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Camping under canvas

Topic: Tent damage to inner fly sheet

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Gcall

via mobile 17/7/2023 at 8:31am
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Hi, we borrowed a friends tent last weekend and on the first morning I noticed some patchiness could be seen on the inner material of the fly sheet (through the bedroom fabric). I didn’t worry about it too much but the next day there was very heavy rain and the patchiness seemed to spread. The tent was packed up a little damp and when drying the tent out the next day (less than 8hrs later) I had a proper look at it. It’s almost as if the inner fabric has worn away/disintegrated in places. Can anyone explain why this has happened? The rain was bad but it was pegged out really well and I would have expected the tent to handle it ok. Plus the patchiness was there a little bit before it rained. Is there anything that can be done to fix the issue?
Photos from inside and outside attached.

Any help warmly received - thanks!

marg6

17/7/2023 at 11:13am
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its like that because the tent fabric is well past its sell by date! its been packed wet in the past and it has developed mould which although the owners may have cleaned off it still stays within the fabric and shows up once wet, there is nothing that will get rid of it, it looks unsightly and could mean its lost its waterproofing, i would suggest you dry the tent out fully and return back to the owners and comment about the marks and its time for them to by a new tent,

Rob and Tina

via mobile 17/7/2023 at 12:04pm
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Looks like the tent has well and truly had it, how old is it? I presume it isn't a canvas tent the, newer fabrics have quite a short life compared to canvas which can go on for many many years.

Tina

Gcall

via mobile 17/7/2023 at 3:48pm
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Thanks for the replies. What’s really odd is that the owners say it’s only been put up once before, and they don’t think it was put away when wet. But I don’t understand how this could have happened so quickly if it was just caused by one days rain last weekend. It’s not the most expensive of tents but surely they shouldn’t develop mould and deteriorate like this so quickly. Is mould, and this level of damage, usually something that needs time to occur? I don’t want to push off any responsibility, just trying to understand what’s happened.

Fiona W

via mobile 17/7/2023 at 4:20pm
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That mould didn’t happen this weekend while you had a loan of the tent. It’s not that quick! The best tent in the world will get mouldy if it’s put away damp.
But a dry tent can also get damp if it’s stored somewhere damp. Friends stored their tent in a cupboard, unaware that the wooden floor rested directly on a solum (the soil underneath). The tent was ruined because it got the damp rising up from the floor.

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Bramston

18/7/2023 at 8:56pm
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Thinking about it, I suspect that this tent was left out in the wind and rain and the flysheet and inner tent allowed to touch and flap together. This would have damaged the waterproofing so that when the tent was packed damp and left for a while it became a target for mildew.
Sadly this tent is now past it's best unless a new (2nd hand) flysheet can be sourced.
The owners may say that they knew about the damage which is why they let you borrow the tent.

Post last edited on 18/07/2023 21:00:08

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Gcall

via mobile 19/7/2023 at 8:45am
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Thanks for everyone’s replies. I really appreciate them.

DeborahTurner

via mobile 25/7/2023 at 9:35am
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While checking that the outside of a tent is fully dry before packing away, it is also possible for there still to be condensation on the inside of the tent, not noticed because of being behind the inner tent.

It’s possible that happened on their previous trip.

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