A Stick-ler for Cleaning

by Bob Livingston | Aug 9, 2024 | Pro Tip, RVEXPERT

a man kneels beside the front rim of a large vehicle, he uses a microfiber towel to clean between the spokes of the rim

Photos by the author

A bamboo chopstick is one of most versatile utensils for cooking and eating — but these simple, cheap and strong implements can also double as one of best cleaning devices for chores in and around RVs.

If there’s a drawback to RVing, it’s probably cleaning. Take the comforts found in an average apartment and shrink them down to fit within the confines of a travel trailer or fifth wheel, and you have a recipe for aggravation. Consider this: How many times have you reached for a screwdriver or other pointed tool and wrapped a rag around the end to access tight areas to clean? It’s a pretty common practice. Working in corners and cervices with your fingers and a rag is liking squeezing a 1-inch peg into a ¾-inch hole.

For me, fighting with a rag that can’t reach the dirt is an exercise in futility — so, long ago, I “perfected” the use of chop sticks for just about all my cleaning chores.

a hand holds to opened packages of bamboo chopsticks

Bamboo chopsticks make versatile utensils for eating and cooking food, for those who can master the art — but as a single tool for cleaning tight spaces, they are unbeatable. These were acquired at Asian restaurants, where the use of chopsticks is commonplace. For those who don’t eat out, chopsticks can be purchased for around $3 for 12 pairs.

full view of a tool bag packed with tools including two chopsticks

Chopsticks are always tucked into my travel tool bags. Can you find the two individual chop sticks (look closely), which are among my most-used tools when on the road?

Every time I eat in an Asian restaurant, I grab an extra pair of chopsticks and place them in a drawer inside my fifth wheel. We’re talking about cheap bamboo chopsticks, not the reusable ones found in many nicer eating establishments. If you don’t eat out, you can find bamboo chopsticks in stores like Walmart for less than $3 for 12 pairs (wood works and is easier to “whittle” on, but it’s not as durable).

Why use chopsticks? First, they are made of bamboo, which is pretty strong, so they remain rigid when pushing them into tight cleaning areas. Second, the bamboo will not scratch surfaces like a metal screwdriver or other similar tool should the tip push through the rag. Third, when combined with a microfiber towel, moisture and dirt are easily retained rather than just pushed around. And, of course, fourth, a bamboo chopstick can reach into very small areas, especially if you bevel the end with a knife.

I use chopsticks for dozens of cleaning projects — and found they even come in handy when trying to dig out something that has dropped into close quarters. Glue/tape on a tiny neodymium magnet to the end, and you have a great retrieval tool.

The uses are countless. In fact, they have (mostly) eliminated my aggravation: I use a chopstick with a beveled tip with a microfiber towel and Voom Multi-Purpose Cleaner (roadmasterinc.com) just about every day. I find my bamboo chopstick indispensable for cleaning around sinks, showers, faucets, stoves and sink drains — just about any hard-to-reach area. This setup also works great for cleaning window and shower-door tracks, without the risk of scratching the hardware. The combo is likewise perfect for cleaning exterior transition molding, and even wheels. And I always clean my bicycle with a chopstick and microfiber towel and have used this combo for numerous projects in the engine compartment.

close cropped view of hands using a pocketknife to bevel the end of a bamboo chopstick

It’s best to bevel the end of a chopstick to allow for cleaning in seams, crevices and other tight places. A pocketknife will do, but bamboo is hard, so a grinder (not shown) might make it easier.

a bamboo chopstick wrapped in a microfiber towel is used to clean the corrosion at the base of an RV bathroom faucet

Removing corrosion around faucets can be a real pain. I found spraying the area with Lime-A-Way foam cleaner first (not shown), available at any hardware or home improvement store, softens the crud; the chopstick and microfiber towel lift the residue away quickly.

a bamboo chopstick wrapped in a microfiber towel is used to clean a seam at the base of an RV shower

a bamboo chopstick wrapped in a microfiber towel is used to clean a seam between the shower pan and sidewalls

My go-to product is Voom Multi-Purpose Cleaner from Roadmaster (the makers of tow bar and suspension products). Here, hard to reach areas are sprayed with Voom and cleaned with the chopstick and microfiber towel. The transition between the shower pan and sidewalls can be a bear to clean debris that builds up inside the seam. The chopstick and microfiber towel make short work out of this cleaning chore, grabbing onto much more debris than with only a rag or paper towel.

a bamboo chopstick wrapped in a microfiber towel is used to clean an RV window track

a bamboo chopstick wrapped in a microfiber towel is used to clean the vents of the galley microwave

The places this tip pays dividends are endless in the close quarters of an RV. For example, window tracks are dirt “magnets” — removing the build-up in the channel can be difficult to clean completely. The chopstick and microfiber towel lifts the dirt, first sprayed with Voom, with little effort. And we could write a book about the nooks and crannies in the galley, from the space between the induction cooktop and counter to around the kitchen sink — even the vents for the microwave oven collect gunk frequently and are hard to clean, unless you use a beveled chopstick and microfiber towel.

a bamboo chopstick wrapped in a microfiber towel is used to clean a molding seam on the exterior of and RV

There also are dozens of places outside where the chopstick and microfiber towel can make cleaning much more palatable. Molding seams, like the ones shown here, attract dirt quickly and become unsightly. It’s been a while since this area was cleaned, but the use of Voom (not shown) and my makeshift cleaning tool removed much of the build-up.

I’m sure naysayers will attest to the use of brushes for various cleaning projects, and that also works. But when I’m done, the chopstick simply gets tossed in the round file. It doesn’t get much easier than that.

Plus, I have a good excuse to go out for Asian food more often.

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