When you go camping being clean is not always easy, plus nature finds a way to get dirt and mud all over the place. It is quite easy to say that your camping tent gets dirty, but the question is how do you properly care for your tent?
Cleaning and caring for your tent is important if you want it to last, trust me some tents they make today wouldn’t last a few weeks if neglected. However, I have decided to provide tent campers with tent cleaning, tent care, and many other tent tips. Instead of needing a new tent every year, let’s make the one you have last.
To quickly answer how to care for tents, you need to clean them after every use and the most important thing is to keep them dry. When a tent is packed away wet they will become moldy rather quickly.
How to Wash Your Tent in 5 Steps
Cleaning your tent is actually an easy process. It may take some time depending on how much cleaning it needs. I like to relate the process of cleaning my tent to cleaning my car, I clean the inside then I wash the outside.
5 steps on how to wash your tent with soap:
Step 1 – Setup Tent For a Spray Down
Set your tent up in an area where you can spray it with water. Then spray it with a hose inside and out.
Step 2 – Fill Up Bucket With Soap and Water
Get a wash bucket and fill it up with warm water. Add regular liquid hand soap and toss in a sponge. If you don’t have a sponge a hand cloth will work. I do recommend a good tough sponge though.
Step 3 – Scrub Tent With Sponge or Cloth
Use a sponge and scrub tent all over, inside and out. Scrub areas that contain any dark dirty patches. Scrub mildew and mold areas if any.
Step 4 – Rinse off Tent
Spray tent with water again, rinse any dirt off of tent. Spray inside the tent to remove dirt from inside. Tip – Place a piece of wood or something similar on the door opening to let water drain out easier.
Step 5 – Let Tent Completely Dry Out
If no remaining dirt and mildew then let the tent completely dry. If still dirty just repeat the washing steps. It is super important to let your tent dry or you risk the chance of mold growing in your tent when packed away.
These steps are super easy and effective for cleaning your tent. If your tent has excessive dirt stains or mold, then it may be time to buy a new tent. See our best tall camping tents that would be a perfect replacement for family camping.
How to clean a tent with mold?
The easiest way to clean a tent that has mold is to spray it with distilled white vinegar. After letting it dry out you can scrub it with hot soapy water using a sponge and a toothbrush.
Can you wash a tent in a washing machine?
It is important that you never machine-wash your camping tent because washing machines and driers are known to tear tent fabric. The most common issues when machine washing a tent is that it falls apart at the seams and zippers.
Take Your Time While Setting Up Your Tent
When setting up your tent you have to take your time. If you are rushing you run the risk of several issues that can ruin your tent. The poles are an important part of your tent, so be gentle with them so you do not crack them in pieces. Also if you rush with the poles you might stick one through the outer material of your tent. Remember rain loves tent holes…
Set up your tent properly, if you don’t the wind could take it down in a hurry.
Take Care While Taking Down Tent
When taking your tent down you still run the same risks as setting it up. Be careful with the poles and take your time. There is no worse feeling then ruining an expensive tent because you were being careless.
In the process of packing your tent away, make sure the ground you are on has no sharp sticks or objects that can puncture a hole. When rolling up the tent you are applying pressure to remove the air inside, this leaves risk for a sharp object to cut through much easier. Just be gentle and aware, rushing through this easy process should not cost you!
Why You Should Air Out Your Camping Tent?
If you store away your tent while it is still wet or damp it can cause issues such as:
- mold
- mildew
- odor
- rotting material (material becomes weak)
Airing out your tent prevents all of these smelly problems. Trust me it is not fun when you are setting up your tent and you find a large amount of sickening mold growing in your tent.
It is well worth the extra work to set up your tent in the yard or somewhere inside to make sure it completely drys out after a camping trip. With your hand just feel around the tent for damp areas. When no wet material is found it is now fine to put away. There is no harm in extra airing out time. It’s better to be safe than sorry.
The fastest way to dry out a wet tent is to let it sit in the direct sunlight.
Extra Protection Using Tarps
What I mean by extra protection is creating better protection for your tent and camping site. When going tent camping it is always important to be aware of any possible weather issues. Rain is the most frequent problem tent campers come in contact with. Staying dry in the tent is the number one priority.
Sometimes tent campers rely on their detachable rainfly to keep them dry. Although, most tents have great rain-flys sometimes there can be a leak and it is not worth the chance. Through many tenting rainstorms, the best and easiest solution is setting up tarps. Tightly secure a tarp over your tent, here are the steps on how to do so.
How to Secure a Tarp Over Your tent
1. Place Tarp Over Tent
Place a tarp over the top of your tent but make sure your tent can still breathe.
2. Find Trees To Tie Onto
Use rope and tie the tarp a few feet over your tent on a small angle. This provides an extra barrier between you, your tent, and the weather.
3. Secure Rope Tightly
Make sure to tie everything tight so it works effectively. If loose water will still roll on your tent and potentially inside the tent. And if loose it will blow in the wind and be super annoying.
Listening to these steps while tenting in the rain will keep rainwater outside of your tent.
Prepare for the Wind When Camping
To prevent damages to your tent from the wind it is best to have anything around your site cleaned up and placed in a secure location. If you have a vehicle, load as much as you can inside since your vehicle is certainly strong enough to handle the wind.
