Don’t Forget To Clean Your Camping Gear
September 6, 2009
With the end of the camping season upon us it is very important that you clean all of your camping gear and equipment before putting it away. Some of the things that you need to pay the most attention to is your tent and sleeping gear, your coolers and any food preparation gear.
Lets start with your tent:
One of the most common problems that I see with tents is that some people will not properly dry their tent out after a camping trip where it has rained. Even when it doesn’t rain, moisture can seep up through the ground leaving the bottom of your tent damp. Storing a tent that is damp or wet will cause mold to set in and eat away at your tents fabric.
This is specially true for canvas tents where large sections can rot away in as little as one week. So make sure that you dry your tent out very good before packing it away for the winter.
While mold won’t eat away at you cooler it is always a good idea to clean them out and dry them before putting them away. This will keep you from having scrub them out at the last minute when you go to use them next time.
The same goes for all of your food preparation gear including your camp stove. It only takes a few minutes to clean out the bottom of the stove and this will help prevent rust from setting in and ruining your stove after just a few years.
So take a little extra time this year and make sure that your camping gear is clean and dry before putting it away. You will be glad you did.
Happy Camping 
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I completely understand what your saying. We recently got caught in a rain storm while camping and had to pack up quickly. I waited a few weeks to set up and clean out the tent. Unfortunately mold had already started to appear. Glad I didn’t wait till next spring to clean it out.
I also had an experiance where we were camping at a hot spring in Montana and a rain storm came in fast and furious. We rolled up camp in a hurry and the next time we got the tent out it had mold, it just so happend that I was setting it up in the yard to let my kid play in before we went camping and I was able to deal with it before I was at the camp site. Enjoy the outdoors!!
I know I’m a little late seeing this post but you are so so right!
I can’t even tell you how many times I have had to endure that wonderful mold smell when camping with my Boy Scout Troop because the previous users didn’t dry the tent out completely or properly!
Sincerely,
Eric
NJ Campgrounds
A memorable camping trip should not include Mold! It really does pay to take proper care of your equipment. Not only can it be costly to replace but also who really wants to deal with that once you get home, not me. Great advice!
Hey there – great site and spot on advice.
A couple of Aussie tips – airing your tent by setting it up or hanging up for a day or two is always a good way of ensuring it is dry. Hanging sleeping bags is a good idea too.
Coolers and fridges should be cleaned and some bicarb soda put in to absorb smells and moisture.
Cast iron camp ovens can be scrubbed down and re-seasoned.
Keeping things clean makes for longer lasting gear and more enjoyable camping trips.
Kev
This is like one of those ‘ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure’ posts that you can’t overlook. And I can attest to mold in a tent. I got sick from a friends tent that had spores growing in the bottom corners. Thanks.
After camping season is over and the cold weather rolls, I move to my kitchen with my cooking. I enjoy putting recipes together in preperation for the warm weather coming. My tents and backpacking equipment is all tucked away nice neat. Enjoy your site.
It is always such a pain to clean camping gear at the end of the year, but it is always so nice to have it clean in the spring when you go to grab it! Nice post, and great blog!!
If you were to do any air monitoring in a moldy tent, you’d find unacceptable levels of airborne mold that can cause resperatory conditions. Make sure your gear is cleaned and dry before you put it away!
Cleaning your gear is an essential part of having a wonderful camping experience. Must be clean and dry to preven many sorts of bacteria from growing while you camping gear hibernates in your garage until its next use.
With the camping season creeping up on us it’s also good to check & clean tent and camping equipment at the start of the season. I usually go away the last weeks in March / first week April (Clock change in UK). Give my gear a good check before starting as you never know what’s has happened since it’s been out of action for a few months
Happy Camping
Absolutely true. The easiest way in the world to ruin a good tent or your gear is to put it away without cleaning. Weather’s starting to get a little nicer here in Florida and we’re getting ready to plan our first trip of the season. It’s been awhile, so time to pull out the gear and check it all out.
