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Old 10-05-2014, 02:26 PM   #1
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Share your favorite OCD cleaning tips and items.

Ok, I admit it, I’m a little OCD about keeping Sherman clean. So what are your favorite items and tips for keeping your SMB clean? Some of mine.

On the Road:

1. Short Plastic Handle Utility Brush - This is my most used cleaning item. I carry it in Sherman and use it to brush out/off so many things. Seats, matts, floor, bins, shoes, clothes, etc. I keep it in the passenger door. Dip it in water to scrub something, use it to sweep out Sherman. I keep one of these in every vehicle I own.

2. Mechanix Wear MG-55-009 Original Glove - great gloves. Keep em next to the brush.

3. Towel - Have a “car” towel (means OLD) in every vehicle also. According to Douglas Adams you should never travel without one.

4. Zwipes Microfiber Cleaning Cloths - These make great cleaning rags. Get them damp to wipe down interior surfaces. Use them to wipe the moisture off windows in the morning. Store one at the base of interior windows to soak up rain if I forget to close it.

5. Latex gloves - these work good for medical emergencies, but more often used when doing nasty stuff that I don’t want to use my Mechanix gloves on. (brake jobs come to mind)

6. EVERYTHING has a place...so clean it and return it there after you're done with it.

Back at home:

1. California Car Duster - Don’t carry this with (might get the small one to carry), but this works great to take a light amount of dust off and make him shine.

2. Bissell Cleanview Deluxe Corded Handheld Vacuum - Don’t carry this with either, but use it after a trip to vacuum up. Comes with a rubber head that works good to get dog hair off the seats too.

3. 80% Water - 20% Vinegar = Spray Bottle - Use this solution right after I wash Sherman (we have very hard water here). While he’s still wet, spray this on and dry him off, no water spots. Also works great if he’s just a little dusty and instead of a complete wash spray a little on and towel it off, looks just like you washed it. Works to clean windows too.

4. Power spray washer - Self explanatory. Also found a manual spray wash near my house. Use it to wash off road salt and large amounts of mud.

5. Fluid Film & Sprayer - use this once a year to coat the bottom of Sherman. Hooked up to my air compressor I use the sprayer and coat the under carriage. I also put some in a spray bottom for spot treatments to help keep bolts from rusting or keep something lubed.

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Old 10-05-2014, 02:38 PM   #2
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Re: Share your favorite OCD cleaning tips and items.

hey Heywood this is for your and Jon


LMAO
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Old 10-05-2014, 02:40 PM   #3
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Re: Share your favorite OCD cleaning tips and items.

horse hair brush and Clorox wipes for most and pledge wipes on the penthouse windows.
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Old 10-05-2014, 03:26 PM   #4
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Re: Share your favorite OCD cleaning tips and items.

I wash all of my vehicles at the same time - whenever it rains!

I'm too OCD to do it any other way.
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Old 10-05-2014, 03:36 PM   #5
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Re: Share your favorite OCD cleaning tips and items.

I have CDO. It is like OCD, but in alphabetical order like it should be.

The Yeti gets cleaned after every trip before going into garage. Micro fiber towels from Costco are the best. I also like the Magic Eraser. I have a collapsible broom and 12v vacuum that stay in the van. I often get made fun of for using it while camping. My first trip freaked me out when I saw how much dust was getting in. After some searching here and some weatherstripping, I am much better. It is funny as my friends dad made us wash all the cars on the weekend before we could go water skiing or something fun. You would think I would hate cleaning cars, but I love it. The Yeti is always ready to roll. Glad to know I am not alone.

I also have a place for everything. I got made fun of last trip by a friends wife because I still have the original box for my stove. It keeps it from rattling. I hate rattles.

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Old 10-05-2014, 04:20 PM   #6
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Re: Share your favorite OCD cleaning tips and items.

When the dust gets too bad inside I'll clean it out by opening all the doors and getting out the electric leaf blower.
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Old 10-05-2014, 04:32 PM   #7
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Re: Share your favorite OCD cleaning tips and items.

When my first SMB got dirty, I sold it to some guy in OR.

