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Topic: Cleaning Vango Force 10 - Advice Needed

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Foxcowan

02/7/2023 at 7:38pm
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Hello!

I'm a newbie over here and looking for some advice.

I've picked up a Vango Force 10 MK4. It's in pretty decent health generally - but has a VERY musty smell which ideally i'd like to get out of it! It's mainly coming from the inner from what I can tell.

I wanted to play it back to you all what my plan was based off reading bits on the forum.

1. For the whole tent - I'll give it an airing for a few days to see what difference that makes.

2. For only the inner - I'll clean the inner rubber groundsheet by scrubbing with anti-bacterial soap and hot water, to get any mud from the textured surface on the groundsheet. Then give it a bath of Fabfil tent and gear cleaner to soak for an hour. Good rinse in clean water as per instructions. Pitch in the garden on a warm day to day-out.

3. For the flysheet I'll clean the outside with sponge and some water, followed by reproofing with Nikwax Cotten Proof sprayed on with a pressure spray.

4. Again - I'll leave the whole thing out to dry...

I picked up all of these bits of advice and collated them from this thread below

https://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/chatter/display_topic_threads.asp?ForumID=32&TopicID=........

Before I press ahead - is there anything I should be aware of - or that is a cause for concern from anyone here?

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Ewen c

via mobile 03/7/2023 at 12:06pm
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Do not use any proofer on the fly.
First air the flysheet and then pitch it (no inner).
Wet the flysheet with water only from the hose sprayer and leave it. This will allow the weave to swell.
Allow to dry and spray with water again. It should be waterproof.
The flysheet is waterproof because the threads swell and stop water ingress. A proofer, even a cotton proofer, will ruin that natural process. It is normal for a cotton tent that has been unused for ages to let a bit of water in until the threads swell up.

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Fiona W

via mobile 03/7/2023 at 1:31pm
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Well well! We have a Vango Force 10 mk 3 in the attic. Orange, very faded, only laziness stops us taking it to landfill. We did proof it with Blacks orange coloured proofing many years ago, pre UKCS wise advice. We know what to do now!

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Ewen c

via mobile 03/7/2023 at 1:35pm
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You can get brand new flysheets for the MK3. I got a cotton one for my MK3 CN.
As it is you could sell that one for a tidy profit rather than dumping it.

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Foxcowan

via mobile 03/7/2023 at 8:49pm
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Thanks so much for coming back here! I had read this might be a bad idea. I’ll steer clear of this.

With regards to the inner - do you think that I’m largely going to be safe cleaning it in the tub?

Ewen c

via mobile 04/7/2023 at 8:16am
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The inner is not waterproof so the products you intend to use will be fine. Pitch the inner once done without the fly and it will dry out. You may need to sponge dry the groundsheet.
The main thing to watch out for is storing any cotton tent damp and that includes the guylines. The good thing about F10s is that every part is available if anything gets lost or broken.
Enjoy the tent.

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Foxcowan

04/7/2023 at 11:20am
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Thanks so much Ewen C! Really helpful and hugely appreciated! I've got the flysheet pitched outside at the moment and i'm going to get the inner sorted as soon as I see the weather turn!

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Fiona W

via mobile 04/7/2023 at 2:52pm
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Quote: Originally posted by Ewen c on 03/7/2023
You can get brand new flysheets for the MK3. I got a cotton one for my MK3 CN.
As it is you could sell that one for a tidy profit rather than dumping it.

£75 to £300+ on eBay. Who knew? Might be worth getting the L-tear on the porch repaired after all. The expensive one was the original orange colour, the cheap one was pale like ours.

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Foxcowan

04/7/2023 at 5:16pm
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at EwenC

Last night I put the tent up and hosed it down. I've left it out to dry and then had the pleasure of seeing that the rain was thumping it down outside - which gave me a chance to dive into the flysheet in the garden whilst the downpour happened!

Conclusion was that I was being essentially misted by rain through it.

So - with that in mind - having not owned one of these before - would you say that's normal - or would it make sense to proof it?

I'm only asking again before I own a bell tent (granted the cotten canvas is much more dense) and I wouldn't expect to be misted. But I assume that's the purpose of the inner to shield you.

It would be great to get peoples thoughts as to whether misting is normal or not! Granted it was tipping it down outside.

Ewen c

via mobile 04/7/2023 at 5:21pm
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Misting is only normal while the weave is getting back to normal or in very hard rain. You really need to wait and see for that.
Was the rain beading and running off the outer?
However, do you know if someone proofed this tent before?
If it was then it has had the natural properties destroyed and it will need reproofed.
Personally I'd give it a bit more time as you won't to avoid proffing the fly.

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Ewen c

via mobile 04/7/2023 at 5:21pm
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Want to avoid proofing, that should say

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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

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Foxcowan

04/7/2023 at 8:16pm
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There was plenty of beading - I'd say considering how heavy the rain was I wasn't sure whether I should expect it to be misting inside or not.

The weather where I am in Essex has been quite something today - so it has certainly been given a good clean on the flysheet front.

I'll drop a message to the chap I bought it from on Marketplace to see... as he sold it to me he said "You might want to give it an airing, then reproof..." but I couldn't say whether they had historically done it. Generally it was in good shape and used as a scout tent so it has plenty of colour still.

I'll check in!

Ewen c

via mobile 04/7/2023 at 8:42pm
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Beading is good. That shows it was keeping most of the rain out.
If the rain was heavy and as it was a bone dry old tent, it probably was just the force of the rain forcing a mist of rain through.
Remember, it still breathes so it sounds ok to me.

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Foxcowan

04/7/2023 at 8:50pm
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Cheers Ewen! I'll return and let you know how I get on!

I did message the chap I bought it from - so we'll see what he says.

Ewen c

via mobile 04/7/2023 at 9:02pm
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I reckon you will get away without proofing it.

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Foxcowan

via mobile 10/7/2023 at 5:19am
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After spending the week cleaning and assuring the thing - I think you’re right! It was in the most extreme down pour that it was coming through - and it wasn’t a huge amount.

I asked the previous owners and they said they couldn’t remember - but they knew that in the scout troop some of them had been reproofed! So we’ll never fully know!

I really appreciate the help here! 🙂

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