Canvas Tent Care in Humid Climates (to Fight Mildew and Mildew)

While a canvas tent offers natural breathability, allowing it to handle airflow, stickiness, and dampness quite well, humidity poses a challenge. And in some swelteringly hot seasons and tropical, damp climates, humidity is inevitable. (You camping folk from the Southeast and Pacific Northwest know what we’re talking about).

But when the stickiness and dampness aren’t something you can change, especially when venturing outdoors, how can you care for your canvas tent? Read on to learn all about the tips and treatments for the best canvas tent care in humid climates.

How Humidity Harms Canvas Tents

Humid climates accelerate the growth of mold and mildew on just about anything, including your beautiful canvas tent. Constructed of natural cotton fibers, a canvas tent offers more breathability (especially compared to synthetic or nylon tents), but it can still hold moisture, and moisture and dampness are where fungus spores tend to thrive. Even if you’ve done your homework and invested in a heavy canvas tent with a mildew-resistant, thick Doektec canvas material, your tent needs proper care and maintenance.

Otherwise, down the road, you’ll be dealing with mold and mildew that:

• Weakens and deteriorates the tent’s canvas fibers
• Creates a smelly canvas and unhealthy indoor air quality
• Looks dirty and is aesthetically displeasing to the eye

So instead of allowing mold and mildew to take over, practice smart habits and choose the best mildew-resistant treatments to keep your canvas tent sturdy, clean, and fresh for many adventures to come.

Keeping Your Canvas Tent Dry in Humid Climates

Mold and mildew feed off dampness. So, the most common-sense step you should take in warding off mold and mildew is to prevent dampness and keep your tent as dry as possible. Learn these moisture-busting habits below to ensure that never happens!

Setting Up Your Canvas Tent to Reduce Condensation

Every camper should know basic tips to prevent tent condensation and help maximize ventilation inside the tent during its use. There are also personal steps you can take to keep your tent clean and dry.

Here’s a refresher:

• Seek higher ground and use a footprint/groundsheet or platform deck to beat ground moisture
• Open windows and flaps daily to get a good airflow
• Face the door/s into prevailing winds to promote airflow
• Set up in direct sunlight to warm and dry canvas faster
• Use a tent rain flyto take on direct rain and moisture
• Cut back tall grass and plants that are within a few feet of your tent 
• Heat your tent in damp weather with a wood stove (or other safe heat source) to dry the canvas
• Add a dehumidifier (solar, battery, or desiccant packs) to absorb air moisture
  
• Leave wet clothes and gear outside to dry

Packing and Storing Your Canvas Tent Perfectly Dry

A cardinal rule of canvas tent ownership? Never take down or pack up when wet. Of course, we know this is not always possible, especially in humid climates. But you’ll need to take extra precautionary steps at home to ensure the canvas dries thoroughly.

• Allow the canvas to air dry in sunlight (or a garage if space is limited)
• Use a breathable storage bag to transport and store
• Store in a humidity-controlled space (think home closet)

Practicing Canvas Tent Care and Cleaning to Fight Mildew

Humidity is a fact of life for some owners of canvas tents. And you should take extra steps to fight off mold and keep mildew at bay. Maintaining and removing mold from canvas tents is necessary from time to time.  If you are are an an extremely humid environment, know that a canvas tent is going to take work to maintain!

• Brush away dirt and debristhat attracts fungal growth
• Spot clean mildew before it spreads (use warm water, mild soap, and a soft-bristle toothbrush)
• Re-treat and waterproof canvas as needed with a mildew-resistant spray

Choosing the Best Canvas Tent for Humid Climates

Good habits and routine cleaning inhibit moisture and the potential for mold growth on your canvas tent. Additionally, canvas tents are naturally breathable, which also helps. But not all canvas tents are made the same. Features and materials can vary in strength and durability, and when it comes to fighting mold, this is most evident in the quality of the canvas fibers and their added treatments.

For high-risk wet conditions and sticky climates, you need a high-quality canvas tent built for humidity. One constructed with robust, thick canvas and coated in waterproof and mildew-resistant treatments that will hold up better and longer in humid climates.

Life inTent’s DoekTec was made for just that – discouraging mold from growing in the first place. After several years of fine-tuning the treatment, we created our own proprietary and powerful anti-fungal, mold-resistant canvas. In fact, we’re the first canvas tent company to publish the third-party mildew-resistant AATCC 30 Test results. (You’ll be hard-pressed to find other canvas tent brands that offer this same proof of testing.) Not to mention our tents’ heavy 11.5 oz. canvasis impregnated with a waterproofing agent that sheds moisture like water beads roll off a duck.

Our canvas tents don’t simply claim mold-blocking treatments for marketing purposes. They’re proven science-backed testing, validating our claims, and easing your concerns as a humid-climate camper or glamping business owner.

Humid Climates Call For Good Habits + Mold-Resistant Treatments

Using canvas tents in damp regions and humid climates requires a bit more effort. We encourage you to combine care tips and routines to minimize condensation and mold growth, and invest in trusted materials and canvas treatments that work for you, not against you. At the end of the day, your mold-preventative canvas tent care ensures camping adventures and long-term use glamping rentals remain beautiful, fresh-smelling, and capable of lasting many years – even in muggy, sticky climates.