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Try This New DIY Floor Cleaner In Your RV

This post was updated on May 2nd, 2023

floor cleaner
Try this new DIY cleaner in your RV. Photo by Marco Verch
Floor mop and bucket for washing in room by Marco Verch Professional Photographer is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Try This New DIY Floor Cleaner In Your RV

Sarah McAllister is behind the viral Calgary-based residential cleaning business Go Clean Co. If you haven’t heard of them, she has amassed almost 2 million followers on Instagram – #cleaningarmy.

Her popularity grew suddenly when much of Canada and the U.S. found themselves with little to do except clean. McAllister’s deep-cleaning tutorials and cleaning tips offered a way for many to keep busy. Her videos are also quite soothing for those who appreciate cleaning transformations of the grungiest places.

These cleaning hacks are also amazing for RV life! There is even a handbook for all the tips for cleaning RVs.

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If you haven’t tried her main cleaning hack – a powerful DIY floor cleaner – then you simply must! This floor cleaning method is great for cleaning and sanitizing your RV floors whether you are a weekend warrior or live in your rig full-time.

I am hooked on McAllister’s cleaning technique! And you can be too!

floor cleaner - Sarah McAllister from Go Clean Co.
Sarah McAllister, founder of Go Clean Co., a wildly popular residential cleaning company from Calgary, Alberta. Photo from BleachPrayLove

DIY Floor Cleaner

Unlike other DIY cleaners, the formula from @gocleanco is anything but weak. This floor cleaner uses ingredients you probably have around your home. The method uses products that you may find surprising, though.

Here is the trademarked recipe that will change the way you clean your RV:

  • 1 gallon of hot water
  • 1 teaspoon of Tide Powder Laundry Detergent
  • 1/3 cup of liquid bleach

To make this floor cleaner is super simple. In your sink, in a bucket, or in your mop pail, combine 1 gallon of hot water, 1 teaspoon of Tide laundry detergent, and 1/3 cup of liquid bleach.

Alternatively, you can wash your floors with just the hot water and Tide (it works great).

Be very careful when you are mopping using the bleach formula around carpeted areas. The bleach will bleach your carpets.

Also, this floor cleaner formula can be used for cleaning hard surfaces in your RV. I use it on my cabinets, white walls, high touch surfaces, doors, and counters.

Let’s explore the science behind this floor cleaner and why it works so well!

The primary ingredient: Powdered Tide

Powdered Tide laundry detergent is the primary ingredient for this DIY floor cleaner and McAllister swears by it. It has to be powdered. It has to be Tide.

“It’s so versatile; it’s really just magic.”

Sarah McAllister

The laundry detergent works so well because of its powerful combination cleaning chemistry. The surfactants are the suds that help release dirt; the enzymes are proteins that break down stains; the gritty texture makes it a powerful cleaner for almost any hard surface.

Bleach Pray Love

Another powerhouse ingredient in this floor cleaner is the bleach.

Most people probably got over their aversion to bleach during the onset of the global pandemic. Suddenly we were all a little more motivated to disinfect.

However, if you aren’t sold on bleach, just try it. The combination will leave your floors (and other hard surfaces) sparkling clean.

Bleach is diluted in McAllister’s floor cleaner recipe. It is very important not to mix bleach with anything else though! Bleach can form a dangerous gas if mixed with other ingredients and products – especially products that contain ammonia.

Will bleach hurt my RV plumbing or tanks?

Have you ever heard that bleach will destroy your RV plumbing or holding tanks? Like many things, too much of anything can cause issues. That includes bleach.

Bleach can kill the good enzymes that you introduce into your black and gray water tanks. Those enzymes help break down the waste.

However, if you are only dumping your dirty mop water a couple times a week and are regularly emptying your tanks, you shouldn’t have issues. That being said, check your owner’s manual.

According to Thor’s and Heartland’s owner manuals, it’s okay to use bleach to sanitize your tanks. They recommend a solution of 1/4 cup bleach for 1 gallon of water for every 15 gallons of tank capacity.

From this, we can safely deduce that using bleach for a floor cleaner in moderate amounts will not damage your RV. If you’re super worried, though, you can opt to just clean with Tide and skip the bleach.


If you’re ready to take your RV to a new level of clean, then you really need to try this floor cleaner recipe. I am hooked and use it on my RV floors and hard surfaces. I love how clean my rig smells and how everything shines!

Try it and let me know what you think!

Do you have any RV tips and tricks to keep your rig clean? Share them with us in the comments below, or with the community on iRV2 Forums.

For more cleaning tips, check out this article on 10 Food & Drinks You Can Use To Clean Your RV