Its been two weeks since we returned from camping and had to pack our tent away on a dewy morning which resulted in the tent being soaking wet when we packed up. For the past two weeks I've been trying to get it bone dry so I can pack it away for the winter.
Its a 6 berth tent so its too large to put up in the house and we don't have a garage to put it in.
We've tried pitching it up in the garden which dries the top out but then the groundsheet underneath is still wet as it was touching dewy grass.
We've tried laying it over our the table outside so the groundsheet is exposed but then the cold concrete on a morning is then making the underneath wet from condensation.
Either keep doing what you are doing, but bring it in each night (otherwise you are back to square one by the following morning).
Maybe consider an oversized tarp on the wet grass, with tent pitched on top?
In theory though, from about now until late April, chances are you are flogging a dead horse unless you dry it inside, where there is no damp and hopefully a little heating too.
It may be too big to pitch, but even laid on the floor, exposing a small section at a time, and constantly moving it along to expose the next section, will eventually get it perfectly dry. Better still, hanging over a bannister, or laid over dining table/chairs? It's simply starting to get too damp outside now, bar the odd short hour each day, to achieve what is required. Just remember, the guys also have to be bone dry (or removed) before packing away.
If pitched outside, then two hours of sunshine and a decent breeze should do it, but it needs to be off wet grass, and brought inside/packed away before the damp sets in again... not easy if at work every day, of course.
For the record, the longest I have had a tent laid out on the floor of our spare bedroom, with about 10 to 15% of the fly exposed at any given time, was 8 complete days... 6 berth polycotton tunnel.
We regularly leave our smaller 4 berth polycotton out from returning on a Sunday evening to the following Saturday morning, when winter camping... Better safe than sorry!
The trick is, to keep telling yourself "It's all worth it"!
The answer is to use a footprint underneath the tent when you erect it in the garden. First thing in the morning the tent will be covered in dew but providing the air, sun, wind can get to it, it should be dry enough by early afternoon. Don't leave it out after about 4.00pm at this time of year because the humidity is high as the sun sets. Once packed away the footprint (tarpaulin) can be easily wiped off and dried with a cloth.
You could try using a towel which has been washed in clean water to remove any detergents (to protect the waterproofing) for drying off the heavy dew first thing in the morning and then it will dry quicker over the next couple of hours. Having said that, I always use the towels I have taken camping with me and never had a problem re detergent but it's an often argued about issue so I wouldn't recommend it.
Yesterday I erected my brand new tent in the garden. This morning it was covered in dew. It now looks pretty dry and I will be taking it down very shortly. If there are any droplets of water left on the bottom of the fly I will wipe those with a towel as I find them. I have never had a problem with mildew...so far!!
I always store my tents indoors in a dry atmosphere not in a damp shed or garage.
Pitch it so that the top dries and then when you let it down make sure it all collapses onto itself.
Fold the tent in half so that all of the'top' is inside the groundsheet and dry the exposed section of groundsheet with a microfibre cloth.
Leave it for a while until the dew is dry on the grass and then turn the tent over so that the dry section of groundsheet is on the dry grass and the damp section of groundsheet is exposed.
Dry the exposed section of groundsheet with the microfibre cloth and the fold the tent up, drying any small remaining damp areas as you go.
Update to my posting above. Early this afternoon I took down my tent which was bone dry top and bottom. However, even though I had erected the tent with a footprint underneath it on what I thought was a dry lawn yesterday, the underside of the footprint was soaking wet today. Obviously if you don't use a footprint that wet will be on the bottom of your tent.
Thanks all for the advice. We've brought it inside now and drying it in the kitchen. We're gonna keep folding it to expose wet bits. The top is nearly dry. It's just the underneath.
Footprint gets my vote too. My tent is packed away lovely and Dry. The footprint came home wet and slightly muddy in a bin bag, put on the line, rinsed off with hose and is now also packed away nice, dry and clean
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I usually spread mine on top of the trailer to dry in the garage, turning it from time to time.
DK
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We've just done ours after it got wet last weekend. We started with it over the stair bannister and then migrated it to the dining room. Laying it over the dining table worked pretty well and whilst it was a bit annoying not being able to use the table for a few nights, it was better than constantly tripping over it on the way up and down the stairs! The tent is now packed up for the winter and we've hired a wooden yurt with wood burning stove for next month to continue our camping in more comfort during the cooler months.
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Topic: How do I get my tent dry!!
