Your camping or glamping session is incomplete without a bell tent, for obvious reasons. Getting a good bell tent is the first step to spending quality time outdoors on a camping experience. But most importantly, maintaining your camping tent to extend its lifespan is the key to having a quality tent that will serve its purpose for a long time.
While having more than one bell tent is great for holding different capacities of people, your tent collection will not last long if not properly maintained. Therefore, irrespective of the number of bell tents in your camping arsenal, here are maintenance tips to extend the lifespan of your tents and ensure they meet your glamping needs:
- Clean Regularly
From hosting parties to weddings, sleepovers, and other events that require eating and drinking in a bell tent, there are sure to be food remnants, crumbs, spills, and stains in the interior of your tent. Using a soft cloth or brush, dust off particles and shake off grime after every use. For a more intensive cleaning session, go in with a stain remover solution and rinse afterward.
- Waterproofing
Some tent canvases come already waterproofed to prevent the build-up of mould and mildew. However, this is bound to wear off from regular use of the tent. Therefore, to ensure your tent is well protected against rain, snow, and other liquids, waterproof your tent as often as you notice its last waterproof coating is wearing off.
- Protect from the elements
Using your tent under harsh weather conditions or for a prolonged period under the elements will hasten the expiration of its lifespan. For instance, UV rays from the sun will fade the vibrancy of your tent’s colour and damage its material. Therefore, use a fly or tarp over your tent when out on a sunny afternoon or, a windy evening or a winter cold night, especially if you plan to do so for long hours or days.
- Clean accessories
Your tent canvas is not the only part of your tent that needs regular cleaning and maintenance. Just like your canvas, the lines, zips, poles, and pegs should also be cleaned, washed, and dried before storing. Storing your tent when wet or moist or filled with grime will lead to long-time wear and tear and eventually irreparable damage, while your tent accessories may become stiff, rust, or weaken.
- Resealing
Quality tents come with their inside seams sealed. But similar to the tent’s canvas when poorly waterproofed, regular usage may cause the tent seams to open and let in moisture into the tent. At this juncture, reseal the seams by cleaning with rubbing alcohol to get previous weak seals and tape off, and then reseal with a sealant. Conclusively, most bell tents come with the manufacturer’s cleaning and maintenance instructions like how often they should cleaned, the type of cleaning solution to be used, and others. Nonetheless, with these maintenance tips, you can extend the lifespan of your canvas and retain the quality of your camping and glamping bell tent.
