removing rust stains

[Janet Jones]

i'm just finishing my first year of ownership in a 1993 fleetwood vogue
and am experiencing rust staining the sides of the home which
is also creating rust stains on the vinyl skirting. if anyone can
suggest a cleaner to remove the stains from both the aluminum
siding and the vinyl i would be most appreciative. i've tried a mild
solution of CLR on the vinyl but it did not help. the home was
moved ~10 miles from it's original site when purchased last
year and there were no stains at that time so i'm kinda scratching
my head and wondering if the staining is not rust but perhaps
tree "sap"?? any suggesions or experience with trees causing
a stain on alumnimum and/or vinyl? the tree that is closest
to the home is a sweet gum tree. many thanks.

[Wayne]

Janet, it's kind of hard to determine what the stains are and what's causing them without seeing it. You can try some of the cleaners or black streak removers that are available at an RV or Camper dealer to see if that will remove them. If you don't have an RV dealer close by, you can order from the "Camping World" website. Or, if you're close enough... Camping World has a store in Myrtle Beach, SC I've tried CLR on a few ocassions for different things and wasn't really impressed with it. It works better on TV it seems.