hi looking for the best way to clean out tent, got it set up last weekend only to find mildew on it!! we did take care to make sure it was dry when we packed it away at the end of last year !!
If the mildew is on the inner tent you can wash it. If its on the outer tent then just clean it the best you can with water. Use of any sort of washing liquid etc will destroy proofing. It might look unsightly but you can still use it provided mildew is not too bad.
If it is absolutely skanky then you will have to bin it unfortunately.
Treat the Mildew/mould with a dilute solution of "Milton" apply with a spongeleave on for 15 minutes and rinse thouroughly retreat if required also rinsing thouroughly. Dry well and for the flysheet treat with "Fabsil" do not treat the bedrooms with fabsil. You need to kill the mould/mildew other wise it will spread , Milton will kill it water wont, DONT use washing up liquid or any detergents and DONT scub it with with anything that will damage the fabric
Next time DONT put the tent away damp or store it in a damp place.
------------- Experience enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again.
Everything has been said before, but since nobody ever listens we have to keep going back and saying it all over again and again and again
Last time I tried Milton it took the colour out left it bleached in patches. This was with an old canvas frame tent. What tent do you have & how bad is the mildew?
We have had quite a number of posts about mould/mildew recently,
As far as im aware you actually have to kill mould/mildew otherwise it will produce spores and continue to grow and eventually destroy the fabric,this is especially effects cotton/canvas fabrics however in polyester based tents it will eventually get behind the seam tape and destroy the adhesive and subsequently the tent will leak.
The best and safest way to kill mould/mildew is natural sunlight as no chemicals are used and it will eventually brush off but the fabric will probably remain stained.
Another way to kill mould/mildew is to use a bleaching agent and I think Milton is most commonly used as it is a low chlorine based bleaching agent but as we all know, or should know, we should not use chemicals on tent fabrics One of the advantages of using a bleaching agent is that it not only kills the mould/mildew but will probably remove the staining as well and as "tentz" has found out it can also remove the colour from cotton based fabrics so it should be used in a diluted form and washed off thouroughly.
As a precaution after using any chemicals the tent fabric should be treated with a waterproofer this applies to all tent fabrics. On polyester tents the seam sealing tape should be checked and if loose the seam behind the tape should be treated with seam sealer. To clarify waterproofer is applied to the outside of the tent, seam sealer is applied on the inside. Do not waterproof the bedroom pods.
The moral of this tale is "MAKE SURE THE TENT IS COMPLETELY DRY INCLUDING THE UNDERSIDE OF THE GROUNDSHEET AND STORED IN A DAMP FREE PLACE
------------- Experience enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again.
Everything has been said before, but since nobody ever listens we have to keep going back and saying it all over again and again and again
Good advice above re cleaning and getting rid of mould spores.
Even though you think you packed away you tent dry, there was obviously some dampness there 9unless it was stored in a shed etc where it could have become damp over the winter). Often a tent seems to be bone dry when packing up but a little condensation between the bedroom pod and flysheet can escape your notice. Also, make sure guy lines are bone dry too. Even if I think my tent is bone dry, I always leave it spread indoors somewhere out to air before packing away.
------------- Anne - mad mum to one - foster mum to many - adoptatent to you guys!
Quote: Originally posted by rochford6 on 30/3/2011
tentz, you must have had it to strong or left it on too long, never had a problem with any of my canvas tents
Yes, I tried it & it didn't remove the mildew so I strengthened the solution & it bleached the treated bits from dark blue to pink! this was with an old Marechal. It did actually work, it just looked horrible. I suppose if the tent is natural coloured canvas you are ok but with a dark colour you might have probs.
I suppose its worth pointing out that in UK conditions its often difficult to pack a tent 'in the field' completely dry even if you do it on a warm afternoon & it is good when you have finished camping for the year to unpack tent & hang it indoors if you can for a day before repacking.
I think tents with SIGs can suffer more as you can pretty much dry the outside and inside of the tent on a sunny day but the underside of the SIG can still be damp so you have a nice dry tent with a damp SIG attached to it all rolled up in the same bag.
Another problem area is above the bedroom pods as this is probably the area most affected by condensation and as more and more tents can now be pitched as one this area tends to go unnoticed especially now more and more pods are being fitted with pelmets to hide the gap between outer and inner
------------- Experience enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again.
Everything has been said before, but since nobody ever listens we have to keep going back and saying it all over again and again and again
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Topic: cleaning a tent
