Q&A: How dow I remove mildew stains from my tent?
Question by Mildew: How dow I remove mildew stains from my tent?
The material is nylon with a polyurethane coating (for water-proofing). My understanding is that the mildew grows underneath the polyurethane layer, and that bleach will destroy the nylon. Anyone have experience with steam cleaning or pressure washing similar items (like tents or sailboat sails)?
Best answer:
Answer by Sig
In my experience (backpacker 35 years) I haven’t found anything that will remove mildew from a tent without ruining the tent. I have learned to dry them thoroughly before storing them. I still have a great tent that has ugly mildew stains on it. But the tent still works fine.
Although I have never tried it I have read that Coke-a-cola soaked on the spot will remove a large percentage of the stain w/o damage to the tent.
Good luck
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Dawn Dish soap. Just plain old dish soap and a hose. It’s gentle enough so it doesn’t ruin your tent.
Worked miracles on my tent.
Side note…if you’re camping in bear country, be sure that whatever you use doesn’t have a food scent.
You can’t remove the stains, but you might be able to remove the odor. ALWAYs, set up your tent again after a camping trip, in your yard, or on your porch, and let it totally dry out. Then you can roll it up and pack it away. If you don’t, mildew will grow.
For your mildewed tent, set it up, sweep it out with a wisk broom, then put it in your washing machine, with some mild laundry soap like woolite. Even regular detergent is okay, but only a tablespoon or so. Fill the washing machine up with water and the detergent and put the tent in, but DO NOT RUN THE CYCLE. The agitation will possibly tear the tent, you just want to soak the tent. Let it soak an hour, then run the spin cycle only. Refill the washer, then spin it again to remove the soap. (spinning around won’t hurt the tent, but the back and forth agitation of the rinse cycle and wash cycle will so avoid those). Once the tent is spun, remove it and lay it outside over a railing or clothes line and let it dry. After a few hours, turn it inside out so the other side can get dry. (or set it up again). Then you can pack it away.
Use vinegar, either in the washer or by hand. It works great on my shower curtains!
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