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After you have had a successful jeep rooftop camping trip, you will want to clean your tent before storage. If you are an outdoor enthusiast, cleaning your gear all the time is one of the prices that you have to pay. However, this is nothing as compared to the fun that you get outdoors. Even if this is your first time to clean a rooftop tent after camping, with the actionable tips that you will get here, it will be easy.
Remove all the superficial dirt
If they are dry, they should come off easily. However, they will leave visible stains in the spots where the dirt lumps had stuck. Get rid of the dust, you know, the general dirt that a tent collects when in use.
This is sticky dirt, you know, things like mud and bird droppings that you can scrub out. This is usually the first step to take towards cleaning your jeep roof top tent. With a blunt object, gently scrub at the sticky stains.
A soft-bristled brush should do the job just fine. You may also vacuum the tent to get rid of all the superficial dirt.
Cleaning a tent that has mildew or mold
If you have been camping in moist conditions, it is possible that the tent developed mildew and mold. There is not always enough time to dry the tent before packing it away in its storage pack or carry bag. When you store a wet tent, you create a perfect recipe for the formation of mildew.
You must clean off the mildew in the soonest possible time. You should open the tent fully and clean it with a Lysol (or any other) cleaning solution, just make the Lysol cleaning solution about one cup to one gallon of hot water.
With a sponge, dub this hot solution onto the tent, let it stay a bit and then rinse it off with a lemon solution. After that, just let the tent dry in the sun, making sure to straighten out all the folds so that the sun gets to all places.
Cleaning a tent that smells
When you pack a wet tent and let it stay too long, mildew (as explained above) can form a nasty smell on the tent. Believe it or not, nothing is nastier than a tent that smells! You have to get rid of the smell because if you do not, you will never use that tent again.
There are many causes of a smelly tent. One, it could be the usual dirt and grime of which there is more than a fair share when camping. Secondly, it could be mold and mildew and thirdly, it could be the polyurethane breaking down (mostly happens with old tents).
Hang the tent to dry through the smell. That is right, a clothesline and pegs. You can then take the tent through the cleaning procedure for taking off the mildew and the mold. However, after that, you will have to clean the tent specifically to get rid of the smell.
A vinegar mixture (homemade) is a good remedy for odor. So is a store-bought enzyme cleaner, and there are many of these. Because bacteria usually cause the nasty smell, the enzyme cleaner is going to kill the bacteria. Just wear gloves to protect your hands. Also,ensure the enzyme cleaner is organic so that it doesn’t eat through your tent. The best mixture should be a half-ounce of enzyme cleaner to 20 gallons of water.
Give your tent some good aftercare
Dry the tent under the sun, and then do proper sealing of the seams, and … you may have to reapply a polyurethane coating, if it was worn out.
These are some very useful tips you can use to clean your jeep’s rooftop after a camping trip. Tuff Stuff 4×4 is a great place to find all kinds of roof top tents, winches, bumpers, camping gears and accessories and so on.