If you’re like me, when you come home from a rainy camping trip, you might be a little tired, and you may find yourself wondering, can you put a tent in the washer?
While you can put a tent in the washing machine, the steel cylinder of the washer will destroy some important parts. If you just throw it in, all the more fragile parts such as mesh or seams could be destroyed. Then you’ll be shopping for a new tent!
You do still need to make sure you wash it as needed. If you don’t, mold and other gross things can begin to grow.
Read on for more details on what you can do and why you shouldn’t put a tent in the washer.
Table of Contents
Can You Wash A Tent In A Front Loading Washing Machine?
As we said before, you can’t put your tent in any kind of front loading washing machine. The spinning, contact with the steel cylinder, and any chemicals such as agitators you may use can permanently damage the tent.
Here are the parts which are destroyed by this type of washing.
Mesh
Most tents have some kind of mesh on the somewhere. It’s usually used some form of ventilation around the door, windows, ceiling, or floor.
This is the most fragile part of the tent and the fastest to rip in a washer. Even run on a gentle cycle, the mesh has a large chance of getting holes in it.
Once the mesh has holes, it’s completely ruined and useless.
Seams And Seam Taping
It may not surprise you to learn that tents are made of more than one piece of fabric sewn together. During the sewing and attaching process, tiny holes have to be made to connect the pieces with the thread used.
These holes would cause leaking problems, but they’re covered with seam tape. This is done to prevent leaking through the holes and to add some extra security to these connections.
The soap and movement of washing in a machine are too rough for the taping. It will come off fairly easily.
Once the taping is off, the seam themselves start to leak and possibly come apart. At this point, you may as well just go buy a whole new tent.
Coating
All tents, to some degree, have a form of waterproofing done to them. This is most important on the rain fly and the tent bottom which come into contact with water the most.
When you use soap and chemicals in a rough situation as with the washer (even on gentle), the coating is washed off. It’s just too rough.
While you may not notice the lack of waterproofing right away, you will notice quickly how the material feels damp and gathers mold quickly.
Can You Put A Tent In The Dryer?
The only thing worse than putting a tent in the washer is putting it in the dryer. A dryer is a surefire way to completely destroy your tent.
All the things we talked about possibly happening with a washer is guaranteed to happen with a dryer. It’s too hot and harsh.
On top of these things getting destroyed, there’s a good chance the tent material could begin to warp and melt in the dryer.
If you’d like to dry your tent out, try one of these safe alternatives:
- Spread it out in the sun on the ground
- Drape it over some chairs or laundry line
- Lay it over some saw horses in a garage or pole barn and let fans blow on them
- Use towels or paper towel to rub them dry
What Is The Best Way To Clean A Tent?
One of the best ways to clean a tent is to follow these simple steps. All you need is a hose, a tent cleaner (I like this Nikwax solution), and a sponge.
Follow these quick steps for cleaning:
- Spread the tent out where your hose can reach it.
- Check the tent for any trash like needles, wrappers, or other debris.
- Use warm water with soap and a sponge to scrub the inner and outer surface of the tent.
- Be sure to scrub at the zippers and poles.
- Rinse of all the soap with your hose.
- Leave dry on the ground under the sun.
How Often Should You Wash A Tent?
This answer is really subjective to how often and where you use the tent. If you only go a few times to campgrounds over the summer, then you can get away with washing your tent once a year.
Some suggest only washing every few years as needed. But I feel this is just inviting mold and “fun” smells to gather.
For those of you who camp a lot in different kinds of weather and places (especially muddy and moist places), you may want to wash your tent every time you use. When you notice a lot of debris or messy stuff, then head to your yard and being to wash.
How Long Can I Leave A Tent Wet?
You shouldn’t leave your tent wet if you can help it. If you have to pack it up wet, make sure you spread it and dry in under two days or less.
In 24-48 hours, mold will start to grow and affect the material. You can even see it start to grow after this short period.
Conclusion
Well, now you know what a tent can and can’t do. We all want everything to be convenient and easy, but cleaning the shelter safely is going to take some work no matter how you go about it.
Can you put a tent in the washer? No.
What about the dryer? No.
Sorry, I wish it was easier, but the actual steps to cleaning your tent aren’t that hard. Just get some soap and a sponge and go for it.
Got a campfire smell in your tent? Check out our guide on how to get a campfire smell out of your tent.