Partner of your most beautiful weekends and your holidays, your tent needs to be cared for!You can be sure to extend its lifespan by providing regular care.
You will find on this page all our advice on how to use and care for your tent properly. With Charlotte's help, the camp product manager, we will share all our tips with you so that your tent will accompany you for as long as possible.
The first thing to do when caring for your tent is to use it well.
Before pitching your tent, make sure that the front entrance is securely closed.This will prevent you from over-stretching the canvas when you assemble the poles. Also, even if the guy ropes are there to reinforce the resistance of your tent against the wind, there is no point in stretching them too much.You risk creating too much tension on the canvas.
To prolong the lifespan of your tent for as long as possible, we advise that you do not overexpose it to the sun. In fact, UV rays may damage the canvas of your tent and accelerate its wear. Our tents are designed to withstand an annual exposure of three consecutive weeks in the sun. You can of course use your tent for more than three weeks a year! But we recommend that you do not continuously subject it to UV rays, otherwise its wear will be greatly accelerated.
The easiest way to clean your tent is to brush it with clean water. You can, if necessary, use soapy water. But we advise you to avoid as much as possible cleaning products that could damage the canvas. You must then rinse your tent well so that no soap residue remains. For this, it is convenient to use a hose.
When it comes to the inside of your tent, the most effective is to use a dustpan and brush to remove small stones, twigs and dust.
HOW CAN YOU REMOVE PINE SAP?
- First of all, wait until the sap is completely dry.
- Then place an ice cube on the other side of the canvas where the sap stain is. The sap becomes brittle and comes off more easily by scraping it gently.
Cleaning the canvas with hand sanitizer or wet wipes can also give good results.
Be careful! The use of solvents greatly reduces the waterproof qualities of tent fabrics. Using them to clean your tent should therefore be avoided!
Storing a tent that is still damp in its storage bag is the best way to keep milldew growing.Even small, it will develop over time and will be more difficult to remove.It is therefore best to make sure that you dry your tent well, either at the end of your camping or trekking trip, or when you return home.
The method should be adapted according to the space you have available.
ARE YOU LACKING SPACE?
The simplest solution is to separate your tent:double flysheet on one side, bedroom on the other. Then all you have to do is dry each item separately on a washing line, a clothes rack, the bar of a shower curtain, a balcony ... If you have hung the bedroom and the flysheet on your balcony, you can use the guy ropes to attach the whole thing on your balcony to avoid it falling.
DO YOU HAVE SPACE OUTSIDE?
You can pitch your tent when the weather is nice and dry.If it's a bit windy, it's even better.Open the entrances of the double-flysheet and those of the bedroom(s). All you have to do is wait for the sun and the wind to do their job! If you are in a hurry, you can use a squeegee (like those used for swimming pools) to remove the water from your groundsheet.
Is your tent completely dry? It is ready to be stored in its cover and then stored in a dry place at room temperature.
To store it, do not forget to remove all the tent poles, including those installed above the front entrance as well as the reinforcement bars (especially present on big tents for four people or more). It is also important to close the front entrance of your tent securely when you store it. Otherwise, your tent may be too tight when you unfold it again.
The ecological impact of a tent if you throw it away is equivalent to over 3,000 km by car. In order to limit this impact, all Quechua and Forclaz tents are repairable! Do you need to change a pole?or replace a bedroom? There are two solutions:
- contact the workshop of your DECATHLON store to have your tent repaired.Several services are available such as repairing poles, changing a flysheet, etc.
- visit the after-sales site where you will find advice, videos and tutorials to help you repair your tent step by step. You can also buy the spare parts you need for your tent via after-sales.
When your tent is new, it has a level of waterproofing that also needs to be maintained. Ultraviolet light, rubbing in the storage bag and natural wear and tear from contact with the elements mean that it needs to be re-waterproofed more or less frequently, depending on how it is used. It is therefore advisable to regularly (e.g. every year) apply a waterproofing spray to the outer and ground sheets of your tent, making sure not to forget the areas around the seams.
Camper lover at Quechua