If you are backpack camping you should not have too much on hand. Your tent should be in a secure location (refer to choosing tent location below). Take all gear and equipment inside the tent, make sure it is not soaked with water. Place around edges of the tent for stronger support. Doing this adds weight around your tent which makes it more difficult for wind to cause lift and cause damage.
The main tip when protecting your tent from wind is to make sure your tent is always pegged to the ground correctly. Hammer pegs in on a slight angle, and check to make sure they are tightly stuck in. Watch for rocks and tree roots.
Read our article on how to tent camp in high winds and properly secure your tent.
Keep The Inside of Your Tent Clean
Cleaning the inside of your tent is like cleaning your bedroom at home. You just have to keep up with it so the mess does not pile up. Stay tidy by making your bed and putting things where they belong, like putting your clothes back in your bag. To prevent dirt and mud from entering the tent get a shoe mat and place it outside the tent door.
Whenever you enter the tent, you can place your shoes outside on the mat. Your shoes can have a lot of dirt from outdoor activities so it is best to place them outside. However, the weather might ruin that idea so placing your shoe mat inside will work if you have the room. Just make sure your shoe mat is waterproof so there won’t be any puddles inside.
When eating while camping it is best to do it at the picnic table or anywhere outside the tent. You can eat in the tent, just eat with care because you might get some crumbs. It’s not the end of the world if the tent has a few crumbs in it. This makes having a mini broom set perfect for inside the tent, I bring a mini-set every trip and it helps with all the small dirt build-up. Sweep up once a day and you will have a super clean tent. If you have the room there is never a problem with bringing some towels just in case of any liquid spills. Just hang it up outside to dry if you use it.
Choosing Tent Location Strategically
Choosing the location of where to set up your tent is extremely important. When tenting in a campground you only have a limited number of options. When camping in the wild you have plenty of different areas to choose from.
What you need to consider is the safety of the area. Is the wind going to blow me away or will the rain flood the tent here? Avoid placing your tent on top of hills, or in an area that is just windy. Wind can cause items to fly into your tent or cause your tent to collapse. Rain will probably reach your tent no matter where you are outside. A great way to hide from wind and rain is to camp in an area surrounded by trees. Trees can block the wind coming in and help lower the amount of direct rainwater hitting your tent.
I wouldn’t recommend setting up a tent near the water. The ocean can change its water level in a very short amount of time and it can be extremely dangerous, watch for high tides and low tides. Rivers can flood pretty quick to so just be aware.
Small lakes and ponds are not as serious of an issue but still something to be aware of. Place the tent as high above the water levels as you can, flooding incidents while in a tent are life-threatening, it is something you do not want to be a part of.
The ground location of your tent should be as cleared off as possible. Rocks and sticks can undoubtedly shoot up through the base of your tent damaging the tent. Clear off area, grass is usually my favorite place to set up just for the reason it is comfy. Laying out a large mat under your tent always keeps it safe from anything sticking up through. If you want to get professional I have used these interlocking tiles from Amazon, and they work perfectly to keep your tent base clean and hole-free. Plus it’s super comfy!
How to Waterproof Your Tent?
Your tent should be very waterproof in general, however, if you put it through a home spray test it might not pass. Sometimes your tent might need some repairs… I have used a few tents that needed a couple of sealed corners. If your tent does have leaking seams then give this Seam Grip Repair Adhesive and Sealant a try. This stuff is the best for sealing tent seams. Anyways, here are some waterproofing tent tips:
3 Tips To Help Waterproof Your Camping Tent
- Use Silicone Water-Guard
- Place a Tarp Over Tent
- Use a Tent Ground Cover
The water repellent spray simply repels water right off your tent. After using different water sealing sprays, I found that Atsko Silicone Water-Guard the best option. Just grab the spray can and spray each tent seam and any areas where water could enter, spray up to 72 hours before using. If you plan on camping in the rain spray your tent a few days before you go so the product cures properly.
I have been camping where heavy amounts of rain were coming. And instead of worrying about getting wet in the tent, I set up multiple tarps over my tent. I would place it on an appropriate angle so any water would not land and roll down into my tent. Its pretty simple, use rope and get above the tent and tie onto a tree nearby. Make sure it is tied tight, if not the tarp will be moving with the wind and that is super annoying…
Ok now onto using a ground cover, which isn’t something I always used. A ground cover is essentially a tarp placed underneath your tent. It helps keep your tent in better overall health and increases the longevity of the tent floor. But one thing that I realized is when using a ground cover under your tent it prevents water on the ground from quickly soaking up and into your flooring.
Many tents have minuscule holes that you didn’t even know you had. When not using a ground cover, the water flowing on the ground quickly finds these holes. And the next thing you know you have wet feet in the tent.
Conclusion
Tent care and cleaning is something that can be easily done. The tips in this article have kept my camping tents in top condition. I enjoy passing on my tent knowledge and I hope it is helpful! Now you know how to care for tents and also many ways to prevent tent damages.
Keep your tent clean, dry, and away from from potential threats. The longer you have your tent the less you have to spend!