I'm lucky enough to be able to post this as a warning to others who may not get not so lucky....
In summary, never crawl into an un-pitched tent with a vacuum cleaner hose to vacuum it out - there is a very real risk of suffocation.
The longer version.....
We'd just got back from a lovely few days camping in Dorset. The packing up at the campsite was dry so there was no real need to pitch the tent at home to dry it off. I was aware we had folded the tent with a few leaves and insects inside so figured I would just vacuum it out to clean it up ready for next year.
I'm not claustrophobic so have no isse with crawling into an un-pitched tent, ie with it just laying entirely flat on the ground. I've done that numerous times before, only this time I took the hose of the vacuum cleaner with me to suck up the leaves and deceased flies.
Everything was going just fine until I'd made it to the far back corner of the tent, the furthest possible point from the door at the front.
All of a sudden the tent flysheet got sucked around me. It was so tight around my body and arms I could barely move. It was also so tight around my head I couldn't breathe...
I was just about able to force my arms up to my head to make a small space to take a breath and scream for help from my wife. I had no idea if she would actually hear me. Luckily she was outside round the other side of the house and came running to my aid, switching off the vacuum.
All in all I estimate I was stuck for maybe 30 seconds. As the time ticked by it was getting increasingly hard to breathe and at the end I couldn't. Had my wife not been there I genuinely don't know if I would have been able to get out or not- I suspect probably not.
I have since worked out the physics behind what happened. Kneeling in the tent I was effectively in an air pocket, with a vacuum sucking the air out. I was ok until I had gone in sufficiently far for the flysheet to lay flat on the sewn-in groundsheet behind me, making a pretty much air tight seal.
I count myself very lucky - hopefully reading this may help someone else not end up in the same predicament.
surely you would have just shaken all the crud towards the door? or the very last job before taking the tent down seeing as everything was dry would have been to take an already dirty towel and wipe the floor over and then fold everything up, saves making work for yourself once home
We'd forgot to take a dust pan and brush with us - we have already packed one in the box of stuff so it automatically gets taken next time
We were also kind of in a rush to get packed up and hit the road, especially as it looked like it was about to rain.
I didn't think of turning it inside out, but even if I had that would have seemed like more hassle than just crawling in with the vacuum. The soft brush on the end was perfect for sucking up the flies - no real risk of damage there. Just a risk of suffocating myself (that I hadn't predicted, obviously)
We were on EHU, so if we go EHU again I might just pack the vacuum too and use while the tent is still up
Interesting to read about this possible near miss.
Maybe take a wee rechargeable hand held vacuum next time - or a simple dustpan & brush. It may be easier stopping the grass cuttings, dried mud, whatever, coming in; but easier said than done, especially as a dog can’t take their paws off.
I've certainly vacuumed my tent out on occasions, but only when erected, and without issue. I tend to use a dustpan and brush, as big mains vacuum is too extreme and always want's to suck the SIG/flysheet into the nozzle/brush in my experience. Small handheld 'dustbuster' types work well though, and couldn't vac-pac you even in a collapsed tent as not actually removing air from the tent space.
I'm also inclined towards prevention rather than cure, so always use a offcut piece of carpet as a doormat just inside the door. It's surprising the difference it makes, and I've got a dog! You can take it outside every day and shake/beat/sweep the debris off it to great effect.
As to your 'shrink wrapping' experience, must have been a very long and unpleasant 30 secs!
Wow, thank you for sharing your alarming and rather terrifying experience and altruisim to the camping commmunity. There for the grace of God go I etc. We all do things that in hindsight were risky, plainly unthought through or potential recruits for the Darwin Awards...
I always think a penknife is a good bedside companion in a SIG tent, should anything untoward prevent the usual exit.
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Topic: Vacuuming an unpitched tent - danger !
via mobile 18/7/2025 at 1:41pm
