Laundering tent ends. Am I crazy?

[poppin_fresh]

Hi all,
I was wondering if anyone has removed their tent ends and washed them in a commercial washing machine?

My 2005 hybrid is mint except for one, minor detail...the tent ends. The outsides are fine, but the previous owner obviously didn't allow the inside of the tents to dry completely all the time. This has lead to the underside of the tents having a little bit of mildew staining. Not major, but it drives nuts since the underside is clearly supposed to be bright white!

I have tried a bunch of internet solutions (on small spots) to remove it (bleach solution, vinegar and water solution, rubbing alcohol and water, Simple Green, colorox wipes, magic eraser) and none of them made any difference.

I am actually considering removing them and tossing them in a commercial washer on delicate to see if that might bring them back?

[1kennyOG]

This stuff works. I sell it to mold remediation companies and boat owners and they love it. you can get it at home depot.

http://www.concrobium.com/en-can/products/stain-eraser/

Concrobium

poppin_fresh wrote:
Hi all,
I was wondering if anyone has removed their tent ends and washed them in a commercial washing machine?

My 2005 hybrid is mint except for one, minor detail...the tent ends. The outsides are fine, but the previous owner obviously didn't allow the inside of the tents to dry completely all the time. This has lead to the underside of the tents having a little bit of mildew staining. Not major, but it drives nuts since the underside is clearly supposed to be bright white!

I have tried a bunch of internet solutions (on small spots) to remove it (bleach solution, vinegar and water solution, rubbing alcohol and water, Simple Green, colorox wipes, magic eraser) and none of them made any difference.

I am actually considering removing them and tossing them in a commercial washer on delicate to see if that might bring them back?

[Oasisbob]

I would be concerned about compromising the water repellancy and possible shrinkage. Not to mention remounting. Often folks do not understand the importance of thoroughally drying out the ends prior to storage. Best of luck.

[PAThwacker]

[PAThwacker]

I used starbrite mold and mildow cleaner on my pup. Seals were damaged during Hurricane Irene,and I did not notice the mess until the following weekend. bed was soaked, tents and bed were covered in mold. #pupsuck

[sleepgsr]

I just did ours -a Jayco 25G.
I did it on the on the bulky load setting with no spinning. I also added bleach to the load.
This was in our home front load wash machine(no agitator)
It came out beautiful. All the mildew and squished mosquito guts came out.
I figured that if it gets wet on the outside from rain and damp inside from humidity it should be fine.

[dadmomh]

Would not even consider removing the tents and trying to wash them in a machine - I could see a disaster in the making. I have no idea if this would work, but in the days of the old canvas tents, they used to use Fels Naptha and a scrub brush. It's not available everywhere, but our Walmart does carry it. It's a big bar-soap. The downside is that you're going to have to rinse it well. Are the stains just here and there or all over?? If it's just spots, if the Fels Naptha takes off the stains, I always used Woolite and water to clean the inside of ours. It did a good job and I wasn't concerned about a bleach product ruining the canvas to the point of having to replace.

You might also call one of the companies that do mold/mildew removal and see if they have any thought....other than hiring them to do it, of course. Good luck...hope you can get this fixed.

[DiskDoctr]

We're in the same boat. I've been researching a bit, thinking about Iosso mold and mildew powder/solution.

Haven't decided yet, but did find Never, never use any heat. I was thinking about steam cleaning, but that's out 😉

[GypsySooners]

Have you contacted Starcraft and asked what new tents would cost? And I also wondered about sealing the platform and everything but the tents with plastic and maybe trying to use a fabric dye?

I do hope you get it to your satisfaction. We love our Travel Star too! 🙂

[ScottG]

Tilex Mold and Mildew works better than almost anything else on awnings so you might give it a try. Tilex

[loulou57]

We had an issue one year with our boat cover. We took it off in the spring and it had some mildew stains. We laid it out in the sun and we took VIM with bleach and squirmed it all over the cover. We then added 3/4 cup of bleach to a pail of water and with the car wash brush we scrubbed the cover with the water and VIM. We rinsed with the hose and let it sit in the sun for the day.
It worked great.

[Francesca_Knowl]

If the chemicals you've tried don't work, putting them in a washing machine likely won't either.

Exposing the stains to bright sunlight after wetting with a weak bleach solution MIGHT work.

[gbopp]

Can you Wash a Tent in a Washing Machine