Good point! Cleaning really doesn’t take that long. Just an extra 5-10 minutes spent on taking care of the things we own can really extend the life of our camping gear. Just don’t forget to pack simple cleaning supplies (paper towels, dish soap, wipes, etc)!
Ensuring that your tent is dry before storage is good thing to keep in mind. You wouldn’t want the mold to spread elsewhere in your basement and/or garage. Any tips on how to speed-dry your tent though, say, if you were in a hurry to head home?
Great tips! definitely not the most fun part about camping, but maintenance is important. I’ve run into big troubles with this before, because I’ll put stuff away, and when I get it out later its not in great condition by far. I’ve especially seen this with canvas tents, and after you make that mistake you never want to repeat it again. Kind of costly.
The article on proper storage of your tent was very helpful and needed. I have seen alot of tents with mold on them or even had friends whom have had to buy new tents frequently due to improper storage. Our own personal experience has been with the camp stove (our first one) not keeing it clean and having it rust on us. Taking that few minutes will save you lots of money.
A good point. Getting your equipment sorted out is just as important as buying it in the first place.
As we know only too well, hygiene is particularly important with some pieces of camping kit.
That is so true about canvas tents! I’ve learned that first hand unfortunately. It may take a bit longer to put away all the stuff if you really made sure that all was clean, but it’s well worth it if you want to find all your camping stuff in top condition, the following year.
Just as important as the great points above I find is to keep your sleeping bag clean. There’s nothing worse than getting into a sleeping bag that feels tacky! I always look for a sleeping bag that can be machine washed and I also always invest in a sleeping bag liner that can be taken out and washed independently, saving you from washing the bag as often and also increasing the lifespan of the sleeping bag.
Great tips,
Tom
It’s a bummer to do, but cleaning camping equipment immediately after you’re back home, or on site before you pack it up, is the best time. It can quickly get put aside and forgotten until needed again, and by that time it can be much more difficult to clean. Nobody likes sleeping in a moldy tent.
Don’t just clean the equipment but also make sure you clean it right. Check the label or manual, and if you are not certain what care an item requires, contact the manufacturer. If you wash your sleeping bag too hot or don’t dry it long enough, you can still have problems.
Can I just emphasise that if you wash gear you must make sure you dry it thoroughly. We had a client who left damp sleeping bags in her travel trailer (we call these touring caravans in the UK). They left their lovely new caravan on a storage site for a few weeks. When they went to pick it up not only had mold and mildew formed on the sleeping bags but it had spread to all exposed surfaces of the inside of the caravan. The wooden cupboard doors and soft furnishings were ruined.
It’s especially important to keep your tent and camping equipment clean when camping in bear country – it’s not nice when the Grizzlies decide to check your tent out.
On a side note never leave cooked sausages in your tent by accident in bear country. I’ve done it and it wasn’t a good night’s sleep..
Usually the best thing to do is set up the tent in the sun when you get home and wipe it down with a damp cloth and let it air dry in the sun
Sunlight is great for killing mold and drying it out after you wipe it down
Best to avoid keeping a wet tent rolled up without cleaning it
One of those MUST chores…
This is my first time comment on this blog, but it seems like a awesome blog…
There are many chores to be done. I agree best way to dry out a tent is set it up in the sun. Dont forget about your tarp. Another thing so many forget about is rope. If rope is allowed to remain wet it will eventually just fall apart.
I agree whole heartedly on making certain your tent is dry before storing. We used to pull up the stakes and tip the still standing tent on its side to help dry the bottom.. That was in dry weather. We would also flip the tarp over and let it air dry, before folding it. When things got wet from packing up in the rain, we had to hang the scout hut so all the tents and tarps would get dry.
Cleaning and drying out the tents is oh so important. Those things are expensive and a mold infection can totally ruin them. Plus the mold has the potential of getting you sick. Good Luck and good blog.