Removing Mildew From My Tent
Here we introduce you to John McClean, an appropriately named Blogger at ‘Saved by the Bell Tent‘. John has worked hard;
To create [his] own luxury set-up from the humblest beginnings and on a tight budget.
John McClean
In his post; ‘Removing Mildew From My Tent’, John experiments with various mildew removing ideas, and walks us through the varied results. Here is what John has to report on the matter;
Removing Mildew From My Tent
Always read warning labels and wear appropriate protective clothing.
If none of [the solutions] work I’ll try some of the other suggestions.
My expectations are that the vinegar won’t do much, the Mould and Mildew remover will be good, but time consuming, Sodium Hypochlorite should be better, but I’m confident the pressure washer will be the most satisfying solution. Let’s see.
I sprayed one mouldy section with vinegar and another with Mould and Mildew Blaster – being extremely careful not to let the two solutions come in contact with each other because there’s potential for the resulting chemical reaction to release poisonous gas.
Pressure Washing
Then while they worked I used the pressure washer on a third mouldy section of the tent.
The power hose was extremely disappointing.
It did absolutely nothing. If anything it looked worse than when I started! I tried scrubbing the area, but even that made no difference. My final conclusion is that the pressure washer, on this occasion, didn’t live up to my high expectations.
Vinegar
Vinegar isn’t worth the effort.
After twenty minutes, Vinegar may possibly have made the mould very slightly lighter in colour, but it’s nothing to write home about. As a solution to remove mould and mildew from the tent it would require a huge effort and gallons of vinegar.
Household Mould Removers
Household Mould removers are amazing.
Compare that to the household product I tried – Mould and Mildew Blaster. This solution from Astonish is apparently the UK’s number 1 and it’s Vegan friendly (while at the same time being hazardous, corrosive and lethal if it comes into contact with fish or wildlife)
After twenty minutes most of the mildew had gone, but the spray dispenser dribbles a bit, so some of what I wanted to spray onto the tent ended up on my gloves.
Industrial Hypochlorite
Industrial Hypochlorite is OK
Given the success of the commercial product whose main ingredient is Sodium Hypochlorite I was keen to try my own NaOCl solution. Disappointingly, it didn’t work half as well as the more dilute Astonish product. Astonishing.
Further tests with various household mould removers
We also had a bottle of Dettol Mould and Mildew remover in the house. This removed the mould in exactly the same way as the Astonish, but the spray nozzle provided better coverage and leaked less. I used the contents of both bottles and went to the shop to buy more.
Cillit Bang Black Mould Remover again has the same effect, but produces more of a foam, which didn’t provide even coverage like the Dettol but was excellent for the more stubborn stains, sitting for longer rather than running down the canvas.
I continued treating the whole tent with dettol followed by Cillit Bang to remove stubborn mould deposits.
Warning!
The results of these mildew removing products on the tent are remarkable, but the chemicals are not good for the canvas fabric. I certainly wouldn’t clean the tent like this regularly, but it’s worth using them as a one-off treatment to bring this dead tent back to life. I wore gloves and protective clothing, but suffered later in the day because I should have also protected my airways from the vapour.
Glampshire’s Conclusion
What an invaluable blog post?! Thank you John for taking the time to share your insights with the world.
John makes some very good points about how these methods of cleaning can greatly reduce the integrity of the canvas. Whilst the results of the household cleaning products seem good, it remains to be seen whether or not the longevity of the tent has been affected. But hey! This tent would otherwise have been heading to landfill, so even if John only gets another one or two seasons out of it before it starts leaking like a sieve, we think it’s still worth it.
Of course, avoidance in the first place is key. The tent John purchased should never have been allowed to get into such a state in the first place! Mildew is avoidable.
SoulPad have never produced tents with yellow guy ropes, theirs are always bright orange. So judging by the discolouration of the guy ropes from bright orange to yellow, our guess is that this tent has been pitched for a very long period of time, exposed to UV (the discolouration) and likely not ventilated adequately either. When the tents are pitched for a long time, users often neglect to ‘change the air’ inside by opening the windows and door regularly.
The amount of mildew and the dark black colour tells us this mildew has been forming for quite some time. This isn’t ‘overnight’ mildew. If it had been spotted and tackled sooner, the original owner could’ve easily halted its progress and continued with the tent.
It would be interesting to know the age of the tent (there should be a batch number on the tent to check back with the manufacturer) and whether or not the tent had ever been treated to replenish the water resistance qualities. Keeping a canvas bell tent water resistent is key to avoiding mildew.
To avoid the issue of mildew (and more) click here for important tips on care & maintenance.
