Everyone will have their own ideas of how to clean their pop up canopy. We have found that pressure washers, etc.. are not as deep cleaning and perhaps harmful. Particularly to older pop up canopies.
Following is how we would clean a pop up canopy: For initial cleaning, spread pop up canopy out on grass, get wide nylon bristle brooms, take your shoes off and spread non concentrated laundry detergent out and water and get to work. That will take most of the dirt off.
You can experiment with different spot cleaners for bad areas. Always test small area first. We like “Mean Green Super Strength Cleaner” available at Dollar General Stores. WD 40 will take off tar and other odd marks. For other tough areas you can use 3 parts water 1 part Clorox to scrub with. Do one panel at a time and then wash off immediately, otherwise it will take gloss off top of pop up canopy. You can use this same mix of Clorox and water on underside, where seatbelts show, and actually let it dry without washing off. This will help fight mildew in the future.
Additional information:
Mystery stains: Use melamine “erasing foam” such as Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. Good for cleaning resin chairs too.
Rust, leaf, hard-water and mineral stains: Use CLR (Calcium, lime, rust remover). It is an acid but is safe for vinyl. It dissolves any mineral deposits that are on the surface. If your clear wall or windows have hard water residue or look foggy, a weak dilution of the acid can remove those deposits as well.
Mildew: A chlorine cleaner must be used. Use Blitz mildew remover and X-14 Mildew Stain Remover. (Blitz is a Shipp Chemical product that can be purchased at hardware and grocery stores). These calcium hypochlorite solutions do a better job of killing the roots or spores of the mildew. Always apply any chlorine to a dry fabric. Only use chlorine when the pop up canopy has mildew stains. Chlorine does not whiten pop up canopy fabric, and extended use of bleach on vinyl fabric will rob the plasticizer and make the fabric stiff. Chlorine cleaners can also dry rot the polyester stitching on the seams with the help of ultraviolet sunlight.
Black pole stains: Black stains from aluminum poles are pop up canopy eyesores. Some have discovered that liquid sliver polish removes the aluminum dust and does not damage the vinyl.
Duct tape, tar, paint, grease and oil stains: These can be removed with pure organic citrus solvent. Do not use mineral spirits, products such as Goof Off or paint removers because these are made with petroleum. Do not use any products containing petroleum.
Crepe paper or confetti stains: Some companies put their pop up canopy up in the sun for a few days, the ultraviolet light from the sun can bleach out dye stains. Others have tried using the infrared heating lamps used at the meat carving stations. Place the lamp the normal distance from the surface and let it sit for 20 minutes. Infrared light has also removed old set-in yellow mildew stains and leaf stains. This is a new remedy, so be careful not to let the vinyl overheat.
