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So you have a beautiful brand-new awning installed to perfection. It shelters you from the rain and looks sleek as heck. Well, without maintenance, it won’t stay that way for long. Awning maintenance isn’t just about aesthetics either. Without proper maintenance, many issues can arise such as rusting, mechanic malfunctions, and water damage. So if you’re wondering how to maintain your awning and keep it in tip-top condition, you’re in the right place. Let’s get started. What’s Hurting Your Awning? First off, let’s go over what exactly it is that you’re safeguarding your awning against. Your awning shelters you from the elements. This means aside from the hot, scorching sun shining down on it constantly, it’s also exposed to heavy rain. No matter how durable an awning is, being exposed to constant heat and sunlight can cause color deterioration and the material itself to break down over time. The rain can also moisture damage or permanent moisture stains and rust. There may also be bird droppings, and if you don’t clean them off, they may become permanent stains. Over time, these can combine to wear your awning out quickly if you don’t take the appropriate measures and perform the due maintenance. As such, to prevent unnecessary repair and replacement costs, make sure to diligently perform the required maintenance. Now, let’s go over which types of awnings need more maintenance and which ones don’t. Which Awnings Need Maintenance? All awnings require maintenance. However, most awnings actually don’t require much more maintenance besides the occasional clean with water or a detergent solution. You should also check the structure to see if bolts and fasteners come loose over time, but aside from that, there’s minimal maintenance for most awnings. These include glass, polycarbonate, and aluminum composite. The two main types of awnings that require more frequent and tedious maintenance are metal and fabric. Fabric is the softest awning material and also the least durable one, so it should come as no surprise that it’s also the one that requires the most maintenance and regular checks. Metal, on the other hand, is generally quite a robust material. However, it can dent and rust easily, so regular checks are needed and any issues need to be fixed quickly before they get worse. So if your awning isn’t either fabric or metal, your primary maintenance tasks will be to check the structural integrity and to clean your awning. Awning Protection Prevention is the best cure, so we’ll first be going over how to lower the chances of those issues happening. For fabric, to prevent moisture damage, you can apply a layer of water-repellent protectant to create a layer that prevents water from reaching your fabric. This layer will also help your fabric better withstand UV rays. For metal, similarly, you can apply a corrosion-resistant coating or sealant that will help your metal awning resist rust and corrosion and keep water out. If your awning is flat, water may also pool up, which isn’t ideal. To prevent this, you can consider installing a rain gutter along the edges of the structure to help drain water and prevent it from staying on your awning, reducing the risks of moisture damage as well as mold and mildew. Regular Maintenance Tasks Besides cleaning, the maintenance for awnings, including low-maintenance ones like glass and polycarbonate, is mainly about checking for damages and repairing them. So regardless of your awning material, check regularly for cracks, chips, etc, and fix them quickly when you spot them. Otherwise, a crack may lead to a big hole, and a chip may lead to bigger parts breaking off. For metal and fabric, the only additional maintenance task you’ll need to perform is really monitoring the protective coating or sealant and reapplying them when they wear off or are compromised. Manufacturers will generally have a guide on how often the coating or sealant should be reapplied to maintain its integrity, but damages can happen before that, so you need to know how to spot these damages to know when to reapply the coating or sealant. Here’s how to know that your coating or sealant has been compromised and needs reapplication. Metal