Awnings are part of your home. They provide the shade that makes your sunniest patios and porches more comfortable, and they help to enhance your lifestyle by providing outdoor spaces where you can relax and entertain. A quality awning can also add beauty and visual interest to your home’s exterior.
Like any part of your home, awnings deserve some occasional care and attention. Luckily, SunSetter retractable awnings are made with world-class materials and are proven to last. By taking time to clean your awning and keep up with repairs, you can ensure your awning functions flawlessly for many years to come. However, neglecting cleaning and maintenance can reduce the longevity of your awning and lead to costly repairs down the line.
Luckily, keeping your awning clean and in good shape is quite simple and easy. SunSetter is famous for producing high quality awnings as well as providing outstanding customer support.
Extending the Life of Your Awning Fabric Is Easy
Like everything on your home, awnings will wear out. But whether that happens in five, ten, or even twenty years is up to you.
Some of the most destructive things your awning faces are very small—in fact, they happen at the microscopic level. Bacteria, fungus, and dirt particles damage your fabric over time. So, one of the most important ways of extending the life of your awning fabrics is cleaning off the bird droppings, mildew, and grime.
So, how often should you clean your awning’s fabric? Once or twice a year, depending on the level of grime that accumulates on your awning. We’ll talk about the cleaning process later in this article—it’s quite simple, and almost anyone can do it.
Avoid Costly Repairs by Inspecting Hardware
Another way to protect your awning is to make sure all the joints, connections, and fasteners are in good working order. By ensuring that the fabric is attached securely and the metal components aren’t loose, bent, or missing, you can be sure your awning has the best chance possible in the face of strong winds, driving rain, and other weather issues.
Taking care of issues early pays dividends. For example, if the bracket that attaches your awning to your home is loose due to severe storm damage, a timely repair can prevent any further damage to the connection and prevent the control arms or other components from becoming bent. But neglected, that loose connection can cause further movement in future wind storms—leading to increased damage to the connection between the wall and the awning and, ultimately, damage to other awning components.
When inspecting your awning, its frame, and its fasteners, look for rust, unexpected looseness in joints, malfunctioning motors, and visible wear marks. When you’re looking at the awning’s fabric, look for tears as well as loose or frayed seams. Addressing these signs of damage early could help prevent bigger issues later.
Cleaning Pays Off in Extra Life for Your Awning
Awnings live much of their lives out in the open. That means they’re exposed not only to sun, wind, and rain, but also dust, pollen, smoke, and bird droppings. This grime can, over time, degrade your awning fabric and promote mold growth. Signs of damage include discoloration and even weakening of the fabric.
Cleaning can prevent much of this damage. A light brushing with a broom can take care of the dirt and dust buildup on your awning. Simply use a gentle sweeping motion to loosen and brush away the dirt. A shop vac with a soft brush attachment can also work quite well.
For more serious buildups of dirt, or if there’s staining present, the next step is using soap and water. Use a mild soap and water solution and a soft brush to gently brush the soapy water into the fabric. Then, rinse with clean water. In most cases, this takes care of the dirt. It’s important to make sure you let your newly cleaned fabric dry completely before retracting it—rolling up a wet awning can promote mold growth. SunSetter offers an awning cleaning kit for your convenience.
Should you pressure wash an awning?
NO. The jet of water from most pressure washers is too strong for awning fabric. Instead, use a soft brush and soapy water, then rinse with a hose. Let the brushing action remove the grime. This gentle approach will ensure your awning fabric and its seams aren’t damaged.
A Very Durable Design
The fabric, frame, and fasteners that make up your SunSetter Awning are high quality. With just a little attention and preventative maintenance, your awning should provide you with years of worry-free service. Clean your awning a couple times a year and keep an eye out for damage and you can expect to enjoy many years of quality outdoor time under your SunSetter.