Z
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Old 10-06-2014, 12:22 AM   #8
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Re: Share your favorite OCD cleaning tips and items.

Traveling:

We don't keep much car care stuff in the van while on the road. I clean it when we get home so it's ready to go on the next trip. We do carry:

- Cheap $1.98 Walmart glass cleaner (Windex clone) and paper towels to clean bugs off the windshield and headlights. Also good for dusting the solar panels. Will be switching to a homemade solution when the bottle runs out.

- Small hand broom and dustpan. Got it at Home Depot or Wally World for a couple bucks. Good for sweeping the floor.

- Soft pack of Walmart Baby Wipes, $0.98. Great for dusting off counters and such. Just started carrying this last trip and they are infinitely useful.

- $3 rubber door mat laid out under the hoop step to brush the big stuff off our shoes before entering. Only used when camping.

At Home Base
I like cleaning the van, even though it is a half-day job. It's therapeutic for me.

Exterior:
- Wash with McGuiars (sp?) Gold Class soap, using 2 bucket method. Sheepskin mitt. Dry it off with waffle-weave microfiber towels.

- Wax with P21S paste wax. Great stuff for light colored paint like our white van. Makes my silver car shine like crazy, too. Expensive, but I really like it. If mine was a dark color, I would use Natty's Blue Paste wax instead. Buff with super soft microfiber towels.

- Tires and wheels I clean with an OXO wheel brush. Tire dressing is Poor Boy's Bold & Brite. It's water soluble, lasts a long time, isn't too shiny for my taste, and best of all, after it dries, you can touch it and your hand or clothes stay clean. (Unlike that nasty, sticky Armor All crap.)

- On plastics like the door handles and mirrors, I use Aerospace 303 Protectant.

- Glass cleaned with a homemade mix of water, white vinegar and Dawn dish soap.

- To get bugs and tar off, I use Poor Boy's Bug Squash. Works great, but also strips wax off, so you have to re-wax the areas where you spray it.

Interior:

- Vacuum with a Metro Vac-n-Blo. Looks like it was made in the 1950's, and is built to last. No filters to buy, just a denim bag to empty. Could probably pick up duckpin bowling ball with the hose. So much torque that rolled itself out of the van on one occasion when I turned it on.

- All plastics and vinyls get a wipedown with Aerospace 303. Non-sticky, not greasy like Armor All, has a dry touch, and doesn't attract dust. Must have an antistatic component in it.

- Countertops, sink, and stovetop get Dawn dish soap and warm water, then towel dried. Same with fridge.

- Made a magnetic prop for the fridge door to keep it open an inch to let it air out after a trip. Keep this in place for a couple days and prevents the door from flopping all over when I drive on non-camping trips.

- Toilet: Thetford Campa-Chem Deodorizer/Cleaner Drop-Ins from Walmart. Put one down the potty after each dumping of the black water tank, and another before each trip. Also fill shower and sink P-traps with water every week or three. (We live in an arid area.)

Wow, that was a long post. TMI?
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Old 10-06-2014, 01:03 AM   #9
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Re: Share your favorite OCD cleaning tips and items.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Zeta
When my first SMB got dirty, I sold it to some guy in OR.

Z
...and it's been washed at least once a year since!
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Old 10-06-2014, 10:04 PM   #10
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Share your favorite OCD cleaning tips and items.

Wow, great thread and great ideas. A few I really like are the firm bristle brush and 80/20 water vinegar idea. I don't wash my vehicles as often as I used to but I really hate water spots after.

Walmart baby wipes are always in our van and I agree have a million cleaning uses.

A great bug cleaner I use on occasion is a dryer sheet dipped in water, then scrub dead bugs off. It softens them and works great, but you do have to wash afterward with soap and water.

My two biggest cleaners 1. Powerful old Craftsman shop vac, and 2. Strong air compressor with blow gun. This will clean our and dislodge more crap and crumbs from all the crevices in the van than anything else. Use it inside drawers/cabinets, front of defrost and dash vents, under seats, under the hood to remove leaves/pine needles/etc. from the corners.
I often hold the air gun in one hand and the vacuum
In the other.
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