View Full Version : Remedy for tent smell?
Auntie Mame
09-22-2007, 10:51
I have a lightly used one person tent that has a lingering odor that I don't like. It grew obvious once it was used, in that I didn't notice it the first time or two I set it up. I'm throwing this out there on the off chance someone has succeeded in modifying this kind of thing. Tents can't get washed, and I loathe the smell of dryer sheets. What else is there?
johnny quest
09-22-2007, 10:53
im dealing with a similar problem right now. my son used our biggest tent then put it away dirt. there is a must i cant get out. no mold or visible issue, just dusty dirt smell that cleaning and airing doesnt seem to resoove. maybe febreeze?
Lone Wolf
09-22-2007, 10:53
you can wash it by hand, let it dry and try Febreeze
johnny quest
09-22-2007, 10:58
well i just "showered" it by hand. i set it up on the driveway and took a hose to it it. its drying now. today i will frebreeze it and report back. got to hurry, rain coming, they say.
galaleemc
09-22-2007, 11:35
http://www.scoe10x.com/Scripts/default.asp
Worked on our worst hiker smells....make sure you test it.
Frolicking Dinosaurs
09-22-2007, 11:37
Not sure if this will solve Auntie Mame's problem, but for those dealing with musty odor from tents put up damp - turn it inside out, hose it off and let dry completely on clothes line in the sun. Turn it right side out and do the same. This has eliminated the problem for me several times over the years.
Auntie Mame, what material is your tent made from - silnylon, coated nylon, something else?
Auntie Mame
09-22-2007, 11:47
Its coated nylon, one of the last REI Roadsters made. Bought new.
And thanks for the leads, folks, I'll try them all.:banana
I have used a 5-gal bucket and small amount of Dawn dish soap. Rinse well. (Another bucket.)
This works well on a sunny day, with a North wind. Just set it up, open it up. Remember to dry the bottom, elastic cording.
Febreeze is nasty. I would go to a dry cleaner and ask about an ozone machine before I would use that on gear.
Toolshed
09-22-2007, 13:48
(Note: I am referring to a lingering new tent type chemical odor, not lingering odors from something that happenend in or on the tent)
If you have an Attic or Dry Basement. Put some nails in the rafters or floor joists and set the tent up, upsde down, do the same with the fly. Let them stay like that for a week or two and the smell will eventually fade away.
Jack Tarlin
09-22-2007, 13:52
Lone Wolf had it about right.
Fill your tub with warm water and a little gentle soap, like Ivory Snow flakes.
Add some Febreeze.
Let it soak for awhile.
Drain the tub. Repeat the process with fresh water. Maybe even repeat it twice.
Rinse the tent thoroughly in fresh water, hang it out to dry for a day or two.
You'll be good as new.
I would be scared of Febreeze. I will defer to collective wisdom.
Be sure to wash the bags as well.
Hope you have better weather today than I, ain't nuthin' drying today.
Frolicking Dinosaurs
09-22-2007, 14:30
Its coated nylon, one of the last REI Roadsters made. Bought new. I've washed coated tents in Ivory (the stuff that used to be used for diapers) in the tub like LoneWolf And Jack suggested. It never hurt the tent.
Frolicking Dinosaurs
09-22-2007, 14:49
Fellows, I moved your discussion of how to stink up a tent to the hiking humor forum since this is about how to clean up a tent.
Auntie Mame
09-22-2007, 16:10
Its damp and threatening rain here today, so my tent restoration project will have to wait til tomorrow. I'll report back about the results. The odor is faintly sulfer-y, not organic as in spilled drinks or food, and not really chemical. I didn't think to wash out the stuff sacks, too, but that may well be critical to SUCCESS!
1 cup of baking soda in 1 gallon of water. Wipe the tent down inside and out with this. Set up somewhere to air dry.
And then store tents on hangers, loosely folded, in some dry closet. Like a sleeping bag. Takes up space but it's part of the hobby....
Auntie Mame
09-23-2007, 15:59
OK, people, I just washed the tent and fly and stuff sack, inside out, and have them flapping on the clothesline now. I will religiously air and store this puppy and see on an upcoming trip just how it turned out. I read all the accompanying lit, and they went on about flame retardant, and I wonder about that being the source of the odor.
Thanks for the help and have a great time at ALDHA. I can't go this year, but wish I could. Have a blast!
Tennessee Viking
09-23-2007, 16:19
What kind of smell is it?
There are a few things to try use a baking soda/water mixture (if it had some mold/mildew on it, or a vinegar/water mixture (if it is a musty, been stored too long smell).
Also try a low scented liquid fabric softener/water solution, or rub it down with fabric softener sheets.
Pringles
09-23-2007, 19:34
People have recommended Febreeze for removing, or hiding, smells from tents and sleeping bags. I live in bear country. If I use Febreeze, will I just be spraying my stuff with a pleasant smelling bear attractant? Thanks.
Beth
Fiddleback
09-23-2007, 19:44
Who knows what bears like? I'm not in the mood to find out so I'd avoid things that would exchange one smell for another. Whatever is used to get rid of the tent's funk, leave the tent exposed to strong sunlight for a good long time...a couple days, perhaps. The sunlight (and fresh air) will help kill the lingering aroma...it might even cure the original odor problem...
FB
pure_mahem
09-23-2007, 21:24
I all else fails they have the dirt scented dryer sheets in the sportings good section of wally world at about this time they carry them for hunters clothing. also might try doing the washing thing int the tub with the sportsman's wash it has no dyes or uv brightners and is unscented.
Tipi Walter
09-23-2007, 22:44
Most new tents have a flame retardant smell, it could be antimony, a chemical used in treating for flame retardant. It probably causes bladder cancer or god knows what else, I've been living in tents all my life and I really don't want to find out. Wasn't there something about KRIS, a banned flame retardant in kid's clothing, years back?
johnny quest
09-24-2007, 08:54
i have a report. i had my tent set up in the yard for two days. no rain. 90 degree days. on the morning of the second day i febreezed the heck out of the inside and let it dry another half day. the musty dusty smell was gone. my human nose couldnt detect any flowery scent....no scent at all. at the end of the day i put it away in the duffle bag i store tents in. i would say the febreeze worked.
I have an anecdote that may be helpful.
In '97, a friend had his bivy sack skunked while staying in a shelter. He tried many of the remedies mentioned here (except perhaps Febreeze, which may have not been on the market then) but nothing worked well.
Then, during a weekend visit to Rusty's Hard Time Hollow, he mentioned his predicament and said he was about to just throw the bivy in the trash. Rusty interceded, with what turned out to be good advice.
He said to dig a grave for the tent in some decent dirt, not too rocky or sandy. Bury the tent about a foot deep for at least a week. Dig it up, hose it off, and voila--it should be good as new.
We were skeptical, but as a last resort did exactly what Rusty said to do. About 10 days later, my friend dug it up and damn if the skunk smell wasn't gone. I guess when an old mountain man gives advice, you should listen.
I had a dog get skunked and run back in the tent, down to his spot at the end of my bag.
I didn't even get out the door for my wiz. What a night that was...
Went downhill to Boise, to a commercial laundry, and they hung it in a ozone machine contraption.
The clerk asked me if I had been hunting.
They must come out of the woods rancid round there.