Tips for cleaning your RV interior: What does clean smell like?

Pam Kennedy • March 23, 2021

Have you ever walked into an RV and thought “it sure doesn’t smell clean in here!”- but what does clean even smell like?

Roses, lilacs, lavender, fresh linen, bleach?

Photo Credit: April Lathrop

Here is what clean should really smell like: nothing.

Clean does not have a scent!

A really clean (and healthy) RV not only has no musty smell from mold, pet-related odors, or accumulated dust, but also no chemical fragrances.

Something that is truly clean doesn’t have a smell, but dirty does.

If there is a smell, it means dirt is there. When your RV is clean there shouldn’t be any smell.

What does that mean?

It means a lot of cleaners have artificial fragrances added to them - not because they clean, but because they cover up dirty smells.

Many household products we depend on for cleaning are designed primarily to not clean your RV, but to make your RV smell clean.

Some of these products even advertise that cleaning isn’t necessary!

Using some fragrances can help to enhance the atmosphere after cleaning, but they shouldn’t be used on its own or to just cover up a bad smell.

When using fragrance to cover up a bad smell you could end up making the smell worse and your RV won’t even be clean.

Think about it this way. We light scented candles to give rooms a nice scent. It’s welcoming and can make an RV seem homely. You wouldn’t use a scented candle to clean though, that would be ridiculous!

The same can be said for fragrance ‘cleaners’.

A good cleaner made with high-quality raw materials, sometimes including a fragrance, will clean your RV properly and leave a pleasant smell without affecting allergies.

You can use the Gabe’s Pride multi-surface cleaner with fragrance to clean your RV and give it a nice smell. This product is eco-friendly and safe to use so you won’t have to worry about it affecting your breathing.

Should you avoid using cleaners with fragrances in your RV?

There’s a lot of evidence that shows how hazardous some of the ingredients in artificial fragrances are when you’re exposed to them indoors. Some of these pollutants are in everyday consumer products that you could be using to clean your RV.

Out of the 80,000+ chemicals that are used in cleaning supplies most haven't been adequately tested.

Mixing some of these chemicals can be incredibly toxic and even life-threatening. There isn’t a legal requirement for companies to list all their ingredients on the products’ label so it’s impossible to know how dangerous they are when mixed.

A lot of fragrance cleaners can contain some harsh chemicals that can be harmful to you and your family. Before choosing something to mask bad smells in your RV be sure you know exactly what’s in it so you can stay safe.

Should you use bleach to clean an RV?

I was once told by a plumber that if I put bleach down a drain it wouldn’t clean it, it would just cover up the bad smell with a stronger smell.

Unfortunately, it’s not as simple as this.

Bleach doesn’t clean but so many people register the bleach smell as clean.

Bleach is a chlorine-based corrosive substance and chlorine was used as an agent of chemical warfare in WWI.

Since then it’s been added to water supplies and it’s used in cleaning products despite its dark history.

What are the negative health effects of bleach?

You’ve probably experienced what the fumes smell like from bleach. They’re incredibly strong and when inhaled they can cause a lot of health problems, especially if you come in contact with it often.

Bleach can:

Irritate your lungs
Burn your eyes
Corrode your skin
Cause skin rashes
Trigger extreme headaches and migraines
Cause abdominal discomfort
Trigger nausea and vomiting
Damage the nervous system

Anybody who has respiratory problems should definitely avoid using bleach as it can worsen your condition. This includes people suffering from asthma or even allergies.

What are the environmental effects of bleach?

Apart from the dangerous health effects bleach can also damage the environment. It’s known to be a polluter but it’s often used to treat water. When bleach is added to our waters it mixes with the minerals in the water and forms dangerous toxins that can take years to fully dissolve.

Bleach also contributes to polluting the air as factories often use chlorine bleach. This releases toxins into the air during the factories’ ventilation and exhaust processes.

How do you clean without using bleach and fragrances?

You can switch to non-toxic, non-fragranced commercial products like our eco-friendly RV cleaning products.

When shopping for RV cleaning supplies, be sure to always read the labels.

Just because a product has the word ‘eco’ or ‘green’ on it doesn’t mean it’s completely free of harsh chemicals.

If you’d like to find out more ways to clean your RV and stay free of any harsh chemicals then give us a call we’d love to help you out.

In the meantime be sure to check out our stock of eco-friendly cleaning supplies to keep your RV clean.

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