View Full Version : Getting the vomit smell out of an old tent
ravenleg
01-21-2011, 21:40
Hi, my dad has several old North Face tents from the early 70's that are still good solid usable tents with one major caveat. They reek of that vomit smell from the material breaking down.
Has anyone ever successfully removed that smell? I read somewhere that one guy recommended washing (http://www.backcountry.com/store/newsletter/a259/Mysterious-Tent-Odors.html) the material itself in the washing machine on delicate and then spraying it with Nikwax.
Opinions or other suggestions? I'd really like to dust some of these tents off but not until I can stand to breath inside them through my nose. :)
Throw it out and get a new/used one.
kayak karl
01-21-2011, 21:50
try washing with baking soda.
If it smells like that, it's probably not even waterproof. I'd be more worried about that than the smell. Time for a new tent.
Go to campmor.com. You'll probably save money by buying a new/used tent instead blowing money trying to salvage and maintain those old tents over the years.
Hi, my dad has several old North Face tents from the early 70's that are still good solid usable tents with one major caveat. They reek of that vomit smell from the material breaking down.
Has anyone ever successfully removed that smell? I read somewhere that one guy recommended washing (http://www.backcountry.com/store/newsletter/a259/Mysterious-Tent-Odors.html) the material itself in the washing machine on delicate and then spraying it with Nikwax.
Opinions or other suggestions? I'd really like to dust some of these tents off but not until I can stand to breath inside them through my nose. :)
that article is correct!! granger products are biodigradable...But it take time and effert..You do have to recoat the whole tent tho, after doing this...No I have no affiliation with them but had to do the process myself on my sisters tent for her kids...
Wise Old Owl
01-21-2011, 22:37
Nothing Lasts Forever and THEIR HEAVY!
This once worked for a friend who needed to get skunk spray out of his bivy:
Find some land with good dirt (not sandy or rocky) and dig a hole the shape of the item's footprint. BURY the item at least a foot deep. Cover with all the dirt dug up. Leave it for at least a week. Dig it up carefully, then hose it off, and hang to let it dry.
Worked for the skunk spray, surprisingly.
This method came courtesy of Rusty of Hard Time Hollow after other methods failed. We were both skeptical, but it did work.
kayak karl
01-21-2011, 22:50
they are his DAD'S tents. let him wash them and try them out. maybe his dad or dads memory will camp with him. why do yous always want people to ditch old gear? you got to start somewhere. get out of your chair and have fun.:banana
Wise Old Owl
01-21-2011, 23:04
Good Point KK, what's left of mine though decorate the basement.
The vomit smell is the water proofing breaking down nothing you can do for it. We have 10 troop tents in that state currently.
here is the reference from campmor......Line 31
http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/CustomerServiceContent____tentinfo#31
kolokolo
01-21-2011, 23:20
Find some land with good dirt (not sandy or rocky) and dig a hole the shape of the item's footprint. BURY the item at least a foot deep. Cover with all the dirt dug up.
After you've buried it, go buy a new tent. :)
Turtle Feet
01-22-2011, 00:18
From the '70's? It's time to move on, the the dead rest in peace.
I just let my 20yo cut a hole in the bottom of an old (from the '80's) 'pup' tent of mine - he's using it as an ice fishing shanty. I'll admit, it sort of broke my heart to see it happen, but in reality, the tent has been given a new life.
There is so much fantastic technology out there now to enhance your camping experience - spring for some new shelter!
I know someone who wanted to try out his 70s era North Face Tent over this past new year's - it was raining for two days, pretty heavily, where we were camping.
Hmmm, are there wet tent fly contests?
(It came in through the floor too, long before he got his pad/bag out of the car.)
Jim Adams
01-22-2011, 15:25
That smell is the water proofing break down that Lostone mentioned...it is usually caused by the tent being stored in a "hot" area such as a car trunk. It will NEVER come out.
geek
4eyedbuzzard
01-22-2011, 22:19
Like others have said, the urethane coating is breaking down. No way to stop it. If it were a valuable high end / collectible tent like a Moss, you might consider having it chemically stripped and re-coated. That will run more than the price of most new tents.
Basically, it's now good for a play tent or the trash.
When polyurethane breaks down it emits a urine smell (must be one of those pesky "urethanes"). :D
I threw out an old tarp with that problem and had constant delamination problems with poly coated rainwear, but I used to use it because it was cheap. Silicone (not silicon, that's sand) impregnated nylon (silnylon) uses lighter fabrics than were available in the 1970s and the silicone isn't a coating, it actually saturates the fibers of the fabric and fills the spaces in between. Water doesn't bead up and roll off like it does on a new poly coated tent fly or tarp, though, probably because they haven't figured out how to make a DWR stick to the silicone.
Yep. Time for a new tent. :)
mweinstone
01-22-2011, 22:48
i like vomit smell in a tent. leave it.
i like vomit smell in a tent. leave it.
Make him an offer, Matty.;)
4eyedbuzzard
01-22-2011, 22:51
i like vomit smell in a tent. leave it.
Yeah, nothin' like bringin' back the olfactory reminder of going on a bender with a couple of handles of cheap bourbon and barfing all over the inside of the tent. AH, the good ol' days.
I believe the last resort is fire & burial
Hikes in Rain
01-23-2011, 09:54
I agree. Time for a Viking Funeral. I'll supply the mead.
Wise Old Owl
01-23-2011, 10:43
The vomit smell is the water proofing breaking down nothing you can do for it. We have 10 troop tents in that state currently.
here is the reference from campmor......Line 31
http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/CustomerServiceContent____tentinfo#31
Good find Lostone!
There are some good ideas here about getting it out, accept for ditching it. Stupid idea! Keep it, try some of the (positive) ideas that have been mentioned (baking soda, burying). It might work and is worth a try. Why not? You have it, have an interest in it, a desire to make it good so go for it! There is only one way to know how well it would work, and that is to finish the project and get a result. Good luck! Sounds fun and challenging. How cool would it be if you got the smell out. If its leaking water, then you have a non smelly vintage tent for the hell of it. Maybe you could set it up in the yard or out on a night you know it won't (hopefully) rain. Again, why not?
4eyedbuzzard
01-23-2011, 16:33
The vomit smell is the water proofing breaking down nothing you can do for it. We have 10 troop tents in that state currently.
here is the reference from campmor......Line 31
http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/CustomerServiceContent____tentinfo#31
Okay, the part I find amusing from the link is, "Campmor scientists are feverishly working on the problem but you might need a new tent. If we come up with any solution we will let you know."
Campmor has scientists? That there's funny - I don't care who you are.
JohnEbner
01-25-2011, 18:58
I owned a tent that had that smell to it. I tried hand washing it with NikWax and the waterproof coating started coming off. The tent was pretty much ruined but thankfully the manufacturer replaced it with a new one for free.
There are some good ideas here about getting it out, accept for ditching it. Stupid idea! Keep it, try some of the (positive) ideas that have been mentioned (baking soda, burying). It might work and is worth a try. Why not? You have it, have an interest in it, a desire to make it good so go for it! There is only one way to know how well it would work, and that is to finish the project and get a result. Good luck! Sounds fun and challenging. How cool would it be if you got the smell out. If its leaking water, then you have a non smelly vintage tent for the hell of it. Maybe you could set it up in the yard or out on a night you know it won't (hopefully) rain. Again, why not?
Because anyone who has been in the same situation has tried and tried and labored and treated and declared their time worth more than all that effort and bought a new tent that's rainproof?
PU just does not last forever. It's easier to re-treat silicone impregnated nylon than a PU tent.
Wise Old Owl
01-25-2011, 19:59
Okay, the part I find amusing from the link is, "Campmor scientists are feverishly working on the problem but you might need a new tent. If we come up with any solution we will let you know."
Campmor has scientists? That there's funny - I don't care who you are.
Obama& Democrats did stop funding to Nasa on a huge scale, and shut down the shuttle program. so much for saving jobs...
Some scientist will be showing up at Campmor soon...No kidding ,,, here is the source..
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2010/10/01/NASA-announces-layoffs-in-shuttle-program/UPI-32061285951125/
MAD scientist....
http://search.gifts.com/find/campmorcom/automotive/iid?keyword=mad%20scientist
Yeah, nothin' like bringin' back the olfactory reminder of going on a bender with a couple of handles of cheap bourbon and barfing all over the inside of the tent. AH, the good ol' days.
'Round these parts I call that "Thursday".
Odd Man Out
01-26-2011, 10:42
I have an old Eureka Timberline with the same problem. I put it in the washing machine and set it up outside to day/air out. It passed the hose test for waterproofing. Still smelled bad, but was better. I will replace eventually, but can't afford to get all new equipment at once.
Rocketman
01-26-2011, 12:42
Obama& Democrats did stop funding to Nasa on a huge scale, and shut down the shuttle program. so much for saving jobs...
Some scientist will be showing up at Campmor soon...No kidding ,,, here is the source..
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2010/10/01/NASA-announces-layoffs-in-shuttle-program/UPI-32061285951125/
MAD scientist....
http://search.gifts.com/find/campmorcom/automotive/iid?keyword=mad%20scientist
9,000 more jobs will go when the Space Shuttle last mission ends later this year.
In the late 1960's, the end of the Apollo moon program cost the economy close to 1,000,000 jobs.
Aerojet corporation lost over 100,000 jobs and thousands of ex-employee homes in Sacramento CA were simply abandoned because of lack of work and no future for that many new jobs in the area.
While things are pretty bad n ow, they aren't as terrible as they once were.
Because anyone who has been in the same situation has tried and tried and labored and treated and declared their time worth more than all that effort and bought a new tent that's rainproof?
PU just does not last forever. It's easier to re-treat silicone impregnated nylon than a PU tent.
But you didn't think of the fact that this is something someone is interested in doing, for their own reasons. Why not be positive and supportive? Ravenleg is looking for suggestions, not ideas on how to use their time.
Had old Timberline 2 that was delaminating on the floor only, fly was fine. Tried a few of the ones here, washing, baking soda, febreze, then recoating the area. Never could get the smell out, was way better, but still there, and I couldn't stand it. Had to go, good luck. Was great tent, lots of use, never wet once inside.
Wise Old Owl
01-27-2011, 12:36
9,000 more jobs will go when the Space Shuttle last mission ends later this year.
In the late 1960's, the end of the Apollo moon program cost the economy close to 1,000,000 jobs.
Aerojet corporation lost over 100,000 jobs and thousands of ex-employee homes in Sacramento CA were simply abandoned because of lack of work and no future for that many new jobs in the area.
While things are pretty bad n ow, they aren't as terrible as they once were.
Not many remember those days, I do, Amazing how events repeat themselves, its going to get worse... I hear in 2012 we can stop paying on our mortgage, or there are going to be a lot of disapointed Maya.....:eek:
Not many remember those days, I do, Amazing how events repeat themselves, its going to get worse... I hear in 2012 we can stop paying on our mortgage, or there are going to be a lot of disapointed Maya.....:eek:
Ares, while a great program if it was carried through to it's logical conclusion(manned mission to Mars) was hugely expensive for what it would have been used for. For the Likely uses of Ares Lockheed's Venturestar (which was a reusable SSTO) would have been better. Bush killed that.
Now, this isn't an attack on either Obama or Bush(although I have criticisms on both administration), but more of a commentary on how if a NASA program cannot produce a finish product within one administration it is in a lot of danger of being cancelled. Obama killed Ares. Bush killed Venturestar. Clinton killed Space Station Freedom(which would have been a "one piece launch in one go with a new heavy-lift vehicle") for a dozens-of-launches ISS in the name of "International Cooperation" and keeping the Russian space program on life support.
It is just a sad, sad fact of life that most government programs that require something tangible(as in hardware related, not SS or medicare) tend to be killed when a new Administration comes into office. The "overbudget, underperforming program" is killed so that a "new innovative program" with Obamas/Bushs/Clintons/Bushs-again stamp on it will succeed even though really we're just starting development all over and generating more costs.
Am I bitter about working in the Military-Industrial complex? Maybe....:p
Ares, while a great program if it was carried through to it's logical conclusion(manned mission to Mars) was hugely expensive for what it would have been used for. For the Likely uses of Ares Lockheed's Venturestar (which was a reusable SSTO) would have been better. Bush killed that.
Now, this isn't an attack on either Obama or Bush(although I have criticisms on both administration), but more of a commentary on how if a NASA program cannot produce a finish product within one administration it is in a lot of danger of being cancelled. Obama killed Ares. Bush killed Venturestar. Clinton killed Space Station Freedom(which would have been a "one piece launch in one go with a new heavy-lift vehicle") for a dozens-of-launches ISS in the name of "International Cooperation" and keeping the Russian space program on life support.
It is just a sad, sad fact of life that most government programs that require something tangible(as in hardware related, not SS or medicare) tend to be killed when a new Administration comes into office. The "overbudget, underperforming program" is killed so that a "new innovative program" with Obamas/Bushs/Clintons/Bushs-again stamp on it will succeed even though really we're just starting development all over and generating more costs.
Am I bitter about working in the Military-Industrial complex? Maybe....:p
if your on the Drone program you should be exstatic since they got a great contract this summer....FYI:D
if your on the Drone program you should be exstatic since they got a great contract this summer....FYI:D
Nah, I'm a Comms goon. "Cyberwarfare" is the new thing, Bush grabbed onto it and (fortunately for me)Obama is sticking to it in a rare moment of continuity across administrations.
But my point still stands, if you want something hardware related in the US Military/NASA you generally have to have a finished product by the end of the Administration, else the program will get killed by the incoming administration and money spent one something else(whose specifications are remarkably close to what the program that was cancelled, but whelp we're starting from a blank slate).
Meanwhile we sit around going "Man! The Park Service is totally underfunded! Why is that?" :-?