Learning how to properly clean and care for a canvas tent is important to maximizing the life of your tent.
It’s perfectly normal for your tent to become dirty, stained, or even moldy.
Here’s my step-by-step guide on how to clean a canvas tent and remove any mold that may have formed.
This works for cleaning tents such as Kodiak, Springbar, White Duck, or canvas bell tents.
You can also read my article about the quickest ways to destroy one without canvas tent proper care and maintenance.
How to Clean a Canvas Tent
First, let’s go over the general cleaning of canvas camping tents. After, we’ll discuss dealing with any mold or other more significant issues.
It’s important to note – you don’t just clean your tent when it gets moldy.
You need to clean it regularly to PREVENT mold and premature damage as well.
1. Set up Your Tent and Gather Your Supplies
You’ll need the following supplies. (note, some of these are affiliate links and I get a few shekels).
- Soft-bristled brush or sponge, I prefer a sponge
- Mild detergent, mild dish soap or something like Nikwax Tech Wash
- A hose
- 5 gallon bucket of warm water to mix the soap (or spray the soap on with a hose attachment)
- Soft microfiber or cotton cloth
- A nice sunny day
The top recommended product on forums for cleaning canvas. Great brand reputation as well.
I’ve recently started using a sponge most of the time as I’m afraid of bristles, even on soft brushes, especially as my tents age.
2. Brush off any dirt or debris
Using your soft-bristled brush or sponge, go around the tent and give it a quick once-over and remove any dirt noticeable to the naked-eye.
This step is simply to make the next steps easier and less messy.
3. Mix Your Cleaning Solution
Mix your cleaning solution of choice into your water. Follow the instructions on the bottle.
I’ve used Dr. Bronners because I always have some around. It’s my backcountry showering soap and works as a mild detergent for cleaning my canvas tents.
Others have had success with Nikwax products, but I don’t personally have an experience with it.
The most important thing is to NOT use harsh detergents like bleach.
Using Dr. Bronners and Nikwax shouldn’t remove much of the waterproofing. However, I do recommend waterproofing every couple of cleans as a good habit.
4. Clean the Tent
Scrub the outside of your tent with your diluted soap and sponge. I tend to do the “wax on, wax off” method using circular motions.
If you’re using a sponge, you don’t really have to worry about going too hard, but I try to be careful with any bristles.
What if your tent has mold? We’ll have to add an additional step. Skip ahead.
5. Rinse the Tent
Now, it’s time to rinse your tent thoroughly with clean water to remove any soap.
If you’re using a hose, try to stand a few feet back at least and don’t use a ton of water pressure.
Try to make it mimic an average rain fall in terms of pressure. Your tent isn’t designed to take a water jet directly to the side of it.
Pro Tip: Make sure all the windows and vents are closed. Then after you rinse it, go inside and make sure a bunch of water didn’t go through. If it did, no problem. Simply apply some waterproofing agent like Nikwax.
6. Air Dry the Tent
Pick a nice sunny day and wash your tent in the morning to give it enough time to air dry.
Give yourself at least 6 hours to let it fully dry. Add more time depending on the year and your location.
7. Store the Tent Properly
The most important tip for caring for canvas tents is to store them dry. If they are wet when you store them, you are highly likely to develop mold, especially later on in your tent’s life when you may not be up to date on your waterproofing.
A note about other methods: Depending on your tent, you might be better off washing it in a large tub or using a pressure washer on a very low setting. I don’t have access to either of those methods, so this is what I’ve come up with.
Check out my favorite canvas tent accessories in this article.
How to Clean Mold from Canvas
If your tent has mold, it’s important to remove it.
It can continue to spread and too much mold can lead to issues for those with respiratory issues or immunocompromised.
Most (all?) canvas tents on the market have anti-fungal treatments before they ever get to you. They should prevent many types of mold from forming on your tent early in its life. However, if you use your tent a lot and store it poorly, you may find yourself needing to get rid of mold.
1. What is Mold? Identifying if Your Tent Has Mold or Mildew
Mold and mildew are fungi. Their spores can thrive on your tent within just a few days in the right conditions.
The average person isn’t going to have an issue with mold or mildew, but your tent will start to smell, look gross and will damage your tent if left untreated.
To determine if your canvas tent has mold or mildew, look for signs of discoloration, specifically darker spots of green or black on the tent material.
Because many canvas tents are light-colored, it’s often easy to spot mold. You can also test it by seeing if it feels raised or feels spongy, but it will be obvious in most cases. Even if it’s not, you might as well clean it.
Mold and mildew will also smell musty – think of the smell of a damp basement.
Now that you’ve identified you have mold, let’s take care of it.
2. Should I Use Bleach or Vinegar to Kill Mold on My Canvas Tent?
Don’t use either!
While bleach and vinegar can kill many types of mold, they aren’t the best products to be used on canvas tents.
Most articles and forums correctly state to avoid using bleach.
However, almost all the articles on Google and top posts on Reddit mention using vinegar on your canvas tent as the ultimate solution. They claim bleach can only kill the surface and vinegar can get into the fabric more and kill it.
While that may be true at times, I’m going to listen to the expert advice of StoutTent. They maintain a fleet of over 1,000 tents and I trust they know what they are doing more than most people, including me.
Stout Tents states “Vinegar is caustic, which by definition means able to burn or corrode organic tissue by chemical action!”
Before researching this article, I literally thought vinegar was the kryptonite of mold! Whoops!
3. The Right Product to Remove Mold from Your Canvas Tent
Stout Tents recommends Marine31 fabric and vinyl cleaner. You can spray the infected area, let it sit for 3-4 minutes.
Recommended cleaner by StoutTent. They manage a fleet of 1,000+ canvas tents for festivals and other rentals.
It’s only got 3.9 stars as of this writing, but most of the negative reviews are about boat and jetski seats, not canvas.
Full disclosure: I’ve never gotten enough mold on my tent to need this and I’ve not tested it out! But if it’s good enough for StoutTents, it’s probably good enough for you.
4. Rinse, Rinse, Rinse Some More
After letting the Marine31 sit on the moldy area for a few minutes, it’s very important to rinse, rinse, and rinse some more.
Make sure all the cleaner is out of the fabric.
Just like a normal tent clean, make sure to let it fully dry before taking the tent down. Double-check the seams and other areas where it still could be wet.
5. Rewaterproofing a Canvas Tent
If you noticed water getting through your canvas during your cleanings, it may be time to waterproof your tent again. We’ll get into that in the next article.
Frequently Asked Questions About Cleaning Canvas Tents
Q: Can I use regular detergent to clean my canvas tent?
No, it’s best to use a mild detergent to clean canvas tents such as Nikwax Tech or Dr. Bronners (affiliate).
Q: Is it okay to machine ash my canvas tent?
No, it’s best to avoid machine washing your canvas tent. The agitation of a washing machine will likely cause irreversible damage to the canvas and seams.
Q: How often should I clean my canvas tent?
Typically, once to three times a year, depending on the conditions you subject your tent. The higher quality of tent you have, the less likely mold will form and the less likely you may need to clean.
Related: Full review of my experience with the Kodiak Flex-bow 10×10 Canvas Tent.
Continued Reading: View a list of all my canvas tent-related articles.
