This is among the most important topics to understand for camping tent owners. Being a good owner and a responsible camper, you must clean and store your tent properly. There are several ways you can store or clean your tent. While some of them just decline the lifespan of your tent. You must be aware of dos and don’ts.
They are mentioned below. We are not only going to discuss the best methods to store your tent but also going to have a healthy discussion on the cleaning of the tent. Therefore, we are sure by the end, you will have a clear approach to how you can properly clean and store your tent.
Table of Contents
Top 5 Ways to Store Your Tent Properly
1. Hanging the Tent
Hanging your tent is one of the best options to securely store your tent. There are several places where you can hang your tent. You can hang your tent in the garage, closet, or even in a spare room. These places are usually temperature regulated and dry as well. These two conditions – not too hot or cold and uncontrolled moisture will act as a restriction while hanging your tent.
Hence, make sure that the place where you are hanging your tent must be dry and temperature regulated. Obviously! You will need enough space to securely hang your tent. There are two advantages to hanging your tent. Hanging your tent will prevent creases and wrinkles on fabric and also dry up any moisture.
2. Rolling the Tent
If you are not in the conditions of hanging your tent then you can roll up your tent. You have to roll up your tent then collapse and slide the tent poles inside. While rolling up your tent make sure to not roll tightly because it can wrinkles and creases allowing waterproof damage. No one wants to do that. Check out Bivy Sack vs Tents which is the best option.
3. Pillow Case
Pillowcase is the best way to store your tent. You can put your tent tightly inside the pillowcase. Make sure to completely dry then clean the tent before storing the tent inside the pillowcase. Some pillowcases are large enough and spacious than the sack that comes along with the tent. You may find that you don’t want to spend your time and energy then pillowcases work at their best.
If you have a large tent of six-person capacity or more than the king-size pillowcases do the job very well. If you don’t want to roll your tent or not even considering hanging the tent due to the non-availability of space then you can put your tent inside the pillowcase.
4. Folding the Tent
Folding the tent is another way to store your tent. The only thing that you must take care of the creases. There must be no tight creases on the tent because it will result in a declination of waterproofness.
5. Storing the Tent Poles
Perfectly storing the tent poles will increase the total lifespan of your tent stability. You have to make sure that there are no creases or wrinkles on the tent while storing because in the longer period of time it will damage the waterproofness of the fabric. Similarly, you have to also take care of the tent poles while storing them. You can check how many types of tents are available in the market.
Actually, there is a bungee cord inside the tent poles. If you carelessly store the tent poles then it will result in continuous tension on the bungee cord and it will cause overstretching and damaging the tent pole.
The best way to prevent tension on the bungee cord is to partially or wholly assemble the tent poles then store them. Disassembling the tent poles starting in the center of the pole is the best way when there is not much space available. Overall, your main purpose is to ensure the reduction in the amount of tension on the bungee cord of the tent poles.
Why Store the Tent Properly?
You already know the answer. As obvious first cleaning then storing the tent properly will not only enhance the lifespan of the tent but also will make your camping experience amazing next time. The reasons why storing the tent properly are:
1. Clean Mud and Mat: When you are back from camping then your tent will be full of spots of mud and mat. If you don’t clean them and store the tent while still wet then your tent fabric, zippers, and waterproof coating will be damaged.
2. No Wrinkles and Creases: Storing your tent in a hurry or not storing properly will cause wrinkles and creases that will damage the waterproofness over the long period. Also, read about the best instant tents for camping.
3. Unwanted Odours: Unwanted odors occur due to mold and mildew in the tent. The tent will smell and give you an unpleasant experience. Therefore, below we have also discussed how to clean your tent.
How to Clean the Tent?
If you store your tent dirty full of dirt and mud then it will cause mildew and mold growth in your tent. Next time camping with this tent will completely ruin your camping experience. Therefore, cleaning the tent is as inevitable as storing properly. Let’s check our dos and don’t to clean your tent properly.
Dos:
1. In order to clean any spot of dirt and mud or entirely cleaning the tent, you must use a mild non-detergent soap and a non-abrasive sponge.
2. Clean the tent zippers as well. For the proper cleaning of zippers, use a mild bristle brush or a toothbrush. Uncleaned zippers will affect the waterproofness and functionality. For the smooth sliding of the zipper, you can rub a non-scented wax candle on the zipper.
3. To clean the tent floor and rainfly use a mild non-detergent soap and a non-abrasive sponge.
4. Once you have completely cleaned the entire tent then hang it in your garage or on the shower curtain in the bathroom to make the tent dry.
Don’t:
1. Never use a dryer or hair dryer to dry the tent because the tents are not meant to withstand the temperature in which most dryers run. It will damage the tent.
2. Machine washing your tent will damage the tent fabric. It will result in the tear and stretching of the fabric.
3. Don’t do aggressive scrubbing anywhere in the tent. It will result in waterproof coating damage.
4. Don’t use the scented soaps and household cleaners. Not only they will damage the waterproof coating but also attract insects towards your tent while back on camping.
Summing Up
Cleaning and storing your tent will increase the lifespan of your tent. They will not only make your tent stay working but also improve your camping experience next time. Comment below your thoughts and vision to share with us. Stay tuned for more information guides and camping tent reviews.