Quick View:
Step 1: Clean and Repair Your Tent
Step 2: Identify Problem Areas
Step 3: Seal Tent Seams
Step 4: Refresh Polyurethane Tent Waterproofing
Step 5: Rainfly & Floor DWR Coating
What You’ll Need to Wash Your Tent: Gentle soap, sponge, cloth, water, tub, and a shady and dry spot outside.
Step 1: Clean and Repair Your Tent
If you’re new to washing your tent, there are a few things to keep in mind.
Don’t wash your tent with dish soap or anything with strong detergents. These types of soap degrade the waterproof coating on your tent fly and fabric.
Use a product specifically designed for water repellent gear, like Nikwax Tech Wash (you can get it here from Amazon or REI).
Otherwise, you’ll strip the coating and damage your tent waterproofing even more.
Step 2: Identify Problem Areas
If your tent is clean, dry, and repaired, it’s finally time for tent waterproofing!
The first thing to look for is leaks.
Set up your tent outside and hose it down. Make sure to run the water for at least a few minutes to give the best approximation of an actual rainstorm.
The areas where water is coming through will need more attention.
The next thing to look for is peeling and delamination of the sealant on the seams and the tent fabric (both the fly and the bottom portion of the tent).
Check to see if the water repellent tent treatment is still intact or if it’s starting to flake off.
It helps to flip the fly inside out on top of your tent for closure inspection and easier sealing.
Find the areas that will need the most attention and keep them in mind as you start waterproofing.
Step 3: Seal Tent Seams
First, wipe down your seams with rubbing alcohol and remove any large flakes of sealant that are coming off (leave the sealant that’s still well attached – no need to scrub or rip it off).
You’ll be sealing the seams on the underside of your rain fly and the inside of the tent.
To seal the seams, take a small brush and paint your sealant onto the seams in a thin layer about 1 mm thick.
Be sure to wipe off any excess that lands outside the seams before it has a chance to dry.
Now, let the sealant dry as directed on the packaging, or at least 24 hours before packing it away and leave it out of the sun.
As always, be sure to use the proper sealant for your gear’s fabric and coating.
Most tents have a simple polyurethane coating, but some use a silicon coating that requires a different type of sealant.
Step 4: Refresh Polyurethane Tent Waterproofing
In addition to the seams, the fabric inside your tent fly and ground portion carries a lighter water-resistant coating made of polyurethane or, less commonly, silicon.
If patches of fabric look dull and flaky, or they’re getting soaked with water, you can refresh the coating.
Unlike tent water repellent spray, this is a spot treatment, not an all-over product.
You’ll be applying it to the areas that need it most on the underside of your fly and the inside of the tent (and no, you can’t use the same DWR spray product that you’ll be using on the outer fly. It won’t work well).
To apply, clean the area until it’s smooth, treat it with rubbing alcohol, and apply sealant to the affected area in a thin layer.
Just as before, keep your gear out of the sun and allow it to dry for at least 24 hours.
Check to make sure the area of the fabric where you applied the new coat looks shiny and smooth before packing it away.
Step 5: Rainfly & Floor DWR Coating
The last step in waterproofing a tent is refreshing the durable waterproof coating (DWR) on the outside of the tent fly and ground cloth.
The purpose of this coating is to help water bead up and run off the fly instead of soaking through it.
This coating isn’t as long-lasting as a waterproof sealant for tents and seams, so you can expect to refresh it more frequently.
