Static caravan maintenance top tips
Static caravan maintenance maximises a home’s resale value, longevity, and living or holidaying experience.
A mobile home has a 20 to 30-year life span depending on the location, usage and care. For example, your caravan may be subject to more wear and tear if you live in it all year round. Likewise, a caravan on the coast will weather more than a caravan inland.
You can think of some maintenance as preventative. At the same time, other forms of maintenance involve repairs or upgrades.
You can also think of maintenance in terms of:
- regular maintenance
- annual maintenance
- ad hoc maintenance
Regular maintenance
Regular maintenance involves day-to-day tasks like cleaning surfaces, floors, and soft furnishings. It also involves removing condensation, which can quickly lead to mould.
Static caravans typically have more moisture in the air than traditional homes. The steam from showers, cooking, or drying clothes indoors can quickly dissipate throughout a caravan. The result is often condensation on windows, walls and hard floors when the exterior temperature is much cooler than the interior.
To keep the moisture inside your caravan to a minimum, use a window cleaner’s squeegee and a cloth to remove condensation from the windows and walls after showering. After boiling water on the hob, you can do the same in the kitchen area. For everything else, give surfaces a regular wipe with a suitable anti-bacterial surface cleaner.
Shake off soft furnishings and run a vacuum cleaner through the caravan daily. Pay particular attention to cleaning up food particles and crumbs, which quickly go mouldy in a humid atmosphere.
The secret to keeping maintenance to a minimum is to do it little and often. It’s much easier to keep on top of things for under an hour a day than to spend a whole weekend scrubbing mould off the surfaces every two or three weeks.
Regular cleaning should keep things in check. However, if condensation becomes challenging to control, consider investing in a small dehumidifier. You can also place small jars of salt crystals around the caravan to absorb moisture.
Top Tip: Remember to hoover and mop laminate floors every few days. Dust and grime quickly build up, and walking on a dusty surface can soon cause them to deteriorate.
Ad hoc care
Ad hoc tasks are things you do periodically to keep your maintenance regime at its best.
Interior tasks include:
- wiping down the tops of wall cupboards
- shampooing carpets and upholstery
- washing bedding
- dry cleaning curtains
- checking vents for dust, grime or blockages
Exterior tasks include window cleaning, washing the caravan walls, and washing down decking, steps, and handrails. You should also check exterior vents for blockages and keep them clear of leaves, mould, and moss.
In addition, check window and door seals for signs of degradation. A leaking window, skylight or roof vent can quickly cause issues with the timber frameworks that support the structure. You should also check for water leaks around boiler flues, shower units, toilet cisterns and kitchen pipework.
Annual static caravan maintenance
Annual maintenance typically deals with the more significant tasks like roof cleaning, chassis inspections, gas and electrical safety measures, and upgrades:
General maintenance
Clean the roof and remove leaves and moss from the guttering. Also, clear any vegetation growing underneath the caravan or decking.
Check the chassis, anchor chains, tow links and steadies for signs of corrosion and clean, repaint or re-grease problem areas where needed.
Electrical safety
Static caravans in holiday parks require an annual Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) by law. However, we recommend commissioning a report in all circumstances. The process involves a qualified electrician inspecting your electrics by conducting a series of tests to identify any safety issues.
Gas safety
Servicing your gas central heating and appliances ensures everything works safely and efficiently. It’s also one of the best ways to keep your energy bills down, as better efficiency equals lower running costs.
Upgrades
Significant upgrades to replace damaged, tired or underperforming parts of your static caravan are usually planned and carried out annually.
These upgrades may include gas central heating, underfloor heating, energy-efficient exterior cladding, and double-glazed windows and doors.
Top Tip! Think about the best time of the year to carry out upgrades. For example, when trade is quiet, you may get a better deal on central heating in the spring. Most people shop for quotes in summer as they plan for winter.
What next?
Consider drawing up a simple schedule that breaks down maintenance tasks and groups them into days of the week or calendar months. You can also create a checklist to tick off tasks when completed.