How To Clean Your Hiking Tent

Damon shares his easy three step guide and tips on how to care for and clean your expensive portable home.

Why Do I Need to Clean my Tent?

Modern hiking and bikepacking tents are kind of incredible – providing a waterproof, windproof portable home that almost always weighs under two kilograms is no easy feat. To achieve this, outdoor companies use high end, expensive materials that are often fragile. To protect your investment and avoid a nasty surprise next time you pitch up, it’s important to clean and dry your tent well.

Often you’ll only need to do steps one and three of this guide: air it out, then pack it away. This will fix most smokey smells, musty aromas, or eau de freeze dry from one too many dehydrated meals. Periodically, you might need to give your tent a proper clean to remove mud, dirt, bird poo, spills, or other build up that can turn into mould – a tent destroyer.

With good care your lightweight tent should last for many years | @tim_ashelford

Tents need just as much attention as your clothes after a weekend away. There’s nothing worse than setting up the tent that’s been in the garage for three months to find mould, dirt, or a heady smoky aroma. That’s why it’s important to clean your tent before you do your final pack away.

Here how to make that tent good-as-new after a good old-fashioned adventure.

Step One: Ventilation, Drying, and Shake Out

When to do it: After every trip

When you get home, take your tent from its bag and air it out. Ideally this will be erecting it somewhere dry and undercover like a deck or garage, if you have space. If it’s outside make sure you weight it so it doesn’t blow away!

Setting your tent up is also the easiest way to get sand, dirt, and sticks out with a dustpan and brush – or by holding it above your head and shaking it. I’d only use a vacuum cleaner with a soft brush attachment.

Pro tip: Avoid full sunlight, it’s warm but it adds unnecessary UV exposure to your tent material, which is the main thing that ages it!

If you’re space limited you can hang the tent fly and tent body on a washing line or erect it in the lounge room. Most tent materials like DCF, Silnylon, or PU-coated nylon don’t absorb much water and will dry quickly, especially with a fan (don’t use a heater or a tumble dryer, you’ll risk melting the material).

Don’t forget to open up and lay out your tent poles and pegs too, to dry them and check for dirt that can hold moisture. Pull out any stored guy lines that may be wet and packed away.

Read more: 15 Best 2 Person Hiking & Bikepacking Tents in Australia 2026

The best way to dry your tent is to set it back up! | @eandrewsphoto

Step Two: Clean it!

When to do it: Every year or when your tent is noticeably dirty

If your tent’s dry and doesn’t smell you can shoot through to step three. However, if you’ve noticed a funk, just done a big expedition, can see dirt of stains, or have just never cleaned it properly (hands up, most of you) then some proper cleaning will do wonders.

Get yourself a big bucket of warm (not hot) water and add a splash of non-detergent soap or a specific outdoor gear cleaner like Nikwax Tech Wash (check your tent’s instructions for specifics). ‘Non-detergent’ soap is recommended as synthetic detergents can strip DWR (durable water repellant) or other treatments on the fabric.

Pro tip: Use a bathtub if you have one! Avoid using a washing machine as it can damage mesh and zippers.

Hands up if you love tent maintenance! | @claire__dalton

Wipe the tent over with a rag or soft sponge and pay special attention to any specific areas that need it. This should get rid of all the bird droppings, tree sap, and dirt. You can also give it a final full immersion treatment once you’ve scrubbed all the really dirty bits. Poles and tent pegs can be wiped down last as they’re often the dirtiest bit. I often just wash my pegs in the sink when I’m only doing step one for the rest of the tent.

When you’re done cleaning, give the tent a rinse or three with clean water and go back to step one to dry it.

Pro tip: If you’ve set it up in the backyard you can (gently!) use the hose.

Step Three: Set It Up and Pack It Down

When to do it: After every trip, be ready for next time!

Now your tent is completely clean and dry, you can pack it away. Never pack away a wet (even just slightly damp) tent, as this is asking for mould. It can also increase the risk of hydrolysis, which happens to polyurethane in some tent materials if they’re stored in humid areas (it looks like your tent has dandruff and it gets all sticky).

Your best bet is to store your tent in your house if you can, rather than a shed or garage. Even better, you can store it in a loose cotton bag rather than rolled up, to help it to breathe, though I wouldn’t say this is essential.

The best reason for setting up your tent at home to clean it is that you’ll know for sure that nothing’s missing when you pack it away.

Check you’ve included everything you need to set up the tent for next time. This one’s really important (and it’s a dream to be able to grab your tent knowing that nothing’s missing). You’re ready for your next adventure!

Read more: How to Choose a Hiking Tent

Everything in order – @jonharris_photography

Tent Cleaning and Repair Tips

• Reapplying waterproofing and DWR can help tents stay cleaner and drier
• Buy tent repair patches and zipper lubricant ahead of time so you can easily do small repairs while the tent is set up and drying
• Seam sealing can be repaired! Grab some seam sealer (check manufacturer recommendations) to keep an old tent waterproofed
• Buying from local brands like Mont or One Planet can make repairs and replacements easier to access
• Tents are very repairable! Take care of yours with this process and these tips, and it should last you for a very long time

Feature image by @kate_miles_