[at-l] Washing my Tent?

[bullard@xxxxxxxxxxxx (Jim Bullard)]

At 02:26 PM 4/2/2003 -0500, Mark Hudson wrote:

>I suspect that the smell you're talking about may be a case of mildew. I
>had a tent that took on a rather vile smell that washing didn't seem to
>cure. Try handwashing with a gently detergent, and then going over the tent
>several times over a week or so with Fabreese (sp?) or a similar product.
>It took a couple of doses but worked for me, or at least got it down to a
>barely noticable level.
>BTW, the instructions that I've seen for tents says not to machine wash
>them. OTOH I've gotten away with it... heck, if it won't take the rigors of
>a washing machine how is it supposed to stand up on the trail? <g>.
>Assuming you would never, ever, machine wash a tent, remove all attached
>guy lines first, and zip up the screen so it won't snag.

I've never washed a tent but if I were to wash one, I would use a front
loading washer (one of those "triple loaders" at the back of the
laundramat. They don't have an agitator so they should be easier on the
tent. I admit this is pure speculation but it makes sense to me.

Saunterer