Cleaning is a necessity of RV camping, but it need not be unpleasant if you take a few simple steps to prepare for the inevitable.

RV CAMPING CLEANING

Kitchen Management

A dirty, messy kitchen in an RV is unappealing, unsanitary and can attract pests.  Dealing with this yucky reality is a must.  First, scrape off or wipe out food residue and grease before washing dishes.  For the bits that remain, replace the sink strainer/stopper with an inexpensive wire mesh insert which will catch most of the tiny debris.  Use a set of nesting plastic bins to hold dirty/clean dishes.  Wash each item with a soapy sponge and place it in a clean bin.  Rinse either after everything is washed or as the clean bin gets full.  If storage space allows, a dish drainer is great, but dish towels or dish drying mats work equally well as landing places for your clean, wet dishes.

Bathroom – Wise Use of Campground Facilities 

Many RV campers need to minimize RV bathroom traffic in order to reduce waste going into holding tanks.  Showering in campground facilities presents a challenge in how to keep everything off the wet floor in the shower.  Reusable grocery bags to the rescue.  They hold everything, are inexpensive, and keep our things off of wet, bacteria ridden surfaces.  Speaking of nasty surfaces, don’t forget to protect your feet.  A cheap pair of rubber flip flops will do the trick here.  We refer to these as our “shower shoes” and no matter what prior users of the shower may have done or left behind (athlete’s foot, anyone?), our feet are protected.  

RV CAMPING CLEANING – FINAL THOUGHTS

Dirt and debris happen.  Minimize and combat this in your RV with a door mat inside the door, a broom and a dustpan.  Even though some RV’s have a built-in vacuum system, pulling out the hose and attachments and hooking it all up is much more time consuming than just pulling out the broom for a quick tidy up.  To deal with other messes or sanitation issues, keep a container of pre-moistened disinfecting wipes on board.  Use these to wipe down sinks and toilets inside your RV as messes arise.  They can also be used to clean and disinfect surfaces in the campground bathroom.