Betty

Wet It and Forget It

Underside of awning. Dirty lines of mildew.

This post is a review of the product “Wet It and Forget It Outdoor.” Nobody is paying me to write this review. And after you read this, you’ll know why.

The awning on our travel trailer gets pretty dirty with mildew. Apparently, this happens on vinyl awnings but not canvas. At least, that is how it looks to us when we walk around campgrounds and look at other campers’ awnings. We’re in misery, and we want some company.

Last year, we read to use the “Magic Eraser Mop” available at Dollar General. However, we went to a couple of Dollar Generals, and the magic mops had all disappeared. We did find them online and thought them pricey at about $23, plus the cost of replacement pads.

So last year, we used Aldi’s version of Mr. Clean eraser sponges. This worked okay, but even Dan, tall as he is, had to use a ladder to reach the underside of the awning, and I had to continually rinse the sponges. This year, once the camping season was underway, the awning was dirty all over again.

Bottle of Wet & Forget Outdoor.

We wanted an easier solution. We found a product online called “Wet It and Forget It Outdoor” the “Ready to Use” version. We happily forked over $34.99 plus tax because the product’s description said all we had to do was to spray it on and wait. The wind and rain would take care of everything else. No scrubbing. Just spray and forget it. We can do that.

I think they are hoping you forget you ever sprayed it on. Because nothing happened. Nothing. Dan followed the directions carefully – meaning you are not supposed to spray it if rain is predicted. He didn’t. In fact, Dan sprayed the awning during our Cuirve River camping trip and then weeks later when we were at Ray Behrens.

We should have remembered that old saying, “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”

So, our recommendation for “Wet It and Forget It Outdoor Ready to Use” is to abide by the second part of its name and “Forget It!”

We did purchase this online from Costco. We rarely return anything to Costco, but in this case, we decided to test their return policy. The “Wet It and Forget It” product we bought was a 2-pack. So, we brought one container which was almost empty plus the second unopened container to our Costco store. We told the service desk attendant we were unhappy as it did nothing after two applications. She happily gave us a credit back on our charge card.

We left Costco happy, and we won’t forget that they honored their return policy even on a product that was used.

We still had an unsightly awning, so it was time to bring out the big guns. I had read on Facebook that some had had success cleaning their awning with Dollar Tree’s “Awesome Cleaner.” So, I got out my Dollar Tree mop and two of my Dollar Tree micro cleaning pads. Dan sprayed the awning with “Awesome”, waited just a bit, and then mopped the awning using the Dollar Tree mop. We used two of the Dollar Tree micro cleaning pads, as I rinsed one while Dan was using the other. Classic married couple’s teamwork.

Here’s the result:

Dan cleaning the awning with a mop.
Dan wore a mask while spraying and cleaning.
Close up of Dan cleaning the awning with a mop.
During
Clean awning.
The End Result!

We’ll see how long it stays so nice and clean and, I just have to say it – “Awesome!”

If you have an awning, how do you keep it clean?

22 comments

    • Thank you. I do appreciate Costco’s customer service. We just hope our awning stays clean for awhile! Thanks for reading and your comment. Enjoy your day!

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  5. Ah yes, the never ending battle of keeping an awning clean. I hope this time is the charm. Sorry the Mr. Clean mop didn’t work out. It never failed for me. I have a canvas awning now so don’t really have to do much. Have a great week.

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  7. Thanks for the tip, Betty! We had our motorhome washed on site at our RV park in Texas the winter before this past one. They did a fantastic job on the awning at the time and I didn’t ask what they used. Our awning is canvas.

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    • Thank you! I just hope it lasts a bit. Plus, we discussed attending to it more frequently, so it’s not such a big job. We like little jobs better.
      🙂 Hope you’re having a great week!

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  9. A little information on the Wet It and Forget It product. It is not a quick clean. We use it on siding and gutters. It cleans it over time and exposure, so it wouldn’t work right away. We literally wet it and forget about it until one day you notice that the area treated with Wet and Forget looks better.

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    • I am sure you are right. The lady at Costco said something to that effect as well. However, we waited a month. Since we saw no change, we were not happy. After all, camping season is only so long! Also, I wonder if the fact that the awning is rolled up much of the time impeded the process. In my humble opinionated opinion, the label should indicate a time frame and also indicate if rolling up the awning is not recommended. I am glad it works for your siding and gutters, but for our camper awning, I am still going to “forget it.” Plus, the Dollar Tree solution really appeals to my inner cheapskate. 🙂

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