How To Clean A Tent With Mold: Step-By-Step
Reading Time: 10 minutes It is serious to dispose of mold. Every camper should know how to get rid of it.
Mold growth on your tent is an expected thing. If this happens, you must deal with this matter quickly as mold spreads quickly. The last thing you need is to vent the particles while you sleep.
We will explain how to get rid of the mold that is on your tent using many different methods. These methods are easy and safe, and they will grandly extend the life of your tent.
General Tent Cleaning Tips
Clean your tent after long camping trips for several days or more. If you go on short camping trips from time to time, you should clean your tent every few months.
Moisture and dirt are one of the biggest challenges in keeping your tent better. So, you need to deal with them while you take care of your tent and clean it. Before you clean your tent, you should keep in mind some general tips in order to keep your tent clean.
- Shake off the dirt that has accumulated on your tent or clean it with a vacuum cleaner. You have to do this every time you use your tent, but you must make sure that you did it before storing it in the winter.
- Do not store your tent when it is wet, as you cannot fully air dry it while you are at your camping site, so prepare your tent after returning home to dry it.
- It is easy to clean the tents while setting up and stretching.
- Wash the outer fabrics manually, then wipe the tent with a solution of lukewarm water and mild soap, such as using liquid hand soap.
- Clean your tent poles using a soft, dry cloth. This is an essential step after ocean-side camping trips to remove salt spray and protect it from corrosion.
- Do not rub the underside of the tent fly as this may damage and remove the polyurethane coating that is the water repellent applied to the underside of most tent flies.
- If you go to a camping place where there is sand and dirt, you must clean the zippers by dipping them quickly using water and dry them without cleaning them. It may lead to damage to the zipper sliders. Thus, the teeth will eventually become inoperable.
- Do not wash your tent in the washing machine and do not dry it in the washing machine, because this will damage the fabric, special coatings and seam tape, due to the temperatures in the agitator in the washer and dryer.
The Best Ways To Remove Mold From A Tent
There are many different ways to clean your tent of mold. It all depends on the severity of the mold and the growth of mildew on your tent.
We will explain these methods from the simplest to the most complex, and we will mention four ways that will help you clean your tent from mould once and for all:
Soap And Water
If there is a little mold on your tent, you can use a little soap and warm water as this will do the trick.
In order to clean these stains, use gentle, non-detergent soap, as this type of soap does not contain scented odors and does not leave an odor on your tent because these odours will attract insects while you go camping.
Sometimes spot cleaning is not enough, so you have to soak your tent in water. Therefore, you should use a cleaner that is specially designed for outdoor clothing and tools, as these cleaners do not cause any stains or damage to your tent.
The Steps For This Method Are:
Step one: Clean your tent with a brush:
Take a cleaning brush and clean it. Remove all dirt, dust and moldy particles loose on the dry tent.
If your tent is made of synthetic fibers, you should use a brush that has soft bristles. As for tents that are made of fabric, you can use a brush with coarse bristles, which is a better option.
Do this method outside the house in order not to fly particles inside your house.
Step Two: Clean the stains that are on heavily soiled areas:
Choose the right soap for you, and then mix it in a bowl with a little water.
If your tent is made of fabric, you must clean it using the brush you used in the first step.
If your tent is synthetic, you will need to use a piece of cloth or a sponge, and you must use the non-abrasive side of the sponge. Otherwise, you can tear the cloth.
Step Three: Soak Your Tent:
Fill a bucket with lukewarm water. If you don’t have one that is large enough for your tent, you can use a bathtub as it will do the trick.
Add a tent cleaning product to the water. So, you should read the instructions on the back of the tent as a little of the product will not do the job. If you use it excessively you will damage the tent fabric.
In this poster that is located on the back of the tent, it may mention the time that you need to submerge the tent in lukewarm water.
Step Four: Rinse your tent.
Drain the sink and rinse your tent with water in order to completely remove all soap products.
Step Five: Leave your tent in the air to dry completely.
Put your tent in your backyard. This place is not exposed to the sun directly and dry your tent in the air. The tilted tent will help greatly in the flow of air. Thus, the tent will dry quickly.
DIY Vinegar Remedy
Vinegar is one of the best multi-purpose cleaners, as it removes grease and dirt and treats the dirtiest jobs where all you have to do is mix it with a little water. Thus, you can clean the house completely.
Vinegar is one of the best ways to remove mold, especially mold on fabrics.
The vinegar here is distilled white vinegar, while apple cider vinegar and wine could theoretically work, but they might stain your tent. In order to do this method, you’ll need to use a spray bottle.
Steps To Clean Your Tent Of Mold Using Vinegar:
Step one : Mix vinegar with water.
Pour a cup of warm water with a quarter cup of vinegar into a spray bottle and then shake it well so that the liquids combine with each other.
Step Two: Apply to the affected area:
Spray the mixture on the areas where the mold is, as the vinegar will take some time to work and you should leave it a little before you take the next step, which should take about 15 minutes.
Step Three: Scrub the moldy area:
After you leave it for some time, it’s time to use your hands. Use a cleaning tool that is suitable for the material of the tent, as if you were using the soap and water method.
Where you should use a brush, cloth or sponge and then rub it on the moldy areas gently.
Step Four: Allow your tent to air dry:
Vinegar is a magical cleaner as it does not need to be rinsed and after you have finished cleaning the tent, raise your tent outside and then leave it to dry completely. Vinegar has a very strong smell and its smell may last for a long period of time.
You can wash your tent in order to get rid of the smell of vinegar, but if you leave it, the smell will go away with the passage of time, meaning that the smell will disappear anyway, so you do not have to worry about the unpleasant smell of vinegar on your tent.
Lemon And Salt Alternative
If you are bothered by the smell of vinegar, you can dispense with the vinegar to clean the mold and use both lemon juice, salt and water, and this solution is one of the most powerful solutions for removing mold.
The Steps For This Method Are:
Step one: preparing the mixture:
In order to prepare the mixture, all you need is a cup of lemon juice plus a cup of salt, and then warm the water and then add the two ingredients in the warm water and stir them well.
Step two: Spot Clean:
Dip your cleaning tool in the solution and then scrub the areas where the mold is present. It is best to use a piece of cloth with a bristle butterfly when using the solution on the cloth.
Step Three: Rinse Off
The acid in lemon bleaches fabrics, and in order to preserve the fabrics, do not leave the solution on the fabric for a long time, as some minutes may be enough to damage the fabric of your tent.
To do this, rinse the mixture immediately after you have finished cleaning the mildew from the fabrics.
Step Four: Air Dry
After you finish using the solution and clean the tent and wash it well from the solution, let the tent dry in the open air, preferably away from direct sunlight in order to preserve the fabric for as long as possible.
Deep Cleaning
If you do not want to use mixtures or mold removal products, the best solution is a deep cleaning, and for that you will need some enzymatic cleaners.
The enzyme cleaner works great to break up dirt, stains and mold, and in order to know how to use these cleaners to remove mold, all you have to do is follow the following steps.
Steps to use an enzyme cleaner:
Step One : Fill the basin with lukewarm water
Fill your sink with lukewarm water and follow the instructions on the detergent. It is usually stated both the amount of detergent water to use to work appropriately.
Step Two: Let It Sit
After adding the detergent to the hot water, soak the tent in this solution. For the success of this process, the tent must be left in the solution for as long as possible.
If you wipe the solution immediately, you will not allow the detergent to penetrate into the fabrics and remove mold and dirt. Some solutions put the time period on the packaging used.
Step Three: Rinse the Tent:
After you have washed the tent with the detergent, drain the used tub of water and then rinse the detergent residue from the tent. Sometimes, you will have to repeat the process several times in order to completely remove the mold.
Step Four: Let It Dry
After completing the previous steps and completely removing the mold, all you have to do is dry the tent, and for that, put the tent in a place away from the sun and let it air dry.
How To Prevent Mold And Mildew
As we mentioned earlier that mold is one of the most annoying things that we can face and we learned the best ways to clean mold, we must learn how to prevent mold and its formation.
The formation of mold depends on the type of room and environment you keep in the warehouse in which you store your tent, as damp places are one of the most important factors that help in the formation of mold and its increase.
For this, you should store your tent in a well-ventilated environment and space so that there are no high humidity levels. You should also take the tent out of the store from time to time and check it periodically, and this will work to preserve the tent from mold formation and extend the life of the tent.
FAQ
Is Mold In A Tent Dangerous?
Mold is not very harmful to the tent. But you certainly will not want to inhale the spores produced by the mold, and mold affects your health, especially the health of the respiratory system, as it may lead to chronic allergies and worsening in conditions such as asthma.
How To Get Rid Of The Moldy Smell?
There are many ways to get rid of mold and its formation, and we have mentioned the most important methods that you can use to permanently remove mold from your tent, and vinegar is one of the best methods that you can use for this.
What Does Mold Look Like?
Most of the time, mold comes in the form of streaks, spots or lumps, and there are several colors that mold can appear in, the most popular of which are white, green and bluish black.
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