How to clean and maintain a tent?

Summer is a very suitable season for camping. Even if it rains non-stop, it is difficult to stop camping friends from wanting to run outside.

But there is an important problem. When camping on a sunny day, the tent gets dirty, or it encounters the rainy season.

If the tent is exposed to rain while camping and is not cleaned properly, it may become moldy.

So, when encountering such weather and your mood has been greatly affected, how to solve the problem of bill collection and cleaning step by step.

1. How to clean a used tent

There are roughly two situations:

1. The tent after use on normal sunny days

In this case, only the base fabric of the tent, and then the accessories, etc. are slightly dirty.

Using a rag + decontamination supplies is enough for a simple cleaning, and then you can store it and use it next time.

If you encounter a crowded place, for example, if some people have mysophobia and feel a little tangled psychologically,

You can use an appropriate amount of detergent to clean the tent as a whole, but the workload may still be a bit much.

2. The tent has experienced rain damage.

(1) Drain the moisture from the outside of the tent first

After the rain stops, put down the curtain before collecting the tent, and gently shake or tap the tent to let the remaining water droplets on the surface roll down.

Or use a towel to gently absorb the moisture, but try to avoid vigorous wiping, as it may damage the coating on the fabric surface.

(2) Pay attention to parts that are not easy to dry

Pay attention to windproof ropes, elastic bands and other parts that are easy to absorb water, even if the tent itself is made of quick-drying fabrics.

However, once these parts are not dried in time, it is easy to cause mildew in the area in contact with the tent after storage.

Therefore, make sure these areas are relatively dry before storage.

If the on-site weather conditions permit, you can turn the tent over and let it dry in the sun for a short time before storing it.

Pay attention to spreading the windproof rope to make it easier to dry.

3) Parts other than the tent body must also be dried.

Sometimes it's not rain, but just humid weather that can easily cause condensation on the fabric. It also needs to be dried before storage.

(4) Go home and find an open space nearby

If the conditions at the camping site do not allow it, you can take all the equipment home after you leave the camp.

Make rational use of the green belt downstairs in your community or nearby park, and try to avoid damaging the plants when drying them.

(5) Set up a drying rack

If weather conditions permit, you can use two canopy poles + windproof ropes to set up a simple drying rack directly on site and hang it on it to dry.

(6) With the help of trees

If you are in a woodland surrounded by trees, you can also directly tie the four corners of the tent to the trees to increase the dry area.

(7) Use chairs to set up the tent

You can use chairs to raise the tent in contact with the ground to maintain air circulation between the tent and the ground mat and speed up drying.

(8) Take the tent out of the wet bag as soon as possible when you get home

After returning home, find a well-ventilated location, lay a waterproof plastic sheet on the ground, take out the tent, spread it out and dry it in the shade.

Don’t be afraid of being too tired when you come back from camping, because if the tent becomes moldy, the workload will become even greater later.

9) Dry in the shade in the car

Not recommended, but you can do this if you really have no choice.

It takes about three days to dry the tent in the car, and a little odor is likely to remain.

(10) Wipe off stains and mud spots after drying

When the tent is nearly dry, you need to remove any remaining mud spots and stains on the fabric.

You can use (outdoor fabric cleaner) a detergent specifically designed for outdoor fabrics for local cleaning.

Wiping over a large area may cause the waterproof layer of the tent to peel off. Likewise, remember not to throw the tent directly into the washing machine.

(11) Scrubbing accessories

In addition to the tent, the mud stains on the ground nails and other metal accessories used must also be wiped off, and they can be stored after drying.

(12) Store the tent correctly

Proper storage methods to extend the life of your tent

01 Remove dirt and save

02 Store in a dry state

03 Avoid storing in humid places

Ultraviolet rays will accelerate the aging of the tent, and moisture will cause mold to grow. The ideal storage environment for the tent is:

Satisfy the four conditions of "no direct sunlight", "low humidity", "good ventilation" and "constant temperature".

3. Solve the problem of mold in tents

There are many different opinions on how to solve the mold problem in tents. There are professional detergents and home remedies such as white vinegar.

But one thing that is relatively consistent is that most methods will clearly indicate that once mold occurs, it cannot be 100% completely removed.

method 1:--

Prepare items:

Mold removal spray+gloves+mask+rag

Lightly spray the moldy area with the spray at a distance of 10-15cm, then wait for about 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, wipe gently with a damp cloth, then wipe off any remaining spray with a dry cloth.

When you spray it a second time, the mold will melt away cleanly like this. It should be noted that do not let the spray stay for a long time (about 10 minutes). If it stays for too long, it will cause discoloration of the tent. After cleaning, place the tent in a ventilated location to dry, which will take about a day.

Method 2:——

In order to deal with mold, you can also add some mildew remover to warm water and then soak the area that needs to be removed in it for a whole day.

Wait until the tent is thoroughly soaked and then wash it with clean water. The black mold will disappear, but the color of the tent may change slightly. If it is a cotton tent, the discoloration may be more obvious, so you need to think carefully before operating. risks that will arise.

If the waterproof layer of the tent is damaged, you can use waterproof spray to reinforce it after cleaning. This operation is completely feasible for entry-level and above, but if you are a novice, you may not be able to master it well. A friend of mine has gone camping more than 20 times after doing this, and has never had the problem of mold in the tent due to rain.

In other cases, during the rainy season, it rained the first day and was sunny the next day, but the tent that was soaked the night before was not dried by the sun, so mold developed like this.

Some friends chose to use a green packaged mold remover, which is relatively gentle. Because they were worried about discoloration, they first tested it on the edge of the tent.

After an hour in the sun, all the mold was gone.

Therefore, I suggest that before you are not sure which remover to use, you can buy two or three removers and find an inconspicuous area to test. If you accidentally fade, you can still save it.

Method 3:——

If the moldy area of ​​your tent is on the inner tent, it may not be as conspicuous as it is on the outside, but it still looks uncomfortable.

Wear rubber gloves and spray mildew removal spray evenly on the moldy areas. Then wait for about 10 minutes or so. After 10 minutes, the black mold turned brown. After spraying for 30 minutes, the brown mold marks are also fading.

The final effect is that the mold is almost invisible to the naked eye.

4. Recommendations for tent mildew removal, cleaning and maintenance

Let me give you a piece of advice:

That is, after each camping trip, you should clean and tidy the tent as soon as possible. This good habit is very important for camping.

As for me, it’s just because it’s too troublesome to remove mold, so I dry the tent promptly every time. Therefore, it is a good thing to be diligent when you return from camping.

5. Tent mold removal cleaner

In addition, regarding the cleaning agents on the market for removing mold from tents, I took the time to recommend suitable cleaning supplies and cleaning agents for tent cleaning, and I will update them after sorting them out. You can also use this as a reference when cleaning your tent in the future.