First and foremost, there’s an old camper saying, “There are 2 kinds of campers, those that have leaked and those that will.”

Even with the best of maintenance you can still get a small leak.

The Stains

Sometimes you don’t notice a water leak until you see a stain ring on the edge of your ceiling. The fabric ceilings, when they get moisture, pull the coloring from the wood backing to the fabric and leave water rings. Also, with condensation, you may get a 6-12” ring on the edge between the wall and ceiling.

Keep in mind the level of dirt and damage to the wood, will determine how clean you can get the fabric.

The ceiling fabric is normally a nylon weave so you can’t use a hard bristle brush on it or you will damage the weave.

What I Did

First, I went and pre-treated the heavy water stains from leaking with Unique Complete. You just spray it on and let it soak and dry.

Next, I came back with a Hoover Power Scrub Upholstery Cleaning Machine (this is optional, but we had it and it worked for us). I also used Oxiclean White Revive. Having a spray bottle helps for some of the areas of your spray nozzle on the vacuum doesn’t angle the appropriate way you need it to with your ceiling.

Important to Note

On the edges, I went with a heavy soaking to pull out any discoloration. When I got away from the stains, I went lighter on the saturation. But keep in mind you have to draw the moisture back out and not allow it to dry naturally or else the moisture will draw the dye in the wood back out again.

Overall, I had to clean the whole roof to where when it dried it was a consistent color.

Our Before and After

The ceiling looks tremendously better now. The first photo is the BEFORE and the second photo is the AFTER…

By the way, I did remind my wife, Angie, that there is a pattern in the ceiling fabric. She saw some “color” in the photos and forgot that it does indeed have a pattern. No more stains. The AFTER photos are also after we painted and remodeled so that’s why the shower frame and wood look different and are a different color!

BEFORE 

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

Another Important Thing to Consider

This is a good time to remove the lower vent covers that have yellowed and discolored through the years. For under $13.00 a vent, you can put new ones in and get a much better upgraded appearance for your interior RV ceiling!

Conclusion of How to Remove Stains from RV Ceiling Fabric

We hope this “How to Remove Stains from RV Ceiling Fabric” article helps you get those nasty water stains off your RV ceiling! After you complete your project, we would love to see your “Before” and “After” photos! GO to the SOWLERV.com Contact Us page and share them with us!