G'Day, Can anyone advise on how to clean tents made of synthetic material and how often? I've been using a vacuum cleaner up to now. Likewise how to clean a sleeping bag - or should I send it to a dry cleaners? The tent is made by MacPac and the sleeping bag is filled with feather down. They both get aired properly and seem reasonable after several weeks of camping. But housekeeping guilt is setting in, making me feel that more should be done. All the best, Peter *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
For both tents and sleepingbags I advise to clean them as little as possible. I send my sleepingbag to the dry cleaners about once a year, when it really starts disgusting me when I enter it. I had to clean my tent this year. During my 3-week vacation I used it only twice and packed it while still wet. It stayed in the car for two weeks after that. When I got home and hang it out to dry, the smell was so horrible that I took in down immediately and put it in a bathtub with soap. It is clean now, but leaking on all the seams. It seems the seams used to be water-repellent and don't like soap. I'll have to seal all the seams now. So, don't clean your tent. After a couple of years it will be full of memories: Patches of mud, blood, food and squashed bugs that just add to the romantic feeling of camping. Niels. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
I agree with Niels. Donīt clean your tent, except it is easily possible and useful. On mine there are several "scars" of dirt. Useless to fight against them. But another point is when the tent gets ill: Last year the tents ground was "over the Jordan". PU (polyurethane) coated nylon, the PU had gone and on wet surfaces, it became as wet as outside, Uaaah! So I cut the complete ground out, bought a cheap new silicon coated tarp (3x3m), and sew the tarp as the new ground to the tent (with the correct form, for sure). So, my Sherpa Dome is now ready for further years on this planet. Next problem will be the zippers, they nearby shot down. This kind of work I really hate! But cleaning? Place it in the Sun, the light and the heat will burn out all kind of smell and less harmful dirt. bye Jochen *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
From: "PeterO" <rebyl_kayak_at_iprimus.com.au> > Can anyone advise on how to clean tents made of synthetic material and how > often? I've been using a vacuum cleaner up to now. Likewise how to clean a > sleeping bag - or should I send it to a dry cleaners? The tent is made by > MacPac and the sleeping bag is filled with feather down. They both get aired > properly and seem reasonable after several weeks of camping. But > housekeeping guilt is setting in, making me feel that more should be done. I'll take the opposite tack from Niels - I think you should feel comportable cleaning the tent and sleeping bag. The tent is probably just nylon possibly with a polyester fly. You can use any mild detergent and a rag, sponge or, for tough spots, a soft brush. I often shake the loose stuff out or off of the tent and occasionally lie it on the lawn and hose it down. That takes off most of the dirt, including the bird stuff. I've only taken soap to a tent a couple of times - the few-times-a-year hosing seems to solve most of the problems. The side you need to clean the most is the side that's not coated, so you don't have to worry about damaging that. The exception is the inside floor. For that I'd suggest not attacking it to roughly. If the fly loses its water resistance on the surface (i.e. water soaks into the fabric easily), you can spray it with a coating like Scotchgard or Nikwax spray to redo the dwr (durable water repellancy). Down sleeping bags should be washed as infrequently as possible, since the down will eventually lose its natural oil coating from repeated washing. It is best to use a mild soap - a product specifically formulated for down (like Nikwax Down Wash), is ideal. This should be available from a good outdoor gear shop. Wash it in the bathtub by hand. Rinse it until you would drink the rinse water (i.e _no_ soap residue) and hang to dry. You could machine wash and dry if you have a front load washer (i.e. no central agitator) and a large drier with a low heat setting. Some people take sleeping bags to a laundromat since they often have those types of machines. Amie and I bought a front loader and fancy drier specifically with sleeping bags in mind (at least, that was _my_ motivation). The old advise is to use a clean running shoe or tennis ball in the drier to fluff up the bag while drying. Mountain Equipment Coop now advises against that, saying that it doesn't do much except stress the fabric unnecessarily. The normal tumbling will do all you need. Mike *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Mildew can be a real problem. I've had to throw clothes away that were put inside a plastic bag. I keep telling myself: take an old pillow case to seperate dirty cloths from clean. I managed to wear out the bottom of my old eureka tent without ever considering washing it. I'd just shake it out every day, and take it out to air out when I got home. If I recall packing my tent wet I might pull it out of the bag to start to air out as soon as I get back to the car. I don't think mildew really gets to the out of control point unless you have something wet in a bag for more than 24hrs. If you keep pulling the tent back out each day it completes the drying process and gets a fresh coat of mildew from the new morning dew. But it's not too bad. Now if I used the tent infrequently on a long trip as Niels does, then I'd be concerned about mildew getting out of control. You could pull the tent out in the afternoon when you reach the next camp and just shake it and turn it til it's dry. Then repack. I don't fold tents anymore I just stuff them, so that wouldn't take long and in the afternoon it would dry in 15min or less. In the am with the heavy dew, you might have to wait until 1030am for it to dry. I'll bet the folks from Oregon WA, and AL know more about mildew than me though. I imagine if it rains every day on a long trip, the mildew situation might be something I hadn't counted on. -- Mike McNally mmcnally3_at_prodigy.net *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
I wash my sleeping bag 2 or 3 times a year, if it needs it or NOT! BTW, it ALWAYS needs it as I spend 1/2 of the summer sleeping in it! I wash it in a front loader, mild detergent. I NEVER wash my tent. Just hang and dry it ASAP after I use it. Sponge clean any stuff that might be stuck. Mildew IS a problem here in the PNW. I have lived on sailboats for years and find the control of moisture one of the hardest aspects of living aboard. Warm, moist air in a boat condensing on a cold fiberglass hull. The bilge would collect two+ liters of water a day in the winter. YUCK. Once we forgot and left a mandolin under a bag of sails for a little over a month. OUCH. A new back needed to be built and the finish is all weather checked. OOPS. steve Alder Creek Kayak & Canoe N 45š 39' 47" 250 NE Tomahawk Isle Dr. W 122š 36' 16" Portland, OR 97217 Web: www.aldercreek.com Phone: 503.285.0464 Email: aldercreek_at_qwest.net *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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