Tent Care

Question: Just bought a Tent. Should I spray some sort of waterproof coating on the tent?
What can I do to protect the expensive little thing? Bought the ground cover for it ... Will it help?

Answer: I wouldn't fool with spraying anything on it. It may already have a waterproof coating, so you wouldn't get any benefit from another coat of anything. But there is plenty you can do to ensure the tent will last. First, keep it clean. Use the ground cover to protect the floor (in the future, just buy inexpensive polyethylene sheeting at the hardware store and cut ground covers to fit). Try to keep boots/shoes out of the tent. When you get home, gently clean dirty spots with a damp sponge and a little mild detergent. Wipe the poles down, if need be. In the field, the worst enemy will be sun, which can badly damage tent fabric. So always use the fly, to protect the tent canopy (plus, the fly is more easily replaced). If you can, pitch the tent so it gets at least some shade, particularly during the middle of the day. Finally, when you get home and have it cleaned, DRY IT CAREFULLY. Putting away a damp tent will lead to mildew, which is murder on tent fabric. I prefer to store tents loosely in a large cotton bag.
Those three steps should go a long way toward making sure your investment lasts.

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Rule No. 1 about tent care is this: Make sure the tent is COMPLETELY dry before storing it. Otherwise you risk mildew, which is bad for the tent and bad for your nose (it makes your tent smell like old gym socks). I usually recommend storing a tent loosely in a cotton bag; an old pillowcase will work fine. Because most tent stuff sacks are coated nylon, they'll trap any residual moisture in with the tent. And they'll also stress the newly sealed seams, which could crack the sealant and force you to re-apply it more frequently. Also, if you have the room, store the poles unfurled. The bungees that hold them together are tensioned when packed, so letting them relax will increase their longevity.

Question: Should a tent ground cloth go underneath or inside your tent? Underneath, it may trap and wick water. Inside, it doesn't protect the bottom of the tent. Some say "always inside tent;" many others say underneath.

Answer: Tent floors already are waterproof, having been given a pretty heavy coating of polyurethane in the factory. They key is to protect the floor from wear, as the coating rubs off in time. That's where the ground cloth comes in. By going between your tent floor and the sand, rocks, dirt, and twigs in the ground, it helps shield the waterproof coating. Nowadays many tent makers sell custom ground covers for their tents. But they're expensive ($30 and up), so here's what I suggest you do: Go to your local hardware store and buy a roll of thin clear polyethylene sheeting. Cut out a square of it that's bigger than the footprint of the tent canopy--don't worry about the fly--and set the tent on top. Then, using a razor, carefully cut the sheeting to fit just inside the edge of the canopy (that's so rainwater won't be caught and collected by it). Presto, instant ground cover for about a buck. I'm kind of puzzled by the advice of putting a ground cover inside the tent. I'll use a space blanket inside occasionally for winter camping, but otherwise that seems to miss the point.

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