In my opinion, one of the most annoying things about RVing is trying to keep the floors clean. Staying in sandy or muddy campgrounds means lots of debris gets tracked in, and in such a small space, it all accumulates pretty quickly. This can result in multiple sweeping sessions each day, and using time—that would otherwise be spent exploring together—cleaning the floors yet again so we don’t have to return home or wake up to that gritty feeling under our feet.

Fortunately, there are ways around this problem. After living in an RV for several years, I’ve come across a few different tricks. Here are my favorites.

Get an Outdoor Rug

Believe it or not, laying a large outdoor rug just outside of your door can be extremely helpful. The fact that you’ll have to walk on the rug before entering your home-on-wheels means that at least some dirt will be wiped away.

Additionally, having a rug there when you just need to step outside for a second removes the need to walk in the dirt or grass, meaning you won’t be tracking anything back in.

Kick-Off Those Shoes

Of course, taking your shoes off at the door also means a lot less debris gets tracked inside. I recommend setting up some sort of shoe cubby or storage bin, either just inside the door or outside (make sure it’s covered and watertight).

Encourage everyone who enters your home to remove their shoes and place them in the storage area. Eventually, it’ll become second nature for your family, and you’ll see much less dirt on your floors.

Stay Outside

One of the best things about RVing is the fact that you can spend so much time outdoors and exploring nature. Why not take full advantage of this and spend as much time as possible outdoors? Doing so has many benefits, and one side bonus is having cleaner floors. After all, if you aren’t walking in and out of the RV all day, the floors won’t get dirty, right?

Fill the outdoor fridge with food, and take a cooler full of drinks and a grill out with you in the morning. You might just find you don’t have any need to go back inside all day long.

Toss Out Those Carpets

RV carpets are dirt and dust collectors. I honestly can’t imagine who thought it was a good idea to put carpet in a vehicle meant for camping because it was anything but. If your RV has carpets, I highly recommend removing them and laying down hard flooring instead. While your hard floors will still get dirty, they won’t hold onto the dirt in the same way carpet does.

If you can’t remove your carpets, at least invest in a good quality vacuum cleaner and make a point of shampooing the carpets at the end of each season. This vacuum does a nice job of pulling dirt out of the carpets.

Sweep Daily

Sure, the goal is to reduce the number of sweeping sessions you do, but that doesn’t mean you should neglect to sweep entirely. Debris will still build up on your floors, especially when staying somewhere like the beach. Sweep it up at the end of each day to avoid allowing it to build up.

Choosing to put the sweeping off will likely result in the need for more regular mopping sessions, and we all know how time-consuming that can be.

Clearly, there’s no way to keep your RV floors spotless all the time. Camping means spending time outdoors, and time outdoors means dirt. However, these tips should at least help you keep the sand and dirt on your floors to a reasonable level so you can spend time focusing on more important things during your camping adventures.

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About the author: Chelsea Gonzales

Chelsea has the amazing opportunity to take part in full-time RV living and traveling with her tiny tribe. She homeschools her five-year-old son as they travel, and takes full advantage of their unique situation by using the entire world as her son’s classroom. A group of total Disney fanatics, Chelsea and her family often find themselves in the Orlando area in order to visit the Disney parks, but they have also visited over 25 of the 50 states with plans to see many more along the way. No matter where her travels take her, Chelsea enjoys riding bikes, gazing at beautiful sunsets, finding new coffee shops, Irish dancing, and sitting around a campfire with her family.

You can join her adventures through her blog, Wonder Wherever We Wander.

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