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Subject Topic: silica gel to keep canvas dry?
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Personrokki
31/5/2017 at 9:31pm
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we have a large family canvas tent, just bought last year in the hopes of finally taking the kids abroad in the summer holidays! we love it and used it several times in last 12 months, but every time we pack it away I'm anxious about it developing mildew so we often put it up again in the garden after a camping trip to try and get it bone dry before packing it away
I'm often not convinced it's 100% dry and so spend an anxious wait till we get it out again!

How dry does a canvas tent have to be in general to not worry about mildew? Can it go away with some moisture and it be ok?

Would packing it with those little packs of silica gel help - has anyone tried this?

I want to enjoy our tent and chill out a bit!!


PersonBramston
31/5/2017 at 11:12pm
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If it didn't rain on your last night at camp a couple of hours morning sunshine should dry your tent out nicely before you take it down.

If it rained all night and the tent was still wet when you took it down and packed it several hours on a nice warm sunny day should do the trick, but you may have to air it until the nice sunny day comes along.

Silica gel packs won't make much difference, if you really want to use them you'll have to dry them out first in a warm oven.


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Personrokki
01/6/2017 at 8:58am
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thanks for replying - on more thought agree silica gel probably won't help as the tent is so tightly packed.

I've been measuring our lounge and kitchen hoping there would be a way to put it up inside but its just too big!

wish there was a heated warehouse or something nearby that would dry and air and pack a tent for you!! would definitely pay for that service just for peace of mind!


PersonBramston
01/6/2017 at 10:36am
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You don't have to put the tent up, you just have to get it out of it's bag and let the air get to it, turning it from to time to time until you have a chance to air it properly outside.
A wet tent is an annoyance but it shouldn't take over your life.

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PersonAlisonBob
01/6/2017 at 8:42pm
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Peace of mind comes at a cost, if you had a spare room that you could use to spread out the tent a dehumidifier may be worth getting, put tent in room with the dehumidifier and just keep turning the canvas. You want everything to be touch dry, you don't want to over dry the canvas as this would possibly open the weave allowing rain to penetrate, so the tent would need to be re-weathered.

This would work with canvas since its breathable (Don't think it would work with polyester as chance of moisture being trapped).

We have this one

We tend to use this now for drying washing rather than tumble drier as I think the running costs are lower.

Regards
       Bob


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PersonCaligula
01/6/2017 at 10:31pm
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Silica gel will hold the moisture, and therefore will make for a pocket of damp next to you tent. I wouldn't advise it?


PersonEwen c
01/6/2017 at 11:40pm
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How much of the stuff would you need for the average tent?
I have seen posts advocating window vacs to suck up moisture before packing away. Lidl have some on sale and I am sorely tempted as this weekend looks like a wet pack up.

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Durston Xmid-2 solid
Durston Xmid-1 solid
Hypercamp Alaska - Dutch Pyramid
Vango F10 Helium UL1
Coleman cobra 2
Eureka solitaire
Naturehike Star River 2


Personrokki
02/6/2017 at 7:11am
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thank you so much for your help - I have a bit of a love hate relationship with our tent - love it that it gives us so much space especially when the weather is awful as there is room for everyone to cook, eat, play...but frustrating packing down for storage as its so big and heavy and it so often rains on our last day so we've had to get the beast out again to dry.

we've got underfloor heating in the kitchen so I guess we could spread it out as best as possible in there overnight - it's just so big and heavy and cumbersome, hadn't fully appreciated that when we got it, plus in the past we've had a much smaller set up so we're not quite used to this yet




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happy campers family of five



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