I am buying a Vango Aspen 700 DLX from my parents for the princely sum of £50 and the ONLY issue with it is that some parts of the inner have a bit of mildew on them. The outer may also have a bit of mildew. I plan to clean it when I pitch it but wanted to know what the best method of cleaning it is. Are there any products I should specifically stay away from??
The inners can be cleaned in the washing machine or bath in a milton or napisan wash. That will remove the mildew, however there might still be some staining remaining.
As for the outer you need a stiffish brush, hot water and pitch the tent in sunshine and scrub away.
Any chemicals will more than likely affect the internal coating which allows it to be waterproof. Some staining is no problem is the active mildew that you need to stop.
Don't scrub hard, you'll damage the flysheet! The outer is made up of several thin layers of high techie stuff bonded together,, you don't want to wear through that or scrape bits off. I find a clean car sponge is quite abrasive enough. If I do want to brush off dried mud or bird poo I use a baby's hairbrush which is gentle on the fabric.
Pitch tent, get mild solution of bleach and water with one of those washing up sponges and gently rub off mildew, let it dry, then clean solution , maybe lemon smelling, rinse area, let it dry, spray to re waterproof area if you feel its necessary. Worked for me and what have you got to lose.
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Topic: Cleaning Mildew from Tents
