Cleaning Service

Congratulations on the purchase of your new shade product you have made a considerable investment in your property and now you want to make sure that you prolong the life of your awning, blind or shade sail by caring for them in the best possible way.

The key to keeping your fabric looking great and extending its life is periodic cleaning followed by repellence re-treatment.

Care of Acrylic Fabrics

1. Ensure the canvas is thoroughly dry before rolling it away – if this cannot be avoided due to storm conditions, once the weather is clear, you should extend and allow to dry completely; failure to do so will encourage algae, mildew or other fungal growth. Also avoid pools of water lying on the fabric.
2. Keep the fabric clean by brushing regularly, both inside and outside, with a soft brush, either a clean household broom or a dustpan brush. Hosing occasionally with clear, cold water on hot days will minimise the development of algae, mildew and fungi by removing dust and grime. DO NOT allow dirt, dust, grime, leaf litter and bird matter to remain on the fabric (this provides a perfect medium for bacteria to proliferate).
3. Occasionally extend the awning fully down to even out the material, particularly if the awning is usually set in one position.
4. The use of a fabric compatible cleaner such as 303 Multi-Surface Cleaner can also assist in keeping your fabric in tip top condition.

Care of Knitted Shadecloth

1. Keep fabric clean by brushing and washing regularly both inside and outside with clear, cold water and sugar soap (obtained from most hardware stores, use 30% concentration). Work in the sugar soap with a very gentle brush and then rinse with a garden hose to remove soap.
2. Do not apply any other types of soaps, detergents, cleaning fluids or insecticides.
3. Keep petrol, oil, solvents, kerosene and other similar fluids away from the fabric.
4. Do not allow bird droppings, earth, sand or vegetable matter to remain in contact with the fabric.
5. Ensure that the products are thoroughly dry before stowing away.
6. Where a commercial grade cleaning product is required for hard to remove grime use Swiftee® Outdoor Blind Cleaner at the recommended concentration.

Care of PVC Architectural vinyl and mesh

PVC Awning fabrics include:

• Mehler -Valmex PDVF fabrics
• Ferrari range
• Outlook and Visiontex Ranges
• Sunworker

Architectural Vinyl has a protective acrylic lacquer which can be damaged due to improper cleaning and care. We only recommend Ferrari Detergent or Swiftee® Outdoor Blind Cleaner.  Frequent cleaning of your awning will extend the life and appearance of the fabric.

Cleaning instructions:

1. Keep fabric clean by regularly hosing with clear cold water. Wash with recommended detergent by brushing both inside and outside with a soft brush or cloth. Rinse thoroughly with clear cold water.
2. Keep petrol, oil, solvents, kerosene and other similar fluids away from the fabric.
3. Do not allow bird droppings, earth, sand or vegetable matter to remain in contact with the fabric.
4. Ensure that the products are thoroughly dry before stowing away.

For difficult to access and hard to shift stains, mould and mildew we recommend professional cleaning by an Awning and Shade cleaning specialist. Contact Adam at Shade Care on 0414 248 598.