How to take care your tent ? – Tips & Guides for your tent!

After reading up on the review for to select the best family tents. You may wonder how to take care of your tents after your outdoor trip? You may have read up our previous article on how to wash the sleeping bag. Today we will be covering how to protect your tent.

Camping is possibly one of the most common outdoor activities of the middle-class man. Whether it be hiking in the forest or climbing a mountain, fresh air can almost always be healthy for your body and your mind. There is, of course, the issue of the necessary equipment which includes a standard, 46-inch tall tent that is bound to get sullied one way or another. The outside part is fun but, getting home and cleaning out your muddy tent can be tiresome, especially when you do not know how.

Prepare to clean & wash your tents after outdoor activity.

The first step would be to gather all of your supplies. Somewhere near a hose would be ideal, decent pressure is good for a thorough clean. A little pressure is good but too much pressure can cause the seams to pull apart. Dish soap along with a cleaner specifically made for outdoor gear is essential. A tender sponge is necessary to avoid tears in your tent. You will need to wash your tent by hand, washing machines can damage the tent’s protective layer and detergents, in general, contain chemicals that could be bad for it. If your tent is moldy you might also need a soft toothbrush and lemon and salt solution.

How to check your tents before wash?

Before you officially start cleaning to your tent, pitch your tent, check each surface and corner for any kind of wear and tear and if you find any, make sure to sew it together or use adhesive to fix the broken parts. Cleaning your tent without repairing the fragmented pieces will cause even more breakage which may or may not turn out to be irreparable. Specifically, use lukewarm water to clean your tent, cold or hot water can cause the waterproof layer to possibly erode, taking away a necessary feature; protection from the rain.

How to cleaning & washing the Tent

Begin by hanging your tent up and spraying water (with very little pressure) at your tent, then take the aforementioned sponge and use soap to start scrubbing areas close to the opening. Scrub each surface, one area at a time. Once that’s done, open your tent and check the insides for mildew. If by chance any mold or mildew is found, use a toothbrush and add 1 cup lemon juice and 1 cup salt in a gallon of water. Rub the solution on the spot with the fungus and wash it off.

Remember to not leave it in for too long or, once again, the waterproof layer will be at risk. If you feel that your zippers are giving you a hard time because of the sand and dirt stuck in the crevices, first rinse the whole zipper out with a slightly higher pressure of water, then use a different toothbrush than the one you used before and rub some oil on the bristles and rub along the entire zipper to make it run smoothly again. For dusting out the skeleton (poles) of the tent, use a dry rag and rub it down. If the waterproof coating feels like it isn’t working as effectively as it used to, renew it.

How to dry your Tent after wash?

After the deep cleaning of the tent is done, hang it out to dry but avoid hanging it under direct sunlight, exposure to the UV rays can compromise the waterproofing, if you live in a region where the wind does not blow as much leave the tent open to dry out the insides, otherwise leave it shut to avoid leaves and worms getting inside and tarnishing your newly cleaned tent.

Check your tent every 6 to 12 hours for three days, normally it will be dry by then.

After your tent is completely dry, check for any wreckage in the waterproof layer, if found, use waterproofing spray designed for tents in specific and use it all over the surface to make sure the tent is secure, especially the seams and seals. Most water re-proofing products take at least 24 hours to dry. While it dries, make sure to store the tent in a clean and dry environment free from scrap and debris and leave it there for the entire day.

Make sure your tent is 100% dry before wrapping it up to avoid the funky smell, you might get if it’s damp in any spot. The smell will make it unbearable to live in the tent for any amount of time and you will either have to clean it even more rigorously than before or throw it out entirely and get a new one.

Another supposed threat, to your tent are leaky seams. Tents are usually sold with the seams protected, but over time or rough weather can cause erosion, in which case you are to reseal the seam. Remove the sections of the tape from the areas where they are destroyed and use new seam sealer over the naked areas, carefully, to maintain long term resilience.

How to protect your tents? – increase the lifespan of your tents?

When storing your tent, make sure it’s in a dry location with moderate temperature. If you keep it somewhere that is too hot, there is a likely chance that the environment will affect the durability of the tent. It’ll be subjected to growth of mold, mildew, and fungus and/or delamination, where after some time the layers of your tent will start to fracture and tear, layer by layer.

Keeping your tent clean while in use

If you’re planning on going to a campsite that is likely to be muddy, take a plastic sheet with you, to place your tent over. Similarly, if the campsite is gravelly, it’ll be beneficial for the future if there is a smooth, but hard, middle layer to protect the ground of your tent from shredding. To prevent muck from drying up and permanently sticking to your tent be quick and wary. Use available water to quickly wash the dirt off of your tent without giving it a chance to harden on the surface.

This should be helpful for people who are routine campers and enjoy the outdoors, having sufficient knowledge regarding your hobby is always valuable.