Just opened my Diable 600 for the weekend and covered in mould (black spots). Annoyed with myself but was moving house and never aired it from last trip. Brushed it all off which got rid of the smell but still black spots. I have read all the previous threads and have decided on trying the sterlising fluid rather than the Dettol Mould and Mildrew remover. Such a big tent so thought I would spray on the the fluid leave for 5 mins and then spray on water to rinse. Has anyone tried this and does it get rid of any of the marks or just kills the mould? Please help don't want to buy another one.
I used a solution of WVP home brew steriliser and sprayed it on the affected areas (on inner tent) to kill the spores then used a solution of astonish oxy cleaner on a cloth to reduce the black stains. They've not gone completely but are much less noticeable and haven't spread, the smell's gone too! I haven't tried this method on a flysheet though.
Is it on the inner or the flysheet? If it`s on the flysheet you`ll have to live with it because though you can spot treat flysheets, doing a large area even with Milton will almost certainly wreck the waterproofing.
If it`s on the inner, pitch the inner only and go ahead. Just remember and rinse it off really well. And wear old clothes and watch out for spray going on skin and in eyes.
You can (I understand) re -treat a tent with a waterproof spray. Not sure how successful it is. If it is the outer skin - keep the cleaning fluid (which ever one you decide to use) to as small an area as possible.
------------- Ken and Wendy
Face piles of trials with smiles.
Well doing it now. Pitched the inner tent and have sprayed it with a small solution of Sterlising fluid and water and most of the black marks have gone. Now need to rinse of the fluid but it's looking good. Will not touch the flysheet as this seems to be okay. Thanks for all your replies. A little help goes a long way.
Quote: Originally posted by Ken_Wendy on 05/6/2006
You can (I understand) re -treat a tent with a waterproof spray. Not sure how successful it is. .
The waterproofness of manmade fabrics comes from an inside layer that is chemically bonded to the fabric, so if a substance affects that bond it will peel away. (UV has this affect too)
Once this has happened the siliconised sprays will not restore the previous level of water resistance at all, so to the tent will not perform as it did before i.e. it will be highly likely to leak!
Quote: Originally posted by Liddenham on 05/6/2006
Why don't you now just run the inner through the washing machine, on a low temp cycle and with non-bio powder?
The inner of a Diabolo 600?????????? Fit into a domestic washing machine????
I think you`d be hard pressed to find a washing machine big enough to take it, even down at the launderette. Might fit in a small swimming pool though, and the chlorine would be ideal as a mould treatment.
Quote: Originally posted by newlands on 05/6/2006
Well doing it now. Pitched the inner tent and have sprayed it with a small solution of Sterlising fluid and water and most of the black marks have gone. Now need to rinse of the fluid but it's looking good. Will not touch the flysheet as this seems to be okay. Thanks for all your replies. A little help goes a long way.
Please can you elaborate ? What make of sterilising fluid and what ratio of water to fluid did you use ? I would like to file this for future use. Thanks.
------------- Christine
2014
April -
BunRoy Fort William 3 sleeps
April / May
Invercaimbe Arisaig 4 sleeps
Bleatarn Brampton tbc July
Usual mix is the same as you would use for sterilising baby food knives forks etc then rinse well you can use pure soap flakes for washing but NOT DETERGENT this will destroy your tents waterproofing and will also not allow you to reproof it, personally once mould spores are killed with miltons iv'e never bothered to wash the tent i let the weather do it
Dr Johnsons Sterilising Fluid cost about a pound, the lady in the shop recommended this rather than the Dettol mould and mildew remover as a bit more gentle. Cost about a £1 then went to Woolworths bought a spray bottle for a £1. The spray bottle holds 2 pints so put in roughly 30ml of the solution and filled the rest with cold water. Had the inner up in the garden and sprayed all the black marks with the solution. Some of the stains have remained but the majority of them have gone. The lady said in the shop to soak it in the solution but the tent is to big for the bath. Well chuffed as I was totally gutted with the state it was in.
We had a similar problem last year on the inner of our Khyam XL - I managed to drape it over the washing line and soaked it with a solution of Milton's fluid (as recommended on here) - it did the trick. The marks are still there, but the mould was killed so it didn't spread any further.
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Topic: Sterlising Fluid - Mould
