Camping guide to… tent care

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YOUR tent may appear to be a rugged piece of outdoor gear, but it is also your home – and all homes need care and maintenance.

Luckily, modern fabrics and materials make this a little easier than it once was – after all, it is unlikely that you will find yourself sanding down wooden poles at the end of the season.

However, a little TLC applied during use and in after care will help protect your investment and ensure you get the maximum return on your money.

Although traditional materials, like canvas and wood, have largely been replaced by steel, alloy and synthetics, there is a shift back towards cotton and polycotton in the more expensive tents. This has to be welcomed.

Not only do the materials improve the tent’s ambience but they are also more resistant to wear – especially from UV degradation.

They do require a little more maintenance over pure synthetics if you are to get the best lifespan from the products, which could be more than double that of a man-made fabric.

Pitching

Tent care starts as soon as you buy your unit. Some tents require the seams sealing. This is normally associated with polyamide tents with a silicone waterproof coating, or on seams around vinyl windows. Use a proprietary seam sealer and allow to dry thoroughly before packing away.

If you have a cotton tent, or untreated polycotton tent, then you will need to weather it before use.

Leave it standing for several days so it will repeatedly wet out and dry – use a hose if necessary. This will allow the cotton fibres to swell and block any small holes that will otherwise leak.

Some polycotton tents have a waterproof coating and these do not need weathering.

Good camping practice will minimise damage. For instance, do not pitch under trees that may shed limbs and sap.

Further, remove birdlime as soon as possible so it does not rot the fabric. When pitching your tent ensure that there are no sharp stones or twigs that might pierce the groundsheet.

Either a manufactured footprint or plastic sheet placed between groundsheet and ground will minimise the risk of damage.

Pitch the tent so all the panels are tight – but not overstressed. Flapping will damage a tent panel and stress will pull at the seams. Incorrectly placed pegs can aggravate this and can pull out creating yet more damage.

Remember, wet synthetics stretch and damp cotton tightens. Regularly check and adjust guylines to compensate and avoid stressing fabric and seams – especially prior to going to bed.

Breaking camp

Check poles for damage

Tent care continues as you pack away. It may seem obvious but check everything is accounted for.

Lost pegs damage site mowers and poles left out at the back of the car are often run over as campers leave – both are silly, expensive and avoidable mistakes.

If you have to leave quickly because of bad weather then loosely pack everything away.

Try not to use plastic bags – wet fabric quickly creates the warm humid atmosphere loved by mildew. Once home clean and thoroughly dry your tent as soon as possible – the longer you leave it the more likely it is for mildew to set in. Remember to hank up cords once they dry out.

Time is often of the essence when dealing with tent maintenance. It pays to repair holes and tears – reproofing where necessary – straight away rather than wait until the night before your next camping trip.

Likewise, as you check the tent straighten any bent tent pegs in a vice or by tapping with a hammer.

And, do not forget the poles – check for splits and burred ferrules. Finally, store loose in a dry dark place away from vermin – do not store poles, and pegs with tent fabric.

End of season

If you keep your gear well maintained throughout the camping season then there should be little to do when you pack it away for winter.

A good inspection should reveal any stress points that need work. Amongst the things to check out should be zips, peg and guy points detaching from fabric, rubber peg pints perishing, guylines fraying, seams leaking, tears to be repaired.

Check that the zips run freely – use a zip lubricant or rub with candle wax to ease any jamming teeth.

Check poles for splits and rub down ferrule burrs with a small file. Check the connecting cord or springs.

Do not oil or grease but rub down with a silicone polish to protect the poles from rust – it also helps them runs smoothly through a pole sleeve.

Before storage, I dust the inner waterproof coating of my tents’ outers with talc to prevent the surface sticking to itself.

Reproofing

Eventually you may want to reproof your tent’s outer. We asked waterproofing and cleaning specialist Storm for some top tips to reproofing your tent.

Cleaning

* Always use a proprietary tent cleaner, never a supermarket’s fabric cleaning detergent as these will strip off the waterproof finish. They also contain chemicals such as optical brighteners and enzymes that remain in fabric after rinsing, preventing the successful re-application of waterproofing treatments.

* Stubborn marks like birdlime or fatty cooking stains are a real problem. Spray the affected area with Storm Stain Remover. This citrus-based product breaks down the acid and fats in these stains. Rub over the treated area with the Storm Non-Scratch Sponge to help remove staining and then rinse thoroughly.

* Mildew is a nightmare. Using neat bleach to remove the spore marks is not even an option – it will remove the fabric colour! Avoiding mildew by regular waterproofing and packing away correctly. If Mildew spores are present these can be treated to reduce any further growth, a weak solution of a sterilising fluid such as Milton can be used, ensure that the treated area is allowed plenty of time to dry before packing away.

Waterproofing

* Regularly waterproofing your tent not only keeps you dry but also helps prevent the formation of mildew and lengthens its useable life. Always do this outside or in a well-ventilated area and make sure the fabric is clean before application. Cover your lawn – waterproofing agents can discolour grass.

* Water based products can be applied to wet fabrics but take around 12 hours to dry fully and are only water repellent when dry. Solvent-based products dry fast, but can only be used on dry fabrics. The choice is yours.

* Some waterproofing products contain UV inhibitors that slow down the degradation of the fabric by sunlight, lengthening the life of the fabrics.

*If waterproofing with silicones never treat a small patch or let an area dry out before completion, as this will leave a stain.
Some finishes can appear patchy – especially if you use a water-based product. Wipe over the damp fabric a clean rag to remove any unsightly marks or runs and give a more even coverage.

* Cotton fabrics are more porous than synthetics so absorb more liquid when waterproofing, using more litres per square metre. And, the heavier the fabric weight, the more it absorbs. Older cotton and canvas products may need a special waterproofing treatment designed to help maintain their repellency. Contact the waterproofing manufacturers direct and they will give any advice needed to supply the correct product for this purpose.

Storm tips:

After use pack a groundsheet away separately or folded so that any dirty or wet areas are away from other fabrics.

It always pays to supplement the repair kit that comes with a tent with a few items of your own. Tears may be repaired with the manufacturer’s patches, but I also carry sail tape from a chandler and duct tape – I apply all with care knowing that I will eventually have to remove the glue to reproof the permanent repair. I also keep spare cords with my selection of pegs, plus a turbo-lighter to seal cut ends. A spare pole, or a pole sleeve, takes care of any breaks – the duct tape keeps this in place – while a small tube of seam sealant or Copydex stops leaking seams. A small can of reproofing spray can often come in handy. I carry a few reusable plastic clips that create an instant peg/guy point – also very handy for tarps. My Gerber multi-tool handles the cutting and clinching.

Ensure that all parts are packed in a way that you know they are all present. There is nothing worse than getting to a site and finding you have forgotten something.

Store all fabrics in a dry area, preferably at a temperature above 4°C.

A badly folded tent creates wear points on the fabric, creases on windows and can trap moisture causing the formation of mildew. Try to fold the tent so that any trapped air can escape, this is almost a must with sewn-in ground sheets, folding towards an opening, e.g. door way or mesh panel. Use the bag as a size guide when folding to get it to fit.

* This article was originally published in the November 2008 of Camping magazine, in association with

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