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From: Mike McNally <mmcnally3_at_prodigy.net>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] How to clean tents and sleeping bags?
Date: Sat, 1 Dec 2001 12:00:03 -0600
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

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