With another year of fairs, barbeques, and celebrations winding down, it’s time to take a moment and remember the proper tent storage procedure. As any tent rental service can tell you, maintaining your equipment is paramount. No one wants to replace their inventory year after year, and for smaller organizations like community clubs and private owners a single shelter may have to last year after year. Always remember the three basic stages of Winter Prep: Clean, Dry, and Pack.
1. Clean
Dirt and debris, when left on shelter fabric or hardware, is the easiest way to ruin your investment. Dirt harbors bacteria and mold that can destroy your fabric in a single winter. Rough items, like pebbles, wood pieces, or any solid debris can scratch or puncture your fabric and lead to unfixable conditions like scrim mold. Even your metal fittings, if not properly cleaned, can have their coating marred or scratched, leaving the base metal open to corrosion. Clean all items with cleansers specifically for tents, such as Celina’s Tent Cleaner or light dish soap and warm water, to remove all possible contaminates from your structure.
2. Dry
It is imperative that all components be dry before storage. While most of the bacteria and mold spores are removed in cleaning, it is impossible to keep your items in clean-room conditions. Allowing your items to completely dry before packing helps to keep any bacteria from gaining a foothold. Drying also keeps your hardware from being susceptible to oxidation. The drying stage is just as important, if not more, than the cleaning stage.
3. Pack
Maximizing storage space is always a good idea. By keeping like items together, packed to eliminate all possible wasted space, you know exactly where to look for each item required when the time comes to start tenting again. Proper packing also keeps your items less prone to damage; tent fabric that isn’t haphazardly strewn about a storage area is less likely to be stepped on or damaged by everyday ingress and egress, and hardware that is properly stowed won’t become an impassible obstacle when looking for other items. Always store items in the appropriate storage container – most tent fabric is pre-packaged in reusable tent fabric bags.
With these simple steps, the transition in and out of tent seasons will be simple and hassle-free. Celina can work with you to aid your tent storage efforts in any way, be it with our myriad of cleaners and tent repair items, our selection of product movers and tent fabric storage, or by answering any questions you have about procedures for your specific tent. Call us today at (866) 767-9242 to let us help you maintain your tent equipment for years to come!