Cleaning Your RV with Bar Keepers Friend

July 28, 2021

I don’t own an RV, so what the heck do I know about cleaning an RV? Well, the last week of June, I visited my oldest daughter and her husband. We spent a week at Ocala National Park in their RV. They keep a tight ship, er… I mean RV. It’s spotless and guess what’s under their sink? You got it, BKF Powder cleanser.

While I don’t personally own an RV, I’ve learned a thing or two about what’s needed to keep one in tip-top shape. Here’s a great rundown:

Cleaning Your RV with Bar Keepers Friend

There are multiple ways and places to use Bar Keepers Friend in your RV. Just like in your home, you can use BKF products in your kitchen, bathroom, and more. It’s excellent on your outdoor grill and works on your pots and pans too. However, the biggest job of all for RV-ers is cleaning the exterior.

RVs experience the dirt and grime every vehicle encounters on the road and are not always parked in the cleanest spots. Don’t get me wrong, the campgrounds I’ve seen are well kept and pristine, but they can be covered with dust or mud, birds, and bugs, and, well, you know – the outdoors.

How to Clean the Exterior of your RV with BKF

We recommended the following for fiberglass RV exteriors. Many owners of painted metal RVs also use this method, but before attempting this on a painted metal surface, test it on an out-of-the-way spot to ascertain the procedure does not dull the surface.

What You’ll need

• BKF Powder
• Water hose
• Bucket
• Soft scrubbing sponge
• Soft brush

Step By Step

1. Hose down the area you want to clean
2. Put 5 or 6 inches of water in the bucket
3. Dip the sponge and brush in the bucket
4. Sprinkle BKF on the sponge and brush
5. Softly scrub the area to be cleaned using a circular motion
6. Only clean one small place at a time. The BKF should not be on the surface for more than one minute.
7. Use the brush to reach hard to get to areas
8. Rinse and repeat as needed

Don’t just take our word for it. Here’s what a few owners of RVs had to say on Recreational Vehicle forums

“Anyone use Bar Keepers Friend on your fiberglass? If so, were you glad or sad?”

“Love the stuff…It works awesome! Works great on stainless steel kitchen sinks also.”

“Bar Keepers Friend works very well to remove rust stains from fiberglass.” – Fiberglass RV Forum. 

“We just finished doing Old Stinky with BKF, and it did a great job on the fiberglass, removing all dirt and stains and leaving it ready for the ZEP.” — Ultra RV Forum  

“I had read a number of posts here on using Bar Keepers Friend to get the oxidization off an older RV.

I bought some last year but never used it. Tonight, I did. Wow, does it ever work. Some elbow grease is needed, but not too much. And surprisingly, very little needed to clean a 27-foot – RV.” — RV Net Forum 

If you like to watch how it’s done, this video walks you through the steps. Cleaning RV paint and making it shine 

Cleaning Your RV with Bar Keepers Friend and More

The weekend I spent with my daughter and her husband at the national park in their RV was a learning experience. I saw how much it takes to properly maintain and then set up your RV, and I saw how much not only my daughter and her husband cared about keeping their RV spotless, but nearly all the campers around us did the same.

About the Author

Randy Clark is a speaker, coach, and author. He publishes a weekly blog at Randy Clark Leadership.com. Randy is passionate about social media, leadership development, and flower gardening. He’s a beer geek, and on weekends (after COVID-19), he can be found fronting the Rock & Roll band Under the Radar. He’s the proud father of two educators; he has four amazing grandchildren and a wife who dedicates her time to helping others. Randy is the author of the Amazon bestseller The New Manager’s Workbook, a crash course in effective management.