How To Clean Your Truck Tarp
If you are a flatbed truck driver, you likely are extremely grateful for the fact that your tarp is able to keep the wind, rain, and hail off the goods that you are shipping from place to place. However, you also probably realize that you are going to need to clean your tarp every so often in order to make sure that it is able to continue to protect the goods you are transporting and allows you to look professional. Here are some tips for making sure that you are able to clean your tarp so that it looks great and works well.
1. Clean It While Flat
Make sure that you lay out your tarp before you do any cleaning. You need the tarp on a flat surface or else you are going to end up missing spots around the creases and edges of the tarp. A hard surface tends to be best so that you can really scrub down your tarp with a proper amount of resistance underneath.
2. Spray and Wait
Once you have your tarp laid out, you need to spray it with tarp cleaner. Most tarps have a waterproof coating applied to them in order to make them more effective. If you use a harsh cleaner not designed for tarps, you might inadvertently remove this waterproof coating and make your tarp more vulnerable to rain. Once you have an appropriate cleaner, spray your tarp down so that every inch of it is visibly wet. Then, allow the cleaner to sit for a few minutes in order to allow the cleaner to loosen the grime.
3. Scrub
After the waiting period, scrub your tarp, specifically the areas that are dirty, by using a long push broom. Make sure that its bristles are relatively firm in order to allow your scrubbing to be as effective as possible. Spend as much time as you need on each individual spot in order to get all of the dirt off.
4. Rinse
Finally, rinse off your tarp with a hose. Take this opportunity to see any areas that you might have missed. Lay the tarp over a line or flat again in order to allow it to dry all the way. This will reduce the chances that mold will form.
For more information, talk to a company that specializes in tarp systems for trucks, such as Glider Systems Inc. They might have a cleaning solution that they recommend